About this course
“If history is our guide, we can assume that the battle between the intellect and will of the human species and the extraordinary adaptability of microbes will be never-ending.” (1)
Despite all the remarkable technological breakthroughs that we have made over the past few decades, the threat from infectious diseases has significantly accelerated. In this course, we will learn why this is the case by looking at the fundamental scientific principles underlying epidemics and the public health actions behind their prevention and control in the 21st century.
This course covers the following four topics:
Origins of novel pathogens;
Analysis of the spread of infectious diseases;
Medical and public health countermeasures to prevent and control epidemics; and
Panel discussions involving leading public health experts with deep frontline experiences to share their views on risk communication, crisis management, ethics and public trust in the context of infectious disease control.
In addition to the original introductory sessions on epidemics, we revamped the course by adding:
new panel discussions with world-leading experts; and
supplementary modules on next generation informatics for combating epidemics.
You will learn:
the origins, spread and control of infectious disease epidemics;
the importance of effective communication about epidemics; and
key contemporary issues relating to epidemics from a global perspective.
Who is this class for
This is an introductory course suitable for all learners, with no prerequisite required.
Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for more updates!
—-
(1) Fauci AS, Touchette NA, Folkers GK. Emerging Infectious Diseases: a 10-Year Perspective from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Emerg Infect Dis 2005 Apr; 11(4):519-25.
TELI’s partners and friends gathered on June 8, 2018 to celebrate the grand opening of the Teaching Innovation Production Studio (TIPS) – a professional filming studio for all HKU teachers and students!
Being the first of its kind in HKU, TIPS is a high-quality environment for multimedia production such as filming or sound recording. In this studio, you will enjoy professional multimedia support and advisory services from TELI in creating your very own videos. Compared to TELI’s previous temporary filming studio, the TIPS has been equipped with new hardwares (such as ARRI lighting) and upgraded softwares.
A professional filming studio for all HKU teachers and students!
THANK YOU for celebrating the opening with us!
The entire studio is a large-scale reconfiguration of learning space under the Learning Environment Services (LES), located near the Chi Wah Learning Commons. The completion of this project would not be possible without the efforts and kind help from the President’s Office, LES, Estates Office, Common Core Office, Faculty of Social Sciences to name a few.
Caption: Professor Ian Holliday (Vice-President (Teaching & Learning)) and Professor Ricky Kwok, (Associate Vice-President (Teaching & Learning)) unveil the TIPS door plaque
There are two types of rooms in TIPS: 1. The Main Studio and 2. DIY workstations. TELI’s Multimedia team will offer support in setting up and filming.
Main Studio: Green Screen Filming with Professional Support from TELI
Various modes of filming and recording can be done in our full-fledged main studio, equipped with green screen wall, ARRI lights and professional acoustic treatment set-up which minimizes the noise level.
Our Main Studio
DIY Workstations – Your Very Own Creative Space DIY workstation for self-service digital media capturing
Two small but well-equipped rooms provide all you would need for Do-It-Yourself (DIY) filming. With the full range of self-service digital media capturing devices available, users can create online lectures, flipped classroom activities, blended learning materials and tutorial videos all by themselves. Using the Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), customized background can be previewed and inserted as a teacher films in front of a green screen wall.
The DIY workstations offer private workspaces where you can enjoy the fun of creating videos all by yourself.
Studio Tour
If you are eager to explore the facilities of TIPS, please contact enquiry@teli.hku.hk for arrangement of studio tours.
Have you ever questioned where in the world do we live, and what lies beyond the visible world? These have been intriguing questions for humans since 5000 years ago, for which our ancestors actively sought answers and went on expeditions into deep space, just to answer the existential question: where’s our place in the Universe?
On June 2, 2018, Professor Sun Kwok held a public lecture in the Hong Kong Space Museum’s Lecture Theatre, attracting a crowd of over a hundred. Students, professionals, families and astronomy enthusiasts flocked to listen to Professor Kwok speak about how man made sense of our surrounding environment, and the development of a scientific mind throughout this process.
Professor Kwok illustrated how our ancestors’ practical needs of planning for agriculture prompted them to closely observe the environment, turning their attention to the skies to examine how stars moved. From observations, humans began to imagine, hypothesize and correlate phenomena, eventually coming up with theories to explain how the celestial sky works. Slight discrepancies of actual observations with proposed theories sent them thinking further, resulting in more accurate explanations of the nature being born, and in the long course of history, the development of the scientific way of thinking and rational mind. Man deconstructed and constructed knowledge and built up a legacy of what we have today – a chest full of rich astronomical understanding to our disposal. Understanding how we have come this far is equally important as knowing what our current comprehension of the Universe is.
Towards the end of the lecture, Professor Kwok engaged in a lively exchange of questions and answers with the audience, where visitors raised curious questions about specific details of the talk. Furthermore, visitors had an enjoyable time trying out the Armillary sphere app, co-developed by HKU TELI and Professor Kwok. With the aid of animated instructional videos and the guidance of TELI’s staff, visitors learnt how to operate this digitized ancient instrument. The app is powerful enough to predict the Sun’s motion on any given altitude, and some visitors even tried to work out the sunrise and sunset times on their birthdays!
Many also took the opportunity to learn about the upcoming free MOOC course Our Place in the Universe, launching on June 12, 2018 on EdX. If you missed the public lecture, here is your chance to embark on a journey with us through the stars and into history!
