Emerging Communication Technologies: Cutting Across Nation-State Boundaries

The Internet and recent advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have revolutionized the way people communicate.  This shift and transformation in communication also affects the way students in schools communicate.  In the past, communication between and among teachers and students happen only inside the classroom. With the phenomenal growth of e-learning and online education in the last decade, students are not bound by borders of nation-states anymore when it comes to learning. Modern ICTs have facilitated the process of globalization and have connected the Philippines to the rest of the world despite the fact that many of its citizens are still considered poor by global standards. The transnational flow of people brought new types of learners who are able to interact beyond the brick and mortar classrooms. This study takes a look at how the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) as part of the National University of the Philippines is able to transform the current socio-cultural milieu by giving opportunities to the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to pursue graduate education. The remittances of OFWs represent a large chunk in the country’s gross domestic product or GDP thus the important role they play in the economy of the Philippines cannot be ignored. This paper examines the views and experiences of OFWs who are enrolled in the following selected graduate programs of UPOU: Master of Environment and Natural Resources Management (MENRM), Master of Arts in Nursing program, and ASEAN Graduate Studies Program. This paper will also examine how globalization and modern ICT have transformed the socio-cultural milieu of the OFW community. Data from this study will be analyzed qualitatively. Results of this study will provide a critical insight on how the emerging mode of learning were able  to transform the socio-cultural and socio-economic conditions of OFWs.