Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan

College of Nursing
S.Y. 2020-2021

NCM 112 LECTURE ASSIGNMENT

A Journal Reading:

“Challenges and Opportunities for Higher Education amid the COVID19

Pandemic: The Philippine Context”

Submitted by:
Gerel Angela S. Orcullo
BSN 3 – NC

Submitted to:
Ma’am Gemma V. Panal, RN, MN, LPT
Clinical Instructor

July 11, 2020

S
 COVID-19 stands for coronavirus disease and even referred to as the 2019 novel coronavirus
or ‘2019-nCoV’. The COVID-19 virus is linked to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2
(SARS-CoV) that similarly can be as fatal. The new virus can only be spread in minutes by droplets or
just through contacting surface metals or other products that have been contaminated by a person
with respiratory problems. Even though the elderly and the very young children are easily affected,
nobody is immune to this new infectious disease once it hits the body, so all people are susceptible
to its devastating effects.

Because of the vulnerability even in school settings, thousands of school closures are
implemented the world over due to COVID-19. In the Philippines, the COVID-19 pandemic really
causes a massive impact in higher educational institutions. The country immediately opted for online
learning. The advantage is it can allow for the students to learn at their convenience since it is
needless to attend training centers and universities. This large shift to online instruction does not
need for the face to face interaction between teachers and the students together with their
classmates so there is prevention and control over the spread of the virus. Such preventive measures
can improve environmental hygiene to mitigate the transmission of the infectious disease.
 REACTION

Our lives have been affected by this coronavirus pandemic in so many ways. No one would
have ever predicted this situation in our time to be a historical event. I’ve been trying to find ways to
encourage myself to sit at home and comply as much as possible to city ordinances. I remember the
first day of CDO quarantine was on the first day of our final’s week. I had no idea that those were the
last days I would get to see my classmates and friends. University announcements were on stand-by
and everything basically went so confusing. Some of my professors in other subjects ended up giving
us a higher mark for finals which we were very grateful for. I thought that the community quarantine
was a blessing in disguise because I get to pass my subjects, but later did I realize it was not
something to be taken lightly of.

Online learning is a real challenge not only for students, but also for teachers. Everyone
needs to adapt and adjust to the new 'normal' online system, otherwise this would not end exactly
as the objectives of this method. But if I were to ask, honestly, I wouldn't have preferred online
classes because, given that my attention is shifting too quickly, I wouldn't be paying attention to the
subject matter. I also take into consideration those who do not have enough money to engage in
online learning.

Since we are all new to this flexible online learning system, the outcome is really uncertain.
Although the people who manage this new system are doing their part to make this effective for the
Xavier University community, the final results are yet to come. With this journal article, I was able to
ponder a few insights of the advantages and disadvantages for online learning in the higher
education in the Philippines amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This definitely has a lot of challenges, but
in the long run it may also be an opportunity for emerging technologies to come to light. I look
forward to doing a more research analysis on this topic and probably providing research evidence
because I am a witness and part of this experience.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Toquero, C. M. (2020). Challenges and Opportunities for Higher Education amid the COVID-19
Pandemic: The Philippine Context. Pedagogical Research, 5(4), em0063.
https://doi.org/10.29333/pr/7947