Category: College of Arts & Sciences

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CNU to hold phone interviews

Cebu Normal University (CNU) will conduct phone or online interviews for the first year qualifiers of AY 2020-2021 as the new normal calls for it to prevent the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). 

The phone or online interviews will take place from May 18 – June 12, 2020. The pre-enrollment period will follow afterward from July 27 – August 13, 2020 where qualifiers are asked to submit their requirements in the University. 

Read: [1st Year Qualifiers Schedule of Phone/Online Interview & Pre-enrollment]

Faculty members from different colleges will conduct the interview through the phone. The qualifiers are advised to keep their lines open during the interview schedule.

Those who would like to change or update their mobile numbers are advised to contact the respective college department where they submitted their application or send them an email. The contact information can be found on the results posted at the CNU Public Information Office (PIO) Facebook account.

According to Mr. James Louies Un, Psychology department faculty, the interview is a way to confirm the qualifiers’ intent to enroll and gauge how interested they are in doing so. At the same time, it is a way to give the list of pre-enrollment requirements to the qualifiers.

The interview is also a chance for applicants to meet their future professors. Further, it is an avenue for applicants to decide if they really wish to proceed with their chosen degree program or consider pursuing something else. 

Mr. Louiechi Von Mendoza, Public Governance department faculty, cited possible drawbacks of phone interviews and said that there might be a possibility that the students may not be reached or a loss of signal may take place. 

He said that inaccurate or outdated contact numbers of the qualifiers may be a minor risk too. He also said that the phone interview will likely lessen the chance of really knowing the qualifiers. According to him, there are times when interviewers look into aspects such as the qualifiers’ composure and other nonverbal cues which other degree programs require, and the qualifiers’ eager interest with the limited slots.

“We are left with no [other] option at this time of pandemic,” Mendoza said. 

He said that he is in favor of conducting phone interviews despite its setbacks rather than having no interviews at all. 

The qualifiers and the public are strongly advised to follow the general guidelines when visiting the University as stipulated in the CNU Strategic Actions Amid COVID-19 once the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) is lifted.

Read: [CNU Strategic Actions Amid COVID-19]

(JDF)

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1st Year Qualifiers Schedule of Phone/Online Interview & Pre-enrollment

Attention: First Year Qualifiers for AY 2020-2021

Schedule of phone/online Interview and Pre-enrollment

INTERVIEW SCHEDULE                                                 May 18 – June 12, 2020

Note: For the interview, a faculty interviewer will contact the student qualifier through mobile phone. Qualifiers are then advised to keep their lines (the ones they provided in the application form) open from May 18-June 12.

Updated as of July 1, 2020
Pre-enrolment schedule has been changed from July 6 – 31, 2020. Please keep posted for the details of the enrolment process.

REQUIREMENTS

The following requirements are to be submitted to the University during the pre-enrollment schedule:

  • Medical Certificate (from a government or private physician)
  • Original Senior High School Report card with LRN (learner’s reference number)
  • Original Copy of Certificate of Good Moral Character
  • Original Copy of NSO with receipt
  • Photocopy of NCAE Result (if available)
  • Expanded Long Brown Envelope
  • 2 mailing Ordinary Long White Envelopes
  • 2 pieces 2X2 ID picture (recent photo)
  • Postage Stamps (worth Php 30)
  • Personal Data Sheet
  • Commitment Form

For those qualifiers who have changed their mobile number, please contact:

Medellin Campus
Mobile number: 0965-347-4841 or 0999-107-6105
Email address: medellincampus@cnu.edu.ph

Balamban Campus
Mobile number: 0948-576-8976 or 0946-200-3819
Email address: balambancampus@cnu.edu.ph

College of Teacher Education (CTE)
Mobile number 0995-976-9382 or 0932-639-8715
Email address: mariahermana11@gmail.com

College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)
Mobile number: 0956-599-0256
Email address: cnucas@cnu.edu.ph

College of Nursing (CN)
Mobile number: 0923-295-8851 | 0936-986-7469 |0977-778-4637
Email address: cn@cnu.edu.ph

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Teaching-learning in light of COVID-19, CNU’s challenges and response

The class suspension during the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) brought by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) health crisis has deferred regular classes in schools and has urged educators to explore learning strategies that could better engage students without them being physically present.

