ITS Orientations for New Staff

Message from Information Technology Services

8619731692_2382cf2b21_cIn order to provide new University staff with useful information about the wide range of services offered by Information Technology Services (ITS), we will have a series of orientation activities running between late August and mid September:

  1. ITS Orientation Seminars
  2. ITS Orientation Trails
  3. Exhibition Booths

1. ITS Orientation Seminars

New colleagues are encouraged to join an ITS Orientation seminar on one of the following dates:

August 29, 2013 (Thu) 10:30 am – 12:45 pm
August 30, 2013 (Fri) 10:30 am – 12:45 pm
September 4, 2013 (Wed) 2:30 pm – 4:35 pm

Each seminar will include a one-hour “Introduction to Information Technology Services (ITS)” which gives an overview of the comprehensive range of central IT and network services offered by ITS.  In addition to the introductory session, a short presentation will also be given by Dr Iain Doherty about the role of the EPSU in supporting teachers who want to innovate in their courses through the use of e-learning.  Colleagues can also attend the 3 parallel sessions through which we will introduce:

– Moodle Learning Management System
– Panopto Lecture Capture System
– Research supporting environment and High Performance Computing (HPC) facilities

Please register NOW and check out the seminar details at http://www.its.hku.hk/documentation/handbook/its-guide/2013-2014/orientation-seminars-staff#schedule.

2. ITS Orientation Trails

In addition to the Orientation seminar, Orientation Trails will also be arranged during the first week of the semester (September 2-6, 2013) at the Learning Commons and centrally timetabled classrooms.  The trails will familiarize new University members with the University’s learning environments and give practical demonstrations on the use of the IT/AV facilities. Classroom facilities at the Centennial Campus and Main Campus will be introduced during the orientation trails for staff.

Chi Wah Learning Commons at 11:30 am and 2:30 pm on September 2-6, 2013  (Assembly point: Main Entrance, Ground Floor by the water feature)

The Oval on 1/F, Knowles Building at 2:30 pm on September 2-6, 2013 (Assembly point: Ground Floor reception area, Knowles Building)

Just walk-in and no registration is required for joining the trails.

3. Exhibition Booths

A joint exhibition together with the University Libraries will be held in the first two weeks of the first semester.

During the exhibition, there will be display boards showing the core IT services, in particular the support for teaching and learning, and research, in the University.  Staff will be there during designated timeslots to answer questions.

Details of the exhibition are tabulated below:

G/F, Main Library, September 2 (12:00 noon) – September 9 (5:00 pm)
G/F, Chi Wah Learning Commons, September 2 (12:00 noon) – September 13 (5:00 pm)

All new University members are welcome to join the above orientation activities.

EPSU Seminar: Google Applications for Education (GAFE): Giving Students an e-learning Space

30jul2013_s-268x300Many colleagues will know that Moodle is the University’s Learning Management System of choice. Moodle is a potentially powerful tool for teachers to create rich, rewarding and engaging e-learning experiences. However, Moodle does not do so quite well when we begin to think of students as authors and architects of their learning.

In this seminar we will present Google Applications for Education (GAFE) and discuss the potential of GAFE for giving students spaces engage in learning on their terms and in an environment over which they have control. The seminar will consist of two parts. In part one Iain Doherty will provide an overview of GAFE and present a theoretical perspective on the importance of students having control over their learning. In part two Nicky Ng will provide practical examples of how GAFE might be used in teaching and learning.

Speakers: Dr. Iain Doherty and Mr. Nicky Ng, e-learning Pedagogical Support Unit
Date: 30 July 2013 (Tuesday)
Time: 12:45 – 2:00pm
Venue: Room 321, Run Run Shaw Building, HKU

Online Registration

Add to your Google Calendar

For information on registration, please contact:
Ms Ivy Lai, CETL
Tel: 3917 8996
Email: laichun2@hku.hk

e-learning News from EPSU – July 2013

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

feature-elearning-2013julyMany of you will have seen the University announcement concerning The University of Hong Kong joining edX. The e-learning Pedagogical Support Unit has now liaise with key representatives from edX. Consultations have also taken place with a number of the professors who will be involved in the MOOC initiative.  The EPSU will keep colleagues updated about the MOOC initiative through this newsletter and through regular presentations. It is anticipated that the first of these presentations will take place in August.

e-learning Pedagogical Support Unit Presentations

In June the EPSU presented a lunchtime seminar on student engagement. In connection with the question of student engagement EPSU staff attended a Google Summit on Google Applications for Education (GAFE). We are keen to share our experiences with colleagues – particularly in terms of what GAFE might mean for student learning – and we will be presenting a lunchtime seminar on GAFE in early August.

