Introduction

Introduction

A learning hub is a flexible learning environment that is supplied with all required components to teach, engage, and entertain the students. Learning hubs can host formal or informal education processes, and encourage the collaboration of students and teachers. This also aimed to support voluntary the teachers and students with their technology needs and worked to create sustainable environment on the use of information and communications technology.

With the advent of modern technology, life has become sophisticated, as everything can be accessed through one’s fingertips. The development of mobile phones, tablets, intelligent gadgets, and the like also fostered human-like machines. Moreover, the internet also paved away the global connection between countries which encompasses space and time.

The lingering progress dominated the area of business, entertainment, lifestyle, and, most significantly, education. Education now comes in small flat devices, navigating beyond the walls of the classrooms. In addition, the study of Courville (2011) states that, as it should, technology has been fulfilling an ever-increasing role in both traditional and other technology-dependent educational purposes. It breaks the financial and geographical gaps in learning, brings problem and skill-based learning, and syncs to the academic theories relative to education despite its newly developed.

IT Hubs or Information Technology hub is one among the exceptional innovation of technology applied in education. It is a platform where technology, business, innovation, and entrepreneurship are nurtured by building pools of native and evolving talent and footloose IT professionals (Inuwa, 2023). Putting the lens on education, IT hubs allow learners to manipulate information and technology devices and explore their potentialities. Learners here do not only become mere listeners or viewers but also demonstrators themselves.

Schools, as learning zone, should keep up with the demands of time as, just like time; learners also change and evolve. The competencies required of the students also traverse to what is needed in the community, economy, and everything in between generations. It helps learners keep up with global standards and makes them functional citizens of the country.

In the context of the Philippines, the integration of technology, in general, has been one of the sector’s burdens since there is a lot to consider, such the digital tools, internet access, poor internet connectivity, lack of student engagement, and even the lack of education of the parents to support their learners (Academia, 2022). Moreover, the same study by Academia also revealed that other than the concern in integration, the Department of Education (DepEd) and the government, in general, had to deliberately make decisions sensitive to the local school’s readiness and the safety in the light of COVID-19 pandemic.

Though they had a fair share of struggle, private institutions in the country are way different paces compared to public schools. Institutions as such as at least engaged in technology integration in their curriculum; thus, the adjustment demanded by the pandemic did not come hard-sought.

Pulling the strings together, the advent of technology, the status quo of the country, and the threats set by the pandemic all require a significant shift in the academe’s paradigm. From the seemingly improved educational plans, there is more to do—a lot. IT hubs are a great leap toward the unraveled waters of the future. It does not only answer the need for education but also responds to the setup in the post-pandemic era or New Normal.

After all, these hubs exist to foster human-centered development processes in ways not directly linked to employment or market-based products. Instead, this focuses on aspects of well-being and agency that people have reason to value through virtual and onsite collaborative spaces (Jimenez & Zheng, 2017). It is a one-method solution to the underlying dilemma that society faces today.

Though everything is in its pilot test, the academe can never excuse itself from journeying to the uncertain and changing time. Though it requires excessive resources, deliberate planning of authorities, skills upgrading of educators, and the list go on, it shouldn’t be exhausting. Because just like a perennial concept in education, one learns when one experiences regardless of the outcome.

         According to Development Academy of the Philippines, 2020, a learning hub is a learning facility that aims to provide learners with a safe and conducive space for learning; has the necessary tools, devices, and equipment. The hub is not intended as a substitute for formal education in schools but is meant to be supplementary to the current distance learning set-up.

The school IT hub is very important for it provides the teachers and students easily access to information; the one stop shop IT hub that shares information about the school, interconnected sites that links to most accessed links of teachers in accessing their portals and LIS in updating the students enrollment status, curriculum guides, the SLMs, videos and other materials that can be used in teaching to have a more engaging lessons. Moreover, students could easily access the available SLMs, videos and games for a more interactive and engaging way of learning. They can also communicate for their needs and clarifications especially when requesting their school documents through chats rooms links on the sites and send their inquiries through filling in the forms shared Google forms as form of communications.

Statement of the Problem

         The researcher questions this study addressed were as follows:

1. What are the student’s perspectives on the use of school IT hub?

2. What are the teacher’s perspectives on the use are of school It hub?

3. Is there any significant impact on the use of school IT hub to student’s learning?

4. Is there any significant impact on the use of school IT hub to teachers in the teaching-learning process?