According to Dr. Daisy Palompon, Cebu Normal University (CNU) Vice President for Academic Affairs, the COVID-19 health crisis is a circumstance at which alternative ways of learning can be introduced.

Palompon said that the blended learning approach is done in most classes where traditional and online learning is combined; however, in the situation of COVID-19 health crisis, not all teachers and students have full access to the necessary technologies.

Read related article: [Teaching-learning challenges amid COVID-19]

She said that structurally, our region is not ready for full online learning since not all areas have access to internet or even mobile phone signals.

“Online courses require the readiness assessment of the learners which include the availability of ICT gadgets and a strong internet connection.” Palompon said.

“The use of online learning is indeed a very good alternative for face-to-face learning; however, there are competencies which could not be learned through online learning alone,” she added.

She said that there are still courses that require practicum, related learning experience, or On-the-Job Training (OJT) such as the development of the art and skills of teaching and nursing care among others.

It is not new

Palompon said that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have already been encouraged to introduce innovations in learning strategies through seamless learning with other learners around the globe. 

“The principle of which is that expertise may not only be learned in our local HEIs but could also be found in our neighboring countries. And that learning could not only be done by actual classroom experience but can also take place in virtual learning set-ups,” Palompon said.

She said that exploring effective ways of learning for the new generations of learners is encouraged by taking advantage of their interests in the use of technology. Hence, blended learning was introduced such as the use of flipped classrooms. 

“Alternative ways of learning are also introduced to enable more potential students who cannot be present in the physical classroom due to work demands and other household concerns [to continue learning], hence, online learning or distance learning came about,” Palompon said.

“Learning is dynamic and it continues for every individual. CNU has proposed proactive measures for the academic needs of the students,” she added.

According to Palompon, COVID-19 has created a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) situation. Hence, our proactive measures would be as flexible as the nature of the health crisis [itself]. 

Way forward

“The whole academic community will review our course map before the start of the next school year and will be reintegrating the competencies not attained within this semester in related courses by next school year,” Palompon said. 

“Developing an integrated approach for teaching-learning will best be explored with the foremost consideration of using platforms that will not require much internet use or ICT facilities,” she added. (JDF)

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CNU educators help make PPEs

Cebu Normal University (CNU) educators utilized 3D printers in the University to make face shields donated to health workers and medical frontliners in the city.

Ms. Clare Maristela Galon (left) and Mr. Allan Roy Elnar (right) poses a wacky photo wearing the PPEs. (Contributed photo)

Physics teachers Ms. Clare Maristela Galon and Mr. Allan Roy Elnar, both from the Chemistry and Physics Department of Cebu Normal University (CNU) made use of the 3D printers in the school’s Physics laboratory to make frames used in making face shields.

Galon said that they thought of maximizing the two 3D printers in the Physics laboratory to make Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to be donated to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) frontliners.    

Galon said that she and Elnar are assisted by their co-teachers, Mr. Gibson Maglasang and Mr. Carl Patrick Casas, both from the Physics Department, in making the face shields.

She said that they have been using Polylactic Acid (PLA), a formula used to create plastic films, food containers, and the like to print the shield frames. The shield frames were designed using an Auto Computer Aided Design (CAD), a software application for modelling, Galon said. 

Acetates coming from the University’s Supply office were used as the actual face shields. Galon shared that they first utilized rubber bands for the retainers but soon upgraded it into garters with the aid of donations coming from the Innovative CNU Assistance and Relief Effort (iCARE) Donation Center.

Read related article: [iCARE: CNU’s means of saying it cares] 

“However, it really takes time to finish printing,” she said.  

Galon said that it takes approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes to make one shield frame. 

Ms. Clare Maristela Galon waits for the frame to be finished on the 3D printer. (Contributed photo)

She said that it was on the last day of March that she and Elnar had calibrated and troubleshooted the 3D printer. It was on April 3, 2020 that they finally started producing the shield frames, the same day the iCARE Ride started to operate.