Technology Enhanced Feedback

We are pleased to announce that the EPSU in conjunction with ITS and Library has been awarded a TDG to implement GradeMark. GradeMark works in combination with Turnitin to provide a timesaving solution for marking and providing feedback to students. Details about GradeMark can be found at http://turnitin.com/en_us/features/grademark. GradeMark should be implemented for Semester One 2013 and the TDG team will be evaluating its use across the university.

Have Your Say With Moodle

The University e-learning Enhancement Task Force (EETF) has continued to manage the process around requests to enhance Moodle so that the system meets the specific needs of Faculties. If you want to see changes to Moodle you can make a request by self-enrolling in the EETF Moodle Site. To self-enroll follow the following procedure:

  1. Go to http://moodle.hku.hk
  2. Click on “Courses” in the navigation menu on the left hand side of the page.
  3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and type “elearning” in the search box.
  4. The search results will include “EETF e-learning Enhancement Task Force [2012]“
  5. Click on the course title.
  6. You will be asked to log in to the HKU Portal.
  7. You can then self-enroll in the course.

The Moodle Users Group

The Moodle Users Group meets most Thursdays at lunchtime for workshops on teaching practice using the Moodle LMS, including blended learning activity development. Come by and bring your laptop to discuss issues you are facing and share solutions you have found to work in your teaching. Click here for the latest workshop schedule.

e-learning seminars by the Faculty of Education and CITE

The Faculty of Education in conjunction with CITE hosts seminars by speakers on a range of e-learning topics, with a focus on innovative use of technology to support teaching and learning. Click here for the latest seminar schedule.

Update on Panopto Lecture Capture System

All lecture theatres and about half of the classrooms in the Centennial Campus, and all classrooms inside the Oval on the first floor of the Knowles Building, are equipped with ceiling-mounted cameras and wireless microphones for use with Panopto.

Moodle 2.4.4+ is Being Tested

ITS plans to upgrade the production Moodle system from 2.3.1 to 2.4.4 in the summer. e-learning Enhancement Task Force (EETF) is testing the Moodle 2.4.4 new features and functionalities on a testing platform.  The new version comes with a collection of system fixes and improvements (http://docs.moodle.org/dev/Moodle_2.4.4_release_notes).

Panopto and Moodle Hands-on Training Courses for Staff

The newly introduced Panopto and Moodle hands-on training courses conducted by IT Services in Jul are now open for registration. Registration and details can be found at http://moodle-support.hku.hk/cms/?q=training/cc-schedule/Jul2013

Instructional Videos for CC Teachers & Tutors: Supporting Student Learning through Feedback and Assessment

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Instructional videos for Common Core teachers/tutors outlining how technology can be used to aid feedback are now available on our CC teacher support page. The series comprises the following videos:

  • Introduction: Supporting Student Learning through Feedback & Assessment
  • 1: Five Quick Feedback Tips
  • 2: Moodle Assignment – Feedback Basics
  • 3: Peer Feedback & Reflection
  • 4: Giving Feedback Using Moodle Rubric and Turnitin
  • 5: Giving Feedback by Annotating PDFs

The e-learning Pedagogical Support Unit will be organizing workshops to support teachers in their use of technology to support the feedback process. For any further inquiries about giving feedback and e-learning in general, please contact Darren from the EPSU on dharbutt @ hku.hk

CETL Seminar: Using Mobile Phones for Interactive Teaching and Learning and for Assessment – iClass Experience Sharing

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Facilitators:
Prof. Ying Chan, Director, Journalism and Media Studies Centre
Dr. Wilton Fok, Director, e-Learning Technology Development Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Dr. Cecilia Chan, Assistant Professor, Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning

