Category: Happenings

On 11 July 2024, the STOU’s Regional Academic Resources and Community Engagement Center – Ubon Ratchathani in cooperation with The Mall Korat Department Store, held an opening ceremony of the newly established STOU Service Center at B floor of The Mall Korat, where Asst. Prof. Dr. Phanompatt Smitananda, Acting President of STOU, presided over.

The STOU Service Center at The Mall Korat provides services on enrollment, course registration, and providing information and answering questions about studying at STOU. The Center opens daily from 10.00 AM to 6.00 PM.

On 25 June 2024, Ajarn Ajjana Kampanatsanyakorn, Director of Kumutmas School led over 20 Grade 2 students and teachers to visit Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU), where we are delighted that the university can serve as a learning resources for a wider range of people in the community.

In this occasion, Asst. Prof. Dr. Phanompatt Smitananda, Acting President of STOU, welcomed the visitors. The students participated in various awareness-raising activities, including:

1. Making fertilizer from earthworm castings and propagating various plant species at the Urban Agriculture Learning Center of the School of Agriculture and Cooperatives, STOU;

2. Preparing herbal medicines and learning Thai massage techniques at the STOU Thai Traditional Medicine Clinic, School of Health Sciences;

3. Learning about the history of King Rama VII’s reign by visiting the King Prajadhipok and Queen Rambhai Barni Documentation Center at STOU Library;

4. Participating in radio and television program production activities at the Educational Broadcasting Production Center (EBPC) of the Office of Educational Technology, STOU.

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On 15 – 18 June 2024, The administrative board of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU), led by  Asst. Prof. Dr. Phanompatt Smitananda, Acting President of STOU, along with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thanasak Saijampa, Acting Vice-President for Strategy, Planning, Digital Technology, and Human Resources, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Warangkana Chankong, Dean of School of Health Science, attended the Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning (ASAIHL), which was organized in Tokyo, Japan. STOU had joined in the topic of Advances in Information and Communication Technology in Education and joined in 3 sub-topics, which were Technology and the future of healthcare, Technological innovations for education and Data science and informatics.

The International Council on Education for Teaching (ICET) is an international association of policy and decision-makers in education, government and business dedicated to global development through education. It was founded in 1953 by a major cooperative effort of the world’s education community to provide quality education for its citizens. Scholars, administrators, practitioners from universities, colleges, departments and institutes of education as well as members of government ministries, the teaching profession and business leaders interested in educational development are invited to participate in ICET and share their ideas, research and experience with professionals worldwide.

The ICET 65^th World Assembly 2024 was hosted by The University of Minho, Braga City, Portugal between 13-15 June 2024. It focused on the teacher profession and teacher’s education at a time when the global teacher shortage problem was amplified in many contexts. This year, approximately 120 people worldwide were invited to participate in ICET sharing their ideas, research and experience with professionals, and presenting their papers and posters. There were three lecturers from the School of Educational Studies, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University attended the conference: Associate Professor Dr. Ketkanok Urwongse, Associate Prof. Dr. Areerug Mejang and Associate Prof. Dr. Sita Yiemkuntitavorn.

Associate Prof. Dr Sita Yiemkuntitavorm delivered her paper titled “Investigating the Perceptions of Master’s Degree Students in the Online Educational Landscape: A Case Study of an Open University in Thailand”. It was written by Dr.Sita and Assistant Prof. Dr. Wannaprapha Suksawas, the two members of the MOU team from the School of Educational Studies. They also submitted their paper to be selected for publication in the special issue of an academic journal. Besides Dr. Sita was chosen to be a chairperson in one of the Parallel sessions.  

The Office of Educational Technology and the Department of International Affairs organized a workshop on “Challenges and Evolving Learning Design for Sustainable Education” on June 11-14, 2024, at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU). We had the pleasure of Prof. Dr. Michele Notari from the Bern University of Teacher Education (PHBern), Switzerland, as a lecturer for the workshop titled “AI Meets Learning Design Developments in Distance and Blended Learning” held in the 2605-2605/1 meeting room on the 6th floor of Academic Building I at STOU. The Office of Educational Technology welcomed him with a visit to the Educational Broadcasting Production Center (EBPC).

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gan Chanyawudhiwan, Acting Vice-President for Academic Services, Cultural Preservation, and International Affairs presided over the opening session of the workshop “Challenges and Evolving Learning Design for Sustainable Education,” joined by faculty and administrators from the Office of Educational Technology. The workshop was divided into two rounds. The first round was for faculty members, and the other was for staff. The Lecture session focused on learning in an active and collaborative space. The practical training session covered Graasp.org and the application of using open educational resources.

