Day: August 28, 2020

Message from Professor Ian Holliday, Vice-President & Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching & Learning)

Dear colleagues

Just a few additional technical matters.

Panopto, Zoom and Teams

We’ve made some basic ‘how to use’ videos:

– How to use Panopto: https://hku.to/UsePanopto

– How to use Zoom: https://hku.to/UseZoom

– How to use Teams: https://hku.to/UseTeams

Zoom vs Teams

Until recently, it’s been easier to use Zoom for teaching because it’s integrated with HKU Moodle. Now, however, Teams is also fully integrated with Moodle. Two buttons are shown one on top of the other in Moodle. So both Zoom and Teams can readily be used by teachers. The Zoom vs Teams choice needs to be made by teachers and then made known to students within a course. It’s not up to students to make this choice. An updated Zoom vs Teams comparison and useful videos are here: https://tl.hku.hk/2020/08/online-teaching-through-zoom-or-microsoft-teams/.

Dual-mode teaching

For lectures involving both f2f and online teaching, this is a simple video (making reference to Zoom, though the points also apply to Teams): https://tl.hku.hk/elearningblog/?pid=30618. One way to conduct an interactive tutorial with both f2f and online elements is to ask all online participants to mute themselves and contribute to the discussion only through the ‘chat’ function. The teacher or moderator can then voice out points made in the chatroom and blend them into the discussion.

Support

All ten Faculties have been allocated funding to recruit additional TAs to help with online learning. Your Faculty Office will have details. The TeLi WhatsApp number remains as before: 6437 8034. Instant technical support during lessons is available 08:00-20:00 Mon-Fri and 08:00-13:00 Sat via the LES team at 3917 5122 (Main Campus) or 3917 8888 (Centennial Campus). These phone numbers are also displayed in classrooms.

Best wishes, Ian

Professor Ian Holliday
Vice-President (Teaching and Learning)
The University of Hong Kong

Message from Professor Ian Holliday, Vice-President & Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching & Learning)

Dear colleagues and students

I’m writing to follow up on my July 29 email regarding teaching arrangements for Semester 1 (S1), 2020-21, and to brief you on some related matters.

S1 teaching arrangements

Since the public health situation in Hong Kong is currently improving, we will make a partial return to face-to-face (f2f) teaching from September 22. Based on the information available to us now, this is how we expect S1 to look for most UG and TPG programmes (for exceptions, see the section below):

– Sept 1-21: all courses will be delivered online only.

– Sept 22 – Nov 30: all courses with either ‘f2f’ or ‘mixed’ as the delivery mode (view under ‘course attributes’ in SIS) will provide an f2f option.

– S1 as a whole: all courses will be available online throughout S1, and every student will have the option of completing S1 online. No student will be required to return to campus for f2f classes in S1.

– Final exams: all final exams will take place online.

Exceptions

These are the exceptions to our general guidelines:

– Some courses involve hands-on engagement and will have to be, or will be better if they can be, taken f2f either in whole or in part. Faculties will issue separate guidance to their students about any required hands-on teaching.

– Some exams will be held in-person either because there are special requirements (eg professional programmes), or because all the students taking a course are in Hong Kong and it is safe for them to attend an in-person exam. Again, Faculties will issue separate guidance to their students about this.

Add/drop period

As in Semester 2 earlier this year, we are providing students with a ‘self-enrol’ function on HKU Moodle to allow courses to be audited during the add/drop period. This function will be available only during the add/drop period. Once that period ends, all self-enrolments will be deleted unless the student has formally enrolled in the course through the course registration system.

Webcams

In 2020-21, students taking online classes are required to turn on their webcams when the teacher asks them to do so. (Virtual backgrounds are of course permissible.) Students with special needs or circumstances may apply to their teachers for exemption on a case-by-case basis. If it is not possible for a teacher and student to reach agreement, the case may be referred to the relevant Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) or, in the case of Common Core courses, to the Director.

Campus health and hygiene

HKU has devised robust protocols to promote campus health and hygiene (https://covid19.hku.hk/). Everyone coming to campus needs to be aware of and respect these protocols. Throughout S1, the University will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and make any necessary adjustments. Please always stay vigilant and make personal and group health your top priority.

Looking ahead

Both globally and locally, the public health situation remains volatile and unpredictable. In the coming weeks and months, it is quite possible that we will face renewed pandemic challenges. Throughout S1, we will keep the public health situation under close review. Should there be a deterioration, we may need to suspend all f2f teaching at short notice, and switch back to online delivery for all courses. In making your plans for the semester, please bear this in mind.

Best wishes for S1 – Ian

Professor Ian Holliday
Vice-President (Teaching and Learning)
The University of Hong Kong