In an online forum with different industries called #ONEwithYOU, PLDT Enterprise discussed the most practical solutions as a response to the effects of COVID-19 pandemic. As the virus is highly contagious, governments and health authorities advise people to limit contact. As a consequence, companies have now resorted to doing communications online.

Companies have utilized technology to ensure business continuity to keep the economy running.

The education sector also has shifted to virtual classrooms to avoid any disruption in their lessons. Digital learning has now been pushed into the mainstream, with schools and students trying to get used to new platforms for distance learning, including video conferencing and learning management systems.

PLDT Enterprise inks deal with internet providers for use of int’l leased circuit

“In the PLDT Group, we are now taking a very serious look at the educational sector. What we’ve looked at is that the learning management systems that the schools have implemented so far, there is a potential for us as a telco to actually ameliorate e-learning,” said Jovy Hernandez, ePLDT president and CEO and SVP and head for PLDT and Smart Enterprise Business Groups during PLDT’s Tech Talk On Air webinar event last month.

Digital learning

PLDT Enterprise, which has been supporting the education sector to leverage technology to enhance learning systems, further sees an uptake on digital learning as the pandemic continues to affect lives and the future of students.

“This closure forced most schools to consider online learning as the next best option to reach students remotely,” said Cherylle Ramos, president of Philippine eLearning Society (PeLS) and director of Educational Technology Center of the University of Sto. Tomas. “The pandemic has shifted the way we educate people but still it led surprisingly to innovations [such as in teaching practices.”

As the need is slowly becoming more apparent with the postponement of school opening, PLDT Enterprise has been exploring the possibilities of collaborations with providers of learning management systems in order to enhance the e-learning experience in the country.

Fiber optic

“Advances in technology to make education more widely accessible will enable our students to continue to learn and do so in new but interesting ways,” said Hernandez. “With the many strides in online learning tools, educational facilities have many options to choose from to make sure that they can leverage the most appropriate technologies for their students’ needs.”

De La Salle Lipa is one of the educational institutions that has been taking advantage of technology in the midst of the health crisis. The school has been onboard PLDT’s infrastructure having installed 15 kilometers of fiber optic to power its classrooms.

“Our students, faculty, and staff that are currently working from home and on online learning mode from home could fully utilize what we have placed,” said Bro. Dante Jose Amisola, President and Chancellor of De La Salle Lipa.