Transitioning from Online to F2F Classes this Pandemic

The move of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in coordination with the different Colleges and State Universities in the Philippines like Benguet State University (BSU) to transition from online to face to face classes in tertiary education this pandemic is prevalent. With the higher population of the country being now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the opening of the economy, tourism, classes particularly tertiary education is very evident. It is hoped that face to face classes this pandemic will merit more gains than pains.

Transitioning from online to face to face classes amidst this pandemic has differences - positive and negative. Hopefully, the former outweighs the latter. For one, online classes need strong/good internet connectivity while face to face classes entail adherence to COVID-19 protocols of wearing face masks, social distancing, disinfecting with alcohol every now and then or washing of hands and temperature reading.

As to online classes, they could be at home, anywhere or any open space with strong internet connectivity but face to face (limited or full) classes should be inside the classrooms in school. Since the home or any open space/place with internet connectivity is the medium for online platform classes, there will be lesser COVID-19 exposure thus, decreases the COVID-19 cases while on the other hand since the school is the setting for face to face classes, this leads to more increased COVID-19 exposure of students and teachers that consequently results into more cases of COVID-19.

Further, the COVID-19 pandemic, brought about Blended Learning wherein uploading of Modular Tasks/ Activities is done for students’’ tasks/activities/outputs and submission is also done online like Google Classroom, email or other online platforms. Moreover, the online platform for the conduct of collegiate classes is applied during the height of the pandemic- Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) with no developed vaccines yet as antidote to the pandemic. However, with the advent of the COVID-19 massive vaccination for all ages, the full time online platform for basic and tertiary education eventually transitioned from limited (August, 2022) then from limited to full face to face classes (November, 2022) to complement the opening of the economy, business, tourism, sports, entertainment/ amusement and other endeavors in order to learn to live and cope with the pandemic.

Truly and truth- fully, the transition from online to face to face classes drew varied reactions from different walks of life, raised many eyebrows, proved a force to wreckon with and a reality all educators have to face and accept most specially as present day tertiary educators. Indeed, face to face classes is a part of moving forward-in the new normal in the academic sphere amidst this pandemic.