The Lighthouse Diary Entry #25: On Shifts and Pivots

One of the many things this pandemic robbed me of doing is the joy and the experience of leisurely visits to parks, museums and libraries. Going out to walk among the trees, plants and works of art is a source of relaxation, a time to be and an opportunity to step back from work and worries. It is a dredging ritual for the brain and the soul delights in this form of nourishment. An hour or two in a museum or library, an unhurried walk in the park and a snack and coffee afterwards with family or a friend are life’s simple pleasures.

This has turned into a dream that I can only long for while locked in since March 2020. It is great effort to look at dollops of horse poop and to believe that a pony is in the other room.

COVID-19 is real and we all have to deal with the cards.

Thankfully, local museums and libraries have been very creative at bringing their services closer to people through the internet, the media and technology.

The Ayala Museum’s YouTube Channels boasts of well-made videos on Philippine Culture and the Arts. Go visit and watch the videos! These videos are not very long. In 5 minutes, I get to enjoy a talk or presentation on the journey of the global Filipino from past to present. The production team made use of their in-house contents namely, their existing dioramas, ceramic exhibits, books and photographs. Amazing what a well written script, tech wizardry and a platform to share these videos can do! It is a gift that can be slowly opened especially made for the viewer suffering from Cabin fever.

Its sister library, the Filipinas Heritage Library (FHL) also has a YouTube Channel. The highlight for me is FHL’s Muni-Muni podcasts because it zeroes in on Original Pilipino Music. There are more videos to peruse in the channel and just like Ayala Museum, it follows the same principle of re-creating content into new formats of media. The people behind these projects know what to do with information, knowledge and the technology they tinker with.

At the CCP in 2018

Another cultural agency that has taken a brave leap to use technology and create content online is the Cultural Center of the Philippines. They have digitized the new edition of the Encyclopedia of Philippine Art at a very affordable subscription rate. Two ebooks have been launched for free and numerous theatre productions, podcasts of audio drama and online concerts are ongoing on their Facebook Page. If you miss any of these performances, head on to their YouTube Channel. Should you wish to get updates on events, follow them on Twitter or Instagram.

What can we learn from this - apart from being a consumers who miss face to face engagement with people and the arts? We need to understand media and technology to work for us during these trying times and find ways to manage content, art and the creative industries in new and innovative means. We will make terrible mistakes. Yet, we will learn amazing things too, thus we will survive.

As a teacher, I now ask myself how I can model this pivoting to new learning environments. Is the curriculum flexible enough to allow me to integrate topics and skills to and create a learning object from the contents I have at my disposal? What technology am I confident at tinkering with and mastering at a short span of time? Who can help me whip up instructional materials for my online lessons?

As a school librarian, I recognize the unending work to collect, curate and organize content to support teaching and learning. With the appropriate technology and the support of school leadership, I am confident that we can make strides, though slow but meaningful. Somehow, work from home becomes a little bit bearable.