Date: 17 June, 2013 (Mon)
Time: 12:30pm – 2:00pm
Venue: Room 321, Run Run Shaw Building, HKU

Introduction
iClass is an interactive mobile learning system supported by the University Teaching Development Grant. Teachers and students can use their iPhones, iPads, Android smartphones and laptops, or any mobile devices to share ideas, conduct assessment and analyze the result in a class in real-time. It had been used in some courses in the Faculty of Engineering, Social Science, Medicine and Dentistry. iClass has shown effectiveness in engaging and providing opportunities for students to students; teachers to students interactions. In this workshop, Prof. Ying Chan will share the good practice of using iClass in her common core course for in-class assessment and interactive discussion. Dr. Wilton Fok will introduce the new features of iClass and demonstrate its operation.

In the workshop, you will learn:

  • How to share graphics and drawings in class?
  • How to share text based ideas and organized in different dimensions?
  • How to create different types of quiz: MC, fill-in-the-blank, matching and numerical answer?
  • How to use the built-in statistic tools to analyze the performance in question level, student level and class level?
  • How to collect and share audio? E.g. for oral presentation or debate.

Please bring your own devices: any laptop/smartphone/tablet PC run in iOS, Android/ Window.

REGISTRATION

For information on registration, please contact:
Ms Ivy Lai , CETL
Phone: 3917 8996; Email: laichun2@hku.hk.

e-learning News from EPSU – June 2013

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Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

Many of you will have seen the University announcement concerning The University of Hong Kong joining edX. The e-learning Pedagogical Support Unit will play a central role in this initiative through working with subject matter experts to develop pedagogically sound online learning experiences. The EPSU Director presented on MOOCs in May. If you would like to know more about MOOCs you can download the presentation.

e-learning Pedagogical Support Unit Presentations

In May the EPSU presented at the CITE Symposium and hosted a panel discussion at the CITE Symposium. The panel comprised of University teachers with whom the EPSU has worked on projects. The EPSU also presented at the University’s Mobile Learning Festival.  Finally, the EPSU Director delivered a Keynote speech at the iMOOT, a 3 day online Moodle conference. On June 14th (Friday), 2013, the EPSU will be presenting a seminar entitled ‘Engaging Our Students: A Matter of Motivation and Active Learning‘. Visit the EPSU website for details of EPSU events.

Technology Enhanced Assessment and Feedback

The EPSU is working with a Common Core Working Party looking at the use of technologies to enhance the assessment and feedback process. As part of this process the EPSU will be producing a series of short videos (2-3 minutes each) on using various technologies in the assessment and feedback process. These full set of videos will be available on the EPSU YouTube Channel. Visit our channel if you would like to view current EPSU videos on customizing Moodle, Moodle Groups and quick feedback tips.

Have Your Say With Moodle

The University e-learning Enhancement Task Force (EETF) has continued to manage the process around requests to enhance Moodle so that the system meets the specific needs of Faculties. If you want to see changes to Moodle you can make a request by self-enrolling in the EETF Moodle Site. To self-enroll follow the following procedure:

  1. Go to http://moodle.hku.hk
  2. Click on “Courses” in the navigation menu on the left hand side of the page.
  3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and type “elearning” in the search box.
  4. The search results will include “EETF e-learning Enhancement Task Force [2012]“
  5. Click on the course title.
  6. You will be asked to log in to the HKU Portal.
  7. You can then self-enroll in the course.

The Moodle Users Group

The Moodle Users Group meets most Thursdays at lunchtime for workshops on teaching practice using the Moodle LMS, including blended learning activity development. Come by and bring your laptop to discuss issues you are facing and share solutions you have found to work in your teaching. Click here for the latest workshop schedule.

e-learning seminars by the Faculty of Education and CITE

The Faculty of Education in conjunction with CITE hosts seminars by speakers on a range of e-learning topics, with a focus on innovative use of technology to support teaching and learning. Click here for the latest seminar schedule.

Student Learning Experience Questionnaire (SLEQ)

Hyper-links for accessing the HKU Student Learning Experience Questionnaire for the UG students and Taught Postgraduate Experience Questionnaire for the TPG students have been put under the relevant students’ “My e-learning” page of their HKU Portal system. Eligible students can now easily access the online SLEQ system via these links.

