Dear Deans, Instructors, and Students,

With due respect, please accept my grateful greetings.

Thank you for your cooperation regarding online classes. This mode of learning may be a bit difficult for others but I think it is something we have to accept and live with since there might be various instances in the future when we need to really do online classes again. Besides, there may be some of you who could not attend classes in school for whatever reasons. Online classes will surely be handy for such times.

There will be no classes during the Holy Week. I hope everyone uses this week fruitfully.  It’s time for quality bonding with your family, do self-reflection, and this can be a good time for others to finish all their backlogs.

This is the 3^rd week of our Final Term and with the use of various online platforms, we are on point as regards our syllabi. Graduating will push though as scheduled, provided candidates for graduation submit all requirements. As for some laboratory classes that cannot be done via virtual mode, they will be done in school after the lifting of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ.). Likewise, the Dean of Med Tech, Mr. Jimmu Mediavillo, has been advised to coordinate with the officers and members of PASMET to solve the concern regarding the hospital duties of interns.

For those who have summer classes, please get in touch with your Deans. Summer classes will be conducted as scheduled. If ECQ will not be lifted, summer classes will be done online, too. We will work with Finance how you could pay online.

We are trying to make online learning less stressful through streamlined projects and extended deadlines.  As agreed upon in the SGEN meetings of officers, instructors are practicing leniency in terms of submission of outputs as deemed realistic to make online learning less stressful.

I would like to share the following online learning tips from Dr. Felma Tria:

Online Learning Tips

1.     Make a daily schedule and establish routines. 

2.     Identify a comfortable, quiet space in your home (preferably with the strongest network signal) where you can work effectively and successfully.

3.     Prepare and set-up the device at least 10-15 minutes before the scheduled online class.

4.     If internet connection is limited, here are steps to save data:

To change your video resolution when using Meet on your computer:

1.     In a web browser, open https://meet.google.com/.

2.     Click Settings  and select Network.

3.     Choose a setting you want to change: 

         Send resolution—The image quality from your device that others see.

         Receive resolution—The image quality that you see from other participants.

4.     Click Done.

Send resolution (maximum)

         High Definition (720p)—(Available on computers with a quad-core CPU or higher) Uses more data, but your camera will send a better quality picture. 

         Standard definition (360p)—Uses less data, but your camera will send a lower quality picture.

Receive resolution (maximum)

         High Definition (720p)—(Available on computers with a quad-core CPU or higher) Uses more data, but you see a higher quality picture.

         Standard definition (360p)—Uses less data, but you see a lower quality picture.

         Standard definition (360p) – single feed—To save more data, the other participants’ thumbnails turn off.

5.     Check your email, MOODLE, group chat, etc. for lessons you missed if you were not able to attend your online class.

6.     Complete academic tasks/work with integrity and honesty. Use the official SGEN email account all the time.

7.     Do your best to meet commitments and deadlines. 

8.     Follow online etiquette and be a responsible digital citizen.

9.     Inform your Teacher, Coordinator, or Dean if you have any concerns as soon as possible so that support may be provided. 

 10.     Mentoring and consultation sessions are ongoing.  Please just reach out to your Mentor, Coordinator, or Dean so that the session(s) that you need may be scheduled.

May I take this opportunity to appeal to our kind-hearted students and instructors to lend a hand to our less fortunate students such as the “working students” and those whose parents belong to the “No work, no pay” scheme – who do not have enough budget to buy “loads” in order to have data and attend our online classes.

For the SSLC employees who are on “No Work; No Pay”, scheme, I started with aPhP1000.00 for our Maintenance person.

This is one situation when the Student Leaders can do something for our financially disadvantaged students.

Dear Students and Instructors, only a few more days, and classes will be done with. Let us practice the C in our CARES which is Character. It is during these times when we need to exercise our tenacity to take on the challenge. We are the WIZARDS and we can do anything to do something to respond positively to challenges. Move on WIZARDS!

Let’s fight together the problems caused by COVID19!

Very sincerely yours,

Dr. Remedios D. Lagera