Cloud Computing and Rapid e-Learning Strategies in Establishing Online Education in the Visayas State University
Jose L. Bacusmo
President, Visayas State University, Philippines
&
Antonio E. Refre
e-Learning Consultant, Philippines
The traditional delivery of education in Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs) has some unique educational management features, which makes its blending with online delivery a challenging task. This paper presents innovative strategies that have made it easy and cost-effective for the Visayas State University (VSU) to implement blended learning (combining face-to-face and online sessions) and fully online courses.
With the use of cloud computing — e.g. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) — the high cost of setting up the ICT infrastructure is reduced to a minimum. There is no longer any need to purchase expensive computer servers. Subscription to a remote server is now the common practice even among large enterprises. The subscription cost is very minimal. With this scheme, the administration and management of the systems no longer require the services of tech-savvy in-house high-salaried IT personnel. Staff who are computer-literate would be able to perform system administration easily. High-caliber technical support is readily obtained from the subscription provider as part of the service guarantee.
The development of online course materials and the delivery of the courses online use rapid e-learning strategies. With the wide array of user-friendly educational technology tools nowadays, e-learning materials can be produced by the teachers themselves. The successful conduct of teaching and learning online is powered by a learning management system (LMS), which can be seamlessly linked to the information management system (IMS), such as an academic information management system. The chosen LMS is capable of monitoring all the virtual classrooms for quality assurance. It is also very user-friendly.
Key words: cloud computing, rapid e-learning, online learning, blended learning, online education, learning management system, virtual classroom