Panopto and Moodle Hands-on Training Courses for Staff

The newly introduced Panopto and Moodle hands-on training courses conducted by IT Services in April are now open for registration. Registration and details can be found at http://moodle-support.hku.hk/cms/?q=training/cc-schedule/Jun2013

EPSU Seminar: Engaging Our Students: A Matter of Motivation and Active Learning

14jun2013_smallOrganized by e-learning Pedagogical Support Unit, CETL

As an ideal teachers want their students to be engaged. However, it is not straightforwardly obvious what we mean by engagement. Colloquially we might say that students are engaged when they are attentive, active, involved and committed to their learning. However, a colloquial understanding of engagement does not provide a theoretical framework for developing engaging learning environments. In this seminar Dr. Iain Doherty will present a theoretical framework for understanding the component parts of student engagement. Reference will be made to who technologies can be leveraged to engage students.

Speaker
Dr. Iain Doherty, Director e-learning Pedagogical Support Unit, Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning
Date: 14 June 2013 (Friday)
Time: 12:45 – 2:00pm
Venue: Room 321, Run Run Shaw Building, HKU

For information on registration, please contact:
Ms Ivy Lai, CETL
Tel: 3917 8996
Email: laichun2@hku.hk

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HKU joins Harvard and MIT led global online education platform

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Message from Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) Professor Amy B M Tsui

Dear colleagues, students, alumni and friends,

Many of you will know how important it is for HKU to be both internationally engaged and at the forefront of innovations in teaching and learning.

As part of our continuing endeavours in this area, I am pleased to announce that the University has joined edX, a non-profit online education platform founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which provides a platform for massive open online courses (MOOCs). HKU is among the few Asian universities which have become new members of the “X universities”.

MOOCs, through the use of a quality and effective learning platform – which includes web environments, interactive video, online discussion, social/cohort interaction etc. to support teaching and learning – access to knowledge would be enhanced and a large group of people could be benefited.

MOOCs are an educational innovation that will bring about a seismic change in the higher education landscape that has yet to be understood. The opportunity to witness and contribute to this change cannot be missed.

At this stage, HKU will provide a series of HKUx courses that are specially designed for edX, including “vernacular heritage in Asia”, “law, economy and society”, “Chinese and Western philosophy” and “infectious disease and public health”. These courses will be taught by professors of Architecture, Economics, Philosophy and Public Health.

The University will continue to call on professors with a track record of excellence in teaching to offer HKUx courses so that not only HKU students but also students from around the world can benefit from our online programmes.

HKU is delighted to be part of this consortium of world class universities and I look forward to seeing how the HKU community can work with the consortium to fully leverage technology to make quality higher education more accessible to all.

Professor Amy B M Tsui
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)

Note: More details can be found at
http://www.hku.hk/press/press-releases/detail/9721.html
http://www.hku.hk/press/all/
and https://www.edx.org/

e-learning News from EPSU – May 2013

feature-elearningLast month (April) the e-learning Pedagogical Support Unit delivered five professional learning events: a half day workshop on creating engaging learning experiences; 2 seminars on the Evaluation of the Flipped Classroom at the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine; one seminar by Dr. Weiyuan Zhang and Ms. Jeanne Lam from HKU SPACE; and one seminar by Mr. Darren Harbutt on using Moodle for assessment activities.

Further events are planned for this month including a seminar on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS). Details of upcoming events are available at http://epsu.cetl.hku.hk/.

If you would like to see a seminar or presentation on a particular topic – either delivered centrally or within your Faculty – please contact Dr. Iain Doherty, idoherty@hku.hk.

CITE Research Symposium 2013

The EPSU will be well represented at the CITE 2013 Research Symposium to be held on Friday 10 and Saturday 11May. The Symposium provides a great opportunity to hear about e-learning developments from across Hong Kong at both a secondary and tertiary level. It is also a great opportunity to network with e-learning enthusiasts. Details of the symposium can be found athttp://citers2013.cite.hku.hk/en/index.htm

Teaching Development Grants

The e-learning Pedagogical Support Unit has acted in an advisory role for a number of successful Teaching Development Grants that have focused on e-learning Developments. e-learning is one of foci of the Teaching Development Grants this year so if you have an idea in mind please get in touch. Contact Dr. Iain Doherty, idoherty@hku.hk.

