Flexible learning and other

innovative learning modalities

BY : Dr. Rex Capsile

According to Dr. Capsile (2020) There is a need to explore other creative learning modalities to
continue the schooling of students in basic and tertiary education who are differently situated in terms
of time, speed, and place during this span of COVID-19 pandemic when the conventional in-person or
face-to-face mode of learning is not permitted. Because of so many factors that affect the learning
process in flexible learning, such as teacher training to manage online and offline classes; availability
of information technology (IT) tools in schools, teachers, and students; curriculum; syllabi to be used;
and internet access of schools and learners, quality education can be questioned.In this transition or
transformation to the new standard or new modalities of the teaching-learning process, everyone's
patience and cooperation are needed.

The proper design and implementation of services, classes, and learning interventions that address
these types of conditions in the modern normal is known as flexible learning. Digital and non-digital
technologies are used in flexible learning. Flexible learning enables you to work through your timeline.
It also employs distance learning delivery strategies.

Flexible learning's key goal is to give students as much versatility as possible in terms of learning
material, schedules, access, and creative evaluation, using both digital and non-digital resources.
Flexible learning aims to decongest classrooms or reduce the number of students who enter the
classroom at the same time during this pandemic era. This is done to encourage physical distance and
to protect the students' health.

Schools are free to choose the most viable method of flexible learning and teaching. This will be
determined by their capabilities and current situation. They can use short message service (SMS),
electronic mail (email), chat, instant messaging, and other forms of communication that are easy,
relevant, and accessible to ensure personalized, accurate, reliable, and timely mentoring and feedback
mechanisms in teacher-learner engagement and communication.

In order to incorporate flexible learning methods, schools should use a variety of learning modalities,
such as written modules, audiotapes, videotapes, CDs, storage devices, and so on. In areas where
internet access is restricted or inaccessible, they can switch to television or radio broadcasting
networks.

Schools can use non-traditional evaluation systems, such as research papers, video recorded student
reports or laboratory experiments, project-based or task-based assessment, and the use of assessment
rubrics, among other items, to evaluate student performance.
Flexible learning, which is done through distance learning in the United States, incorporates online
discussion groups, viewable tutorials, film, and simulations to improve professional learning. Distance
learning incorporates teaching approaches with the use of technology to help students develop the skills
and expertise they need in their field of study.

Distance education, like flexible learning, is a teaching approach in which the learner and the teacher
are physically isolated. It made use of a variety of technology including audio, video, computers, and
the internet.

Online education, which uses computers and the Internet as the distribution system and delivers at least
80% of the course material online, is the most popular form of distance education today. Distance
learning courses are used in a variety of fields in the United States, including health care, industry, and
engineering.

n the United States, distance learning is not a modern method of instruction. Its origins can be traced all
the way back to the 18th century. It has run with communication or information technology
advancement in the last 300 hundred years.