Key takeaways:

• Leveraging collaborative and participatory technologies to enhance learning: Professor Notari highlights the significance of technology in fostering learner engagement and collaboration, leading to better learning outcomes.
• Artificial intelligence for teaching and assessment: The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education can contribute to refining the teaching and assessment process, making it more efficient and effective.
• Open Educational Resources (OER) for educational institutions and universities: Professor Notari promotes the adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER), enabling educational institutions and universities to access high-quality teaching materials at no cost.

Practical training session on Graasp.org and open educational resources:

The training session focused on Graasp.org, an online platform that facilitates the creation, sharing, and discovery of OER. Participants gained hands-on experience in:

• Integrating AI with collaborative and participatory technologies: Participants practiced integrating AI with collaborative and participatory technologies to enhance course design.
• Applying Graasp.org for knowledge sharing and creating learning experiences: Participants explored the use of Graasp.org for knowledge sharing and designing diverse learning experiences.
• Developing AI-bots: Participants experimented with developing AI-bots tailored to address the unique learning needs of diverse learners.

Overall objectives:

The lecture and training session aimed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to:

• Utilize technology to promote effective learning.
• Implement AI in educational settings.
• Access and utilize OER effectively.
• Design effective courses using Graasp.org.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and create diverse learning experiences.
• Develop AI-bots to cater to individual learner needs.

In essence, the lecture and training session emphasized the promotion of effective learning through the strategic use of technology, AI, and OER.

On May 30, 2024, Asst. Prof. Dr. Phanompatt Smitananda, Acting President of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU), presided over a wreath-laying ceremony and delivered a eulogy in honor of His Majesty King Prajadhipok on the occasion of the anniversary of his passing. The ceremony was held at the statue of King Prajadhipok within the Rajamangalaphisek Education Park of STOU.

Representatives from various agencies and organizations in Nonthaburi Province and the vicinity of the university attended the wreath-laying ceremony at the statue of King Prajadhipok. These included:

• Nonthaburi Province, led by Ms. Raweepan Kaewpiangpen, Deputy Governor of Nonthaburi Province
• Nonthaburi Provincial Court
• Provincial Public Prosecution of Nonthaburi
• Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organization
• Pak Kret Municipality
• Pak Kret District
• Pak Kret Police Station
• Department of Land
• Ministry of Digital Economy and Society
• Royal Thai Army Headquarters
• Veterans Organization of Thailand
• King Prajadhipok Institute
• National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC)
• National Telecom Public Company Limited (NT)
• Rajpruek Club

University administrators, faculty members, staff, the STOU Alumni Association, students, and other university units also participated in the ceremony.

On 29 May 2024, Asst. Prof. Dr. Phanompatt Smitananda, Acting President of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU), led a delegation of university administrators and faculty members from the School of Political Science to pay a courtesy call to His Eminence the Sheikhul Islam of Thailand, Sheikh Arun Boonchom. They were welcomed by Mr. Prasit Mahamad, Secretary to the Sheikhul Islam, at the Reception Hall on the 3^rd floor of The Sheikhul Islam office of Thailand, National Islamic Affairs Administrative Center, in Nong Chok, Bangkok.

The STOU delegation congratulated the Sheikhul Islam on his appointment to the position on 24 January 2024. They also discussed opportunities for collaboration in developing education, transferring knowledge and experience, and promoting and developing national education, particularly STOU’s distance learning system, which provides equal educational opportunities to all.

The Sheikhul Islam holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from STOU’s School of Political Science.

On 27 May 2024, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University Regional Academic Resources and Community Engagement Center – Nonthaburi (STOU Nonthaburi), in collaboration with Bang Kwang Central Prison, organized a project to promote learning for STOU students for the academic year 2024. The event was held at the Special Education Service Center, Bang Kwang Central Prison, in Suan Yai, Muang, Nonthaburi.

The event was graced by the presence of Mr. Dusit Chuchai, Director of the Inmate Control Division, who presided over the opening ceremony. Asst. Prof. Dr. Phanompatt Smitananda, Acting President of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, delivered an opening address and gave a speech of advice to the students.

Other distinguished guests included:

Asst. Prof. Dr. Khajornsak Sitthi, Director of the Office of Educational Services, who welcomed the students participating in the project and provided information about the university’s educational services.

Asst. Prof. Witoon Wong-A-Mart, Director of the Department of Corporate Communications, who provided information about contacting the university.

Mr. Tamphong Wongchan, Acting Director of STOU Nonthaburi, who gave a presentation on the educational services provided by the university for inmates.