Read related article: [CNU transports VSMMC frontliners]

Galon said that the printing of shield frames is still ongoing. They have created about 100 face shields and have already donated 50 to Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC). She said that they are planning to produce another 50 more in a week to give to other medical institutions. She said that they are also eyeing to give face shields to the Rural Health Unit (RHUs).   

“Pero mao lage, time constraint,” Galon said, admitting that the time in making the shield frames is a challenge.

(left to right) Physics teachers Mr. Carl Patrick Casas, Mr. Allan Roy Elnar, Mr. Gibson Maglasang, and Ms. Clare Maristela Galon at the CNU Physics laboratory. (Contributed photo)

The face shields made by the teachers from the Physics department were distributed during the third week of April along with the other PPE’s accumulated through the iCARE Donation Center. 

Galon said that going to CNU to print the shield frames at the Physics laboratory is a sacrifice they are willing to make for the COVID-19 frontliners. (JDF)

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Teaching-learning challenges amid COVID-19

Students have started taking their school requirements at home after classes were suspended, but this arrangement has been extended after the General and Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) were declared, and may even lengthen more if the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) health crisis does not improve.

With this, educators are facing challenges on how to continue their discussions and activities considering the unstable – sometimes unavailable – internet connectivity among them and the students, as well as the suspension of online classes.

Cebu City Mayor Edgar Labella cancelled all classes in all levels for both public and private schools last March 16 to 28, 2020 but afterwards placed Cebu City under a state of General Community Quarantine on March 16, 2020 until April 14, 2020.

Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman J. Prospero De Vera III issued a directive for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to be lenient with school requirements that use online or distance learning after receiving complaints from students who have difficulty accessing the internet.  

Cebu Normal University (CNU) Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) then issued Memorandum Order No. 23, s. 2020, Online Delivery of Classes in Response to COVID-19 and Memorandum Order No. 24, s. 2020, Enhanced Guidelines on Distance/ Online/ Off Class Learning in Response to COVID-19 in compliance to CHED’s directives.

Faculty members were requested to provide assignments that will not require students to go to internet cafés. Teachers were also advised to provide students a grace period of two weeks to one month after classes resume to comply with the activities.

“The signal in our home town is not steady, and sadly we’re not financially stable due to the lockdown. Sustaining load for internet connection could be a burden to my parents,” Ritchelle Lariosa, BA Communication 1 student said in an interview with Ang Suga Publication.

Jomar Sunpayco, a Grade 10 student and ILS Supreme Student Government (SSG) President, said that more than the issue related to the internet connection, it is the mass amount of tasks given by the teachers that are challenging. He said that classes held inside the classroom are still better compared to the home arrangement where tasks and assignments are piled up at the same time. 

“Teaching online is quite challenging than teaching face-to-face,” Jem Cloyd Tanucan, a Integrated Laboratory School (ILS) faculty agreed.

Tanucan said that not all teachers are technologically savvy and not all students have stable internet connection. He said that with these limitations, teachers are called to be understanding rather than imposing.

CNU VPAA then issued Memorandum Order No. 25, s. 2020, Suspension of Online Classes to officially declare that online classes are to be stopped.

Mary Grace Villafor, a faculty from the Biology Department said that her classes will resume after the class suspension. She said that she has not experienced struggles by following the memorandum order that has been released. 

“I sincerely appreciate the compliance of our teachers on the suspension of online classes because in that way, I can directly perceive that they understand our different situations and struggles in complying with the activities/tasks given to us,” Janalyn Nuñez, a Diploma in Professional Education (DPE) student said.  

“Most students are undergoing adjustments in recent events. Some are dealing with stress and anxiety over the uncertainty of things. Some have families that have been heavily impacted by the COVID outbreak where their livelihood and day-to-day subsistence are a problem,” Dr. Eva Marie Gacasan, Chair from the Psychology Department said. 

Gacasan said that she is giving her students time to adjust and cope with the crisis because their well-being is important. She encourages students to feel a sense of control over things by spending their energy in studying the materials that are given to them.