Have Your Say With Moodle

The University e-learning Enhancement Task Force (EETF) has continued to manage the process around requests to enhance Moodle so that the system meets the specific needs of Faculties. If you want to see changes to Moodle you can make a request by self-enrolling in the EETF Moodle Site. To self-enroll follow the following procedure:

  1. Go to http://moodle.hku.hk
  2. Click on “Courses” in the navigation menu on the left hand side of the page.
  3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and type “elearning” in the search box.
  4. The search results will include “EETF e-learning Enhancement Task Force [2012]“
  5. Click on the course title.
  6. You will be asked to log in to the HKU Portal.
  7. You can then self-enroll in the course.

The Moodle Users Group

The Moodle Users Group meets most Thursdays at lunchtime for workshops on teaching practice using the Moodle LMS, including blended learning activity development. Come by and bring your laptop to discuss issues you are facing and share solutions you have found to work in your teaching. Click here for the latest workshop schedule.

e-learning seminars by the Faculty of Education and CITE

The Faculty of Education in conjunction with CITE hosts seminars by speakers on a range of e-learning topics, with a focus on innovative use of technology to support teaching and learning. Click here for the latest seminar schedule.

Accessing SETL in Moodle

The first year students can now access the online Student Evaluation of Teaching and Learning (SETL) questionnaire via any of their Moodle courses. Once first year students have logged in Moodle, they can follow the following path to access the SETL: Moodle system -> Moodle course -> Block ‘SETL’ (located at the right handed side).

Panopto and Moodle Hands-on Training Courses for Staff

The newly introduced Panopto and Moodle hands-on training courses conducted by IT Services in April are now open for registration. Registration and details can be found at http://moodle-support.hku.hk/cms/?q=training/cc-schedule/May2013

Introduction to a Lecture Capture Solution in Classrooms based on Panopto

Message from Information Technology Services

homepage-slide-1The University has adopted the Panopto system as the platform for recording lectures and events for subsequent viewing by students over the network.  All lecture theatres and about half of the classrooms in the Centennial Campus have been equipped with video cameras for recording of lectures, presentations, screencasts, events, and meetings. The system is seamlessly integrated with the Moodle Learning Management System. Teachers may simply login Panopto using their HKU Portal UID/PIN to start the recording; and on completion, the recorded lectures will then be uploaded and associated with the relevant Moodle courses automatically for viewing by students.

In March 2013, with the help of Panopto International Company, three training sessions on the use of the Panopto platform were conducted on campus, one for ITS staff supporting the platform and the other two for teachers and teaching support staff. Sixteen teachers and 56 teaching support staff attended the training.

Pilot Operation

We put the Panopto system into pilot operation in April 2013, to enable interested teachers to try out this new service and at the same time allow us to gather some real-life usage experience and feedback for fine-tuning the service before the large scale deployment in the coming academic year. Some staff in the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Science have already recorded some video clips using Panopto. We welcome more teachers to participate in this pilot run.

Panopto Training and Useful Resources

ITS has designed the following two training courses in support of Panopto:

The two courses were offered the first time on April 10, 2013; and were attended by 27 staff in total. They will be offered regularly starting from May 2013.

We are gradually building up a library of resources on the use of Panopto in the e-learning support website (http://moodle-support.hku.hk/). The following are now available:

(a) Panopto User Guides for Teachers:

(http://moodle-support.hku.hk/cms/?q=teachers/panoptouserguides)

  • Install and configure Panopto recorder
  • Record video in classroom/theatre
  • Edit Panopto video
  • Share video with external users
  • Duplicate a Panopto video

(b) FAQs on Panopto:

(http://moodle-support.hku.hk/cms/?q=teachers/panopto_faq)

  • General FAQs
  • FAQ on Recordings
  • FAQ on Video Editing
  • FAQs on Broadcast

If you are interested in participating in the Panopto pilot run or having questions on the use of Panopto, please send an email to e-learningTeam@hku.hk.

Kenneth Siu
Tel: 3917 8708
Email: sky168@hku.hk