UP System Can Learn Much From Coronavirus Lockdown – If UP People Are Paying Digital Attention!

University of the Philippines Los Baños, UPLB, is my alma mater, so I’m always interested in things UPLB, especially now that the new PH Agriculture under Secretary of Agriculture William Dar/Manong Willie needs extra digital instruction, research & extension supports.

In the Facebook account, “University of the Philippines Los Baños;” the above Advisory appeared 16 March; on 17 March, even online classes were suspended. That was the intelligent thing to do.

Actually, the UP System instructing concerned units to teach online during the lockdown was a kneejerk reaction. The whole System is as prepared as a turtle running a race with a rabbit!

The online teaching idea must have come from those who are not digital nomads themselves. This is a self-taught digital whiz speaking.

I UP alumnus am not surprised. I know that by example:

UP teaches Protesting, not Programming.
UP teaches Finger-Pointing, not PowerPointing.
UP teaches Word Protesting, not Word Processing.
UP teaches Image Unmake, not Image Remake.
UP teaches Creative Writing but encourages Critical Writing more!

It’s time UP learned its lessons – digitally. With the lockdown, today UP has all the time in the world!

Learning should not stop; this time, the professors should be the ones learning! This is/was a UPLB professor speaking.

So, since I am a UPLB graduate, I ask: “How do you teach agriculture online? I answer: “Teacher, teach thyself!”

First, look at the top image above. Correction: You do not “deliver” classes – you “deliver” a sermon but you either “hold” or “conduct” classes. Lower image is my shot off my PC setup – Subtle is the way to go!

Subtle: In digital teaching, it should be “Learner’s Choice.” That is the first thing a teacher should learn!

So how do you teach, for instance: 

Transplanting rice?

First, you collect images of seedlings being transplanted, by hand and by device; with and without specified planting distances such as 20 cm by 20 cm. “Without” is the actual practice of Filipino transplanters, what I call the Bahay-Kubo spacing – seedlings go where they may, and any number per hill!

Teaching lesson: You compare images with direct seeding of rice – no transplanting.

You want to teach your students to think for themselves.

And you explain, again with images, how valuable that you follow square planting and stick only a single seedling on each corner of each square marked on the wet or moist ricefield. If you don’t know why yourself, go surf the Web!

And how many online class meetings will you teach “Transplanting Rice”? Don’t count! Here are my session suggestions:

(1) Compare the processes of transplanting and direct seeding of rice. Use plenty of images.

(2) Show images of a field transplanted with square distances of seedlings.

(3) Show closeups of single seedlings standing on their specific corners, square to each other.

(4) Show roots of single seedling transplants and Bahay-Kubo (variable) spacings. You yourself will be surprised!

(5) Show harvests: From single-seedling fields vs from Bahay-Kubo fields.

Done! Above all, don’t forget to? Enjoy your teaching!@517