AN associate professor from the Open University of the University of the Philippines received the silver medal for the Best Practice Award during the 36th Annual Conference of the Asian Association of Open Universities recently held in Istanbul, Turkey.

Dr. Roberto Figueroa, Jr., program director for Immersive Open Pedagogies, was recognized for his paper “iBook Plus: An Interactive Book-Based Approach in Open and Distance e-Learning.”

UPOU said the paper looks into the potential of iBook Plus, a novel interactive book-based approach to enrich online courses and encourage meaningful student interactions.

“The iBook Plus approach utilizes the interactive book format to deliver engaging content by integrating text, multimedia elements, and interactive activities seamlessly,” it said.

“His study found that after analyzing data across four trimesters where it was implemented, findings suggest that the iBook Plus approach effectively engaged learners and increased their learning satisfaction,” it added.

Themed “The Future of Open Universities in the Age of Digitalized Higher Education,” AAOU 2023 brought together educators, administrators, and researchers to discuss the evolving landscape of open education in the digital era.

It served as a platform to examine the role of open universities in the context of digitalized higher education.