A hybrid online and on-site class being conducted in Mapúa MCM’s state-of-the-art FLUX Classroom.
In an effort to make education more inclusive, engaging, and far-reaching, Mapúa Malayan Colleges Mindanao (Mapúa MCM) has continued to offer its Mapúa MCM FLUX (Flexible Learning Ubiquitous eXperience) course format. An instructional approach that combines face-to-face (F2F) and online learning, Mapúa MCM FLUX enables students with different learning styles, capabilities, or who reside in remote areas to pursue their dream of completing their education. The course format allows college students to attend FLUX classes based on their learning preferences. College students may opt to join any of the three modalities: onsite or F2F, online synchronous, and online asynchronous, to help them learn more effectively.
High school students, who are required to attend blended classes on campus, may also benefit from the FLUX approach. Since their on-site classes are held in technologically advanced FLUX classrooms, their peers who are indisposed or unable to join onsite for valid reasons can still attend or review their lessons remotely through FLUX.
A product of the institution’s quest to continuously provide an adaptive and boundless learning environment for all learners, FLUX empowers students to steer their education at their own pace and learning style.
“Mapúa MCM decided to still offer FLUX classes even after the health crisis since the future of education should not be limited to the four walls of a classroom. With the FLUX modality, learning can happen anytime, anywhere. The FLUX modality also caters to those students who want to experience Mapúa MCM’s world-class education but cannot physically be present at the campus,” said the Head of Mapúa MCM’s Innovations in Digital Environments and Learning Solutions Office (IDEaLS), Mr. Josef Mika-el del Corro.
The instructional approach is focused on being student centric. With this, college-level students are given the latitude to change learning modalities daily or on a course-schedule basis. For instance, a student who has four different FLUX-based morning classes can choose to attend his first class online synchronously, then participate on-site for the second and third classes, and join his fourth class online asynchronously.
The FLUX Classroom during a faculty demonstration.
At the same time, students who miss a class can easily access their course on the Learning Management System and review the learning materials, resources, and recorded lecture they missed. Additionally, students need not worry about enrolling separately in the FLUX format since the respective College Departments determine the subjects available on each modality.
While learners may encounter challenges such as accessibility, internet connectivity, and authentic engagement, the institution helps them overcome these by ensuring the quality of the lessons and courses deployed on FLUX. Faculty members and various support teams are also extensively trained to manage the various modalities.
To make sessions seamless, students can use any device that has a decent camera and a stable internet connection to join any of the online classes.
Mr. Josef Mika-el del Corro shared that incoming FLUX students should expect a diverse and collaborative class using various modalities. “If you join a FLUX class onsite, expect to have online classmates participating as well. If you are joining online synchronously, expect to be updated from time to time and to join the class activities via MS Teams,” added Mr. Del Corro.
He also advised that students must be aware of their preferred learning style so they can thrive in each course. This kind of self-awareness will help learners choose the appropriate modality for every subject and encourage them to maximize all the available educational tools under the instructional system.
Novel teaching methodologies like FLUX pave the way for learning beyond the classroom.
To learn more, visit https://mcm.edu.ph/.