Labella later issued Executive Order No. 064 placing Cebu City under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) effective March 28, 2020 until April 28, 2020 thereby extending the class suspension.

The ECQ may be shortened if revoked by Labella but will depend on the number of COVID-19 positive cases within the city. The public is still advised to stay at their homes with the implementation of ECQ. (JDF)

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SEAMEO INNOTECH Online Course

SEAMEO INNOTECH is offering the online course, TEACH ON: Keeping the Passion Alive to all teachers for FREE.

Successful course completers of TEACH ON will receive an international certificate of participation from SEAMEO INNOTECH as well as 15 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits for the renewal of their license.

The course aims to inspire, rekindle and sustain teacher’s passion for teaching.  This course was designed to be flexible to help ensure the teacher’s success as a learner of the course. It is equivalent to 40 training hours and is self-paced. Teachers have access to the course for two (2) full months from April 2 to June 5, 2020 at any time of the day or night. This provides them more than enough time to complete the 40 training hours equivalent of course work. This also allows them to manage the time and location where they access the course.

For details on how to enroll, please download the step-by-step guide on this link: https://bit.ly/teachon2020howtoenroll.

For answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), please check out https://bit.ly/teachonfaq.

For further questions or concerns, please follow our Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/teachoninnotechmooc.  

FAQs-TEACH-ON-2020-1

TEACH-ON-Information-Note

How-to-Enroll-TEACH-ON-2020-1

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CAS Dean translates knowledge into an act of care

Dr. Milagros Greif, CAS Dean, is concocting the 70% ethyl alcohol with mosquito repellent inside CNU’s Biology laboratory to supply personnel in time of the COVID-19 scare. / Photo by Kim Francis Rodriguez 

Times of crisis call generous people with big hearts to extend their helping hands to those who need it and gladly, one in Cebu Normal University (CNU) has thought of doing the same thing in its community.

In time of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, Dr. Milagros Greif, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and a faculty at the Biology Department in CNU has decided to make a disinfectant alcohol enriched with mosquito repellent last Tuesday, March 17, 2020 which was distributed to the different personnel in the University.   

Ms. Mechelle Canoy, PIO Staff is distributing rations of the 70% ethyl alcohol with mosquito repellent made by Dr. Milagros Greif to the different personnel in the University.
Ms. Mechelle Canoy, PIO Staff is distributing rations of the 70% ethyl alcohol with mosquito repellent made by Dr. Milagros Greif to the different personnel in the University. / Photo by Erven Noval

Greif said that she noticed the urgent need for disinfectant alcohol when the product has been running out in stores because of the COVID-19 scare. It was then that she decided to concoct a disinfectant alcohol inside the biology laboratory to be given to the skeletal force of the University.   

“I applied what I have learned during my PhD when I was requested by my professor to make an alcohol with different concentrations for mosquito preservation in my experiments,” she said.   

Dr. Milagros Greif is harvesting lemon from her garden to be used in her 70% ethyl alcohol with mosquito repellent. (Contributed photo)

Greif said that she used raw materials such as ethanol and natural plant extracts found in her garden (lemon and clavo which are scientifically known as mosquito repellents) to make the alcohol concoction. 

She said that she has decided to add mosquito repellent to the alcohol in order not just to prevent the spread of COVID-19 but also to give protection to people against mosquitoes which are carriers of equally deadly viruses such as dengue.

Greif finished her Masters in Biology specializing in the study of insects. She finished her Doctorate studies as a scholar of the German Academic Exchange Services at the University of Heidelberg in Germany specializing in mosquitoes. She has been well-versed on the subject of mosquitoes after studying it for more than 15 years.

Greif was recently recognized as an outstanding researcher on urban pest control through biotechnology and was awarded nationally as one of the Filipino Faces of Biotechnology given by the Department of Agriculture-Biotechnology Program Office (DA-BPO) last November 26, 2019. (JDF)

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3 Normalites experience being state diplomats in AYIMUN 2020

Three college students from Cebu Normal University (CNU) took part in an international conference that enabled them to hone their diplomatic, public speaking, and debate skills together with young leaders across the globe discussing world issues and the possible ways to solve them.

