Project Description
By Gary Fung (MLC) and Chris Fulton (CTLE)
A summer series of faculty events titled “Tech-Enhanced Teaching and Learning Meet-ups: Enhancing In-Class and Online Learning” concluded on 2 September with a panel conversation on teaching in-class with live transmission. Over 110 colleagues participated in this meet-up, which was held in a classroom and streamed online.
A number of important points and concerns were raised by panelists and participants.
- Well-organized course materials on UMMoodle can help students online and in-class stay on track
- Pre-class tasks followed up by in-class activities can help students keep engaged
- Technical issues may arise, and a problem-solving approach is helpful
- Always check with your students online: Can you hear me clearly? Can you see me?
- Hybrid teaching may be more common in the future
Interaction and feedback from students indicate that students can feel alienated in an online course, however, Dr. Gary Fung (MLC) has worked closely with students and found that students often find it hard to listen to long lectures. By restructuring lessons with pre-class tasks on UMMoodle and in-class exercises, e.g. polls and think-share-pair discussions, we can keep students focused and increase their sense of community.
To create community or build understanding in a partially online environment, it is important to have course materials, assignments or handouts well-organized and readily available on UMMoodle. Similarly, a participant online asked how instructors would handle a quiz in a large class when students were online and in-class. One possible teaching approach is to announce the quiz on UMMoodle in advance so all students could take the quiz at the same time.
During a panel discussion with Prof. Katrine Wong (FAH/DCTLE), Prof. Victoria Lei (FAH), Prof. Rostam Neuwirth (FLL), and Dr. Gary Fung (MLC), participants shared examples of best practices. One participant mentioned that video recordings which show an instructor discussing key concepts and issues, can help build one’s teaching presence and provide timely information in advance of a class. The panel advised posting videos and content on UMMoodle for students to see before each class.
While the ICTO Help Desk is here to help instructors, technical problems with video conferencing equipment are inevitable. One suggestion was to prepare by reviewing a guide to Zoom in the classroom from ICTO, and above all to be prepared to troubleshoot and solve technical problems that arise. After starting a Zoom meeting, it is a good idea to ask students who are online if they can hear the audio from classroom.
Poor sound quality is one common problem students might have, especially when wearing a mask in a classroom. So, instead of using a built-in microphone on a laptop, an instructor can connect their wireless bluetooth earphones to their laptop. Often, wireless earphones have good microphones, which are positioned close to one’s mouth, and should capture better sound quality.
In this concluding meet-up, Dr. Chris Fulton shared a debatable view that the pandemic has rapidly advanced technological developments in societies. Arguably, the dramatic switch to online and hybrid modes of teaching is a development that offers an indication of what the provision of higher education might look like in the future.
Links to videos and resources from this series are below.
22 July: Supporting Learning with Narrated PPT slides (Part 1)
Prof. Emily Wang, ICMS
Prof. Katrine Wong, FAH/DCTLE
Dr. Chris Fulton, CTLE
Mr. Miguel Costa, FST
29 July: Supporting Learning with Narrated PPT Slides (Part 2)
Prof. Bingpu Zhou, IAMPE
Dr. Alice Lee, FAH/ELC
Ms. Janet-Beth Randall, FAH/ELC
5 August: Building Community with UMMoodle Discussion Forums
Prof. Thomas Lok, FST
Dr. Chris Fulton, CTLE
12 August: Assessment with UMMoodle Quizzes and Academic Honesty
Prof. Todd Sandel, FSS
Dr. Chris Fulton, CTLE
19 August: Checking Students’ Understanding with Polls
Prof. Mingming Zhou, FED
Dr. Chris Fulton, CTLE
26 August: Producing Educational Video: Best Practice and Instructional Tips Sharing
Prof. Katrine Wong, FAH/DCTLE
Prof. Hannah Zhou, FST
Ms. Stephanie Bowles, FAH
Mr. Fernando Wong, CTLE
2 September: Panel Conversation: Looking Ahead to Teaching In-Class with Live Transmission and Recording
Prof. Katrine Wong, FAH/DCTLE
Prof. Victoria Lei, FAH
Prof. Rostam Neuwirth, FLL
Dr. Chris Fulton, CTLE
Dr. Gary Fung, MLC