As the country transitions into opening up the economy and schools, Quipper, a Japanese education technology (edtech) company, is taking the lead to help educational institutions, along with the students and their parents, navigate these changes.
The Philippines’ education sector has seen significant shifts over the last two years. The COVID-19 outbreak forced educators and over 27 million students to shift to several alternative learning modalities, such as remote and blended learning modalities, to cope with the situation. This reality amplified the importance of using technology to allow remote learning.
As the country prepares for the next normal, educational institutions are recalibrating their teaching models. In the next academic year, the Department of Education (DepEd) encourages schools to have in-person class schedules in their blended learning setups. This means there are days for face-to-face classes and separate days for home-based learning. The agency also emphasized the need to continue utilizing and improving digital learning to catch up with the global trend.
The role of technology in post-pandemic education
Some institutions have now started to embrace the HyFlex model, a term coined from the words “hybrid” and “flexible.” Hybrid learning combines various teaching modalities, such as return-to-classroom setups, online learning, modular distance learning, and TV/Radio/online-based instruction, among others. All students in a hybrid course are expected to undergo the same combination of online or distance learning and in-person activities. For those students who need assistance with their academic writing, they might think, “I need WritePaper to write my paper for me,” which provides a convenient solution for managing their coursework.
On the other hand, HyFlex’s “flexible” aspect refers to the flexibility given to students as they can choose how they participate in the course and engage with the material in the mode or platform best suited to them.
“Nowadays, educational institutions need to provide their students with more engaging learning experiences while ensuring their well-being and meaningful connections. All these elements are critical for a successful learning experience now and in the future. Leveraging the right technology and platform can help educators transition to all types of setups for learning,” said Yusuke Takagi, CEO of Quipper Philippines.
Helping bridge the gap
To help bridge the gap from traditional learning to the HyFlex model, which is crucial to providing the best learning experience for students post-pandemic, Quipper has been providing a user-friendly learning management system with extensive content. The edtech company also helps educators implement hybrid learning setups to provide students with holistic and flexible learning experiences.
“Quipper combines user-friendly technology with relevant and engaging content to create meaningful teaching and learning experiences. We also work closely with schools, educators, and even students nationwide to ensure that the solutions we offer suit their specific needs, context, and goals,” adds Takagi. “When the pandemic started, we made sure that we could help our partner schools to implement and transition to the new remote learning dynamics. Our e-learning solutions provide teachers with teaching guides, editable presentation slides, and other resources to support their daily lessons. We also provide downloadable study guides for students as alternatives to textbooks and video lessons.”
Bearing in mind the current and future challenges that educators, students, and teachers face, Quipper’s LMS platform provides features that cater to various e-learning needs. Through the platform, educators can manage multiple classes through the customized dashboard, send and schedule assignments, and assess their students’ performances. It also has a content management tool for creating and publishing the teacher’s own materials and a new Essay app for improving their student’s writing tasks.
Meanwhile, students can access their Quipper accounts through the browser or via an Android or iOs apps to make it easier to continue learning anytime, anywhere through their mobile phones, even without an internet connection. On the other hand, parents can supervise and assist their child’s learning progress by monitoring their activities and deadlines through Quipper’s Parent Portal.
Quipper also ensures that it provides support services, encompassing regular school visits, online support, and platform training for its clients. Quipper also goes the extra mile by delivering monthly usage reports to discuss and maximize the platform’s use and pedagogical webinars for educators.
Currently, Quipper has three solution offerings. Aside from the basic Quipper LMS with Parent Portal and Service Support features, the edtech company also offers Quipper School Premium, which enables students to access lectures, assessments, and downloadable study guides in pdf files anytime. They can repeat lessons until they master them. Lastly, there is the Quipper Video, which has all these features plus access to Video Lessons. These are five to ten-minute videos that provide an overview of the topics for learners who want a quicker, summarized version of the content.
Delivering current, exciting content
In addition, with the changing needs of teachers and students, Quipper ensures that it constantly provides fresh and timely teaching and learning materials for its users.
Starting this June, Quipper announced the addition of a new content offering with its K to 3 Content Package, which includes topics for Math, English, Science, Filipino, and Araling Panlipunan for Kinder, Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3.
Another new content offering for this school year includes Senior High School Specialized Subjects for ABM Strand, composed of 8 subjects such as Business Math and Principles of Marketing. Lastly, Quipper’s ready-made content for Grades 4-10 MEFSA subjects (Math, English, Filipino, Science, Araling Panlipunan) and Grades 11-12 Core Subjects now have an improved version aligned with DepEd’s Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC).
The Q1 topics and materials for all the subjects from the above-mentioned content offerings are now available on Q-Link for schools with Quipper School Premium subscriptions. Q-Link, or Quipper Link, is the main portal for teachers that enables them to assign activities to their classes for the students to access on their devices, such as smartphones and tablets, and easily track their progress online. More subjects and the rest of the Q2-Q4 topics will be released in the coming months, according to the schedule indicated in the curriculum maps per course/subject.
To date, Quipper has an array of content, including over 40,624 videos and more than 2M assignments. It has served 316,239 teachers and over 5M students globally.
To learn more about Quipper Philippines, visit its website at https://www.quipper.com/ph/