Mapúa launches streaming platform for education

by Patricia Mirasol, Producer

Mapúa University launched on May 15 Mapúa X, its streaming platform for education.

The platform offers courses in subjects including technology, engineering, and creative arts, with video lectures, interactive simulations, and real-time feedback embedded in each.

Mapúa X caters to both traditional students and lifelong learners, according to university president Dodjie S. Maestrecampo.

“Workplaces are searching for agile, entrepreneurial professionals who can quickly adapt and pivot in a very competitive and dynamic economy,” he said in a May 16 press statement.

“To meet that demand, we had to move beyond traditional learning methods and adopt new approaches that will better prepare students for these volatile work environments,” Mr. Maestrecampo said.

The university partnered with Anthology, an education technology company, to build the platform.

“Our collaboration with Anthology allows us to use a training and development manager approach built within a robust LMS [learning management system] platform,” Mr. Maestrecampo said. This enables students to remotely self-enroll in courses and earn credentials, he added.

Accessibility features have been added to the platform, according to Ericson D. Dimaunahan, director of the university’s Center for Teaching and Learning – Digital.

“Content can be converted into the desired file format,” he said at the May 15 event. “For example, our text formats can be converted to e-Braille [a formatted document that can be read on an electronic Braille machine] … We have transcription for video content too.”

Academic learning is a given within a campus, “but also important is a student’s holistic wellbeing and growth,” said Samuel Tang, Anthology’s country manager for the Philippines.

“What we want to focus on right now is the area of teaching and learning,” he said at the same event. “I think the concept of lifelong learning, and of providing continuing education in a bite-sized manner, where courses can be stacked, [is a part of that].”