These students are Margarito Leonard Roy Roldan, Shella Carpina, and William Jefferson Granzon. All of them are first year college students who represented the Philippines at the Asia Youth International Model United Nations (AYIMUN). They are also the first representatives from CNU to participate in AYIMUN.

AYIMUN is an annual conference organized by the International Global Network which started in 2017. AYIMUN is on its fourth year now with the theme Global Diplomacy Amongst the Sovereign Nations. The conference was held on February 15-18, 2020 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

AYIMUN aims to provide an avenue for young individuals who aspire to be future diplomats where participants are given simulation of how United Nations (UN) conduct their general meetings. Delegates coming from different countries across the globe convene to discuss international issues and policies, and try to solve them by drafting and passing resolutions scrutinized in a committee session.

Each delegate is assigned to a specific council and is then asked to make a proposition to a specific topic being given. A moderated caucus or formal debate and an unmoderated caucus or informal debate then take place. Three delegates in each council are then recognized by the Chair for Best Verbal Commendation, Best Delegate, and Best Position Paper.    

Roldan, a BA Public Administration student who represented Croatia under the council of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with a discussion topic “Granting Citizenship to Stateless Persons”, was awarded the Best Verbal Commendation besting 80 delegates.

Carpina, a BA Communication student who major in Broadcast Journalism represented Ukraine under the council of World Health Organization (WHO) with a research discussion on “Addressing Mental Health Issue as Indispensable International Concern”. She was also awarded Best Verbal Commendation from among 184 delegates in WHO.

Granzon, also a BA Communication student who major in Broadcast Journalism represented Botswana under the delegation of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) with the council topic on “International Action to Protect Children from Cyber Bullying”. They were composed of more than 140 delegates in UNICEF.

All three of them applied as independent delegates and sought the assistance of their relatives and friends for funding.

“Ang amo lang ma-represent namo ang school sa AYIMUN (We just wanted to represent CNU in AYUMIN),” Roldan said.

Carpina said that this is her third attempt in joining a Model United Nations (MUN) conference but the first successful one due to financial constraints in the previous two. She applied AYIMUN in June 2019 and was accepted on October 2019.

“The whole experience was unforgettable for me because it has been my childhood dream to represent the country and to travel as well,” Granzon said.

“It is also unforgettable for me because I was able to create bond and friendship with delegates from other countries also,” Granzon added. (JDF)

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Graduate students and educators learn new trends in food processing

Current food processing techniques were learned by Cebu Normal University (CNU) graduate school students and faculty members through a lecture conducted by a volunteer professor from South Korea.

A Lecture on Emerging Trends in Food Processing was held last February 15, 2020 at the Tandang Sora Nursing Hall. It was attended by graduate students who major in Science-related fields and faculty members from the Science Department.  

Dr. Kong Hwan Kim, a retired Professor from Ajou University, Suwon, Korea who is a PhD-holder in Food Engineering was invited as a resource speaker.

He discussed the emerging trends in food processing such as novel thermal and novel non-thermal technologies. He also discussed varied food processing techniques that extend shelf life of products without changing their taste and damaging their nutrient contents.

Samples of novel thermal technologies include microwaves, radiofrequency, and ohmic heating. Applications of novel non-thermal technologies on the other hand include high pressure, pulsed electric fields, ultrasound, induction heating ultraviolet, light pulses, ozone, cold plasma, irradiation, and dense phase carbon dioxide.  

Prof. Kim said that the emerging technology is environmentally friendly through the use of less energy to process food. He said that it definitely has no negative effect on society at all.

The event was organized by the External Affairs and International Linkages (EAIL) Office in partnership with the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), College of Teacher Education (CTE), and the Graduate School Students Organization (GRASSO).

Prof. Kim is a volunteer Professor in CNU who has stayed for more than a month teaching Korean language and his expertise in food engineering.

He has been a Professor for 35 years before retiring five years ago.

Prof. Kim has been to different countries such as Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, Mongolia, Thailand, and Cambodia doing his volunteer service in teaching. (JDF)

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