Where are we? How did we come to realization of where we are? Our curiosity of our environment sparked countless questions, to which our ancestors observed, experimented, thought and calculated. It has brought us to deep ventures into the night sky and beyond. This is a tale of us, trying to finding our Place in the Universe.
Sneak Peek 1
Sneak Peek 2
Sneak Peek 3
Sneak Peek 4
Sneak Peek 5
The MOOC Our Place in the Universe goes online on June 12, 2018! Professor Sun Kwok, world-renowned astronomer and former Dean of Science of The University of Hong Kong, will take you on a 4-week journey through the stars, illustrating how our quest for understanding of the Universe over 5 millennia drove the development of rational thinking, and how of our perception of self and the world evolved through discoveries in astronomy.
What you will learn from this course:
How the scientific method was developed and its application
Qualitative and quantitative everyday astronomical phenomena and patterns and how such understanding has evolved over history
How to assess the effects of social environments on intellectual development through historical examples
The role of science in transforming our philosophical thinking
The Universe in a Nutshell… no, in an App.
To spice up the learning experience, you will learn with a free app specifically designed for exploring the Universe, on top of informative videos and engaging animations.
(Antonio Santucci’s Armillary Sphere, Museo Galileo)
Have you seen this fancy instrument in museums? This is an Armillary Sphere: for many millennia, our curious ancestors tracked the movement of the Sun, Moon and stars, and came up with patterns and theories to explain celestial movements. The Armillary Sphere crystallizes their astronomical discoveries and is a powerful instrument that can predict the time of Sunrise on any given day and on any altitude on Earth, and much more!
The Armillary Sphere is richly packed with astronomical information, waiting for you to explore and unlock by learning how to read it. It now has a digital incarnation in form of an app developed by Professor Kwok and TELI: download and learn how to use it by enrolling in the course!
Professor Kwok actively promotes learning about the beauty of our Universe to everyone. In addition to creating this MOOC, Professor Kwok has also delivered many lectures and public talks. One of which is his public lecture in the Hong Kong Space Museum on June 2, 2018. Our Place in the Universe is also available in form of a book, if you cannot wait for the course to start learning about the Universe, you can also check out his book on Amazon!
郭新：探索無涯宇宙 尋找生命起源[Translated: Sun Kwok: Exploring the boundless Universe and finding the origin of life] (The Stand News, Oct 27, 2017)
港大太空研究實驗室總監郭新宇宙知識改變教育思維[Translated: Chair Professor of Space Science and Director of Laboratory for Space Research Sun Kwok: Knowledge of the Universe changes educational thinking] (Hong Kong Economic Journal, Oct 27, 2017)
Assessment drives learning, and authentic assessment is key to producing better, deeper and more sustainable learning, said Professor Rick Glofcheski in the Authentic Assessment Symposium: The Transformation of Learning in Higher Education on May 3, 2018. In this Symposium, practitioners from various disciplines in HKU shared how they transform students’ learning experience with authentic assessments and technology.
Group photo of speakers, panel discussant and student representatives.
(From left to right) Back row: Professor Rick Glofcheski, Dr. Michael Botelho, Dr. Tim Wotherspoon, Mr. John Guest, Professor David Carless, Dr. Pamela Lee; Middle row: Mr. David Lee, Ms. Alice Lee, Ms. Xiaotian Zhang, Ms. Tess Hogue, Ms. Vincci Mak, Ms. Tanya Kempston, Ms. Andrea Qi; Front row: Ms. Sharon Kit-Yee Yuen, Mr. Santos Ting San Cheung, Mr. Anson Hui, Mr. Jun Seongjun Ko
What is Authentic Assessment?
An authentic assessment is one that requires real-world applications of learning. It often engages students in solving complex and ill-defined problems while taking into account the broad social context.
One of the fundamental goals of university education is to get students prepared for the challenges in the real world, and one way to facilitate their learning is to design authentic assessment tasks. As pointed out by Professor Glofcheski in his introduction, “students’ learning habits are to a large degree driven by how they will be assessed”, assessments are therefore vital in motivating students to make meaningful connections between doctrinal learning and the real world. This is where authenticity comes into play in assessment design.
Compared to conventional assessment, “[authentic assessment] produces better learning, deeper learning, and more sustainable learning”, said Professor Glofcheski.
The Use of Technology in Authentic Assessment Practices
Authentic assessment practices have been adopted across different disciplines in HKU, some of which are enabled by technology. Here are some examples:
Engaging Law Students with Reflective Media Diary
Professor Glofcheski engages his students with authentic news stories. In his tort law class, students are expected to identify and analyze news stories from a legal perspective, and create their own online news diary.
Unlike conventional examinations which often consists of hypothetical, artificial, and sometimes exaggerated problems, the reflective media diary engages students with real-world incidents. More importantly, it pushes them to exercise their own judgement in evaluating whether a news story is relevant to the subject matter. News writers normally do not use words such as “tort” or “negligence”, “this mimics how it will be in the real-world,” said Professor Glofcheski.
Facilitating Learning with Video Exemplars of Key Skills Performances in Dentistry
Dr. Michael Botelho from the Faculty of Dentistry facilitates learning and prepares students for assessment with videos. He video-recorded authentic, in-the-moment, evaluations of individual students’ performance and uploaded the videos to Moodle, an online learning management system (LMS), for all students to view. This gives students a clear idea about how they are going to be assessed and what clinical skills they are expected to develop, hence “opening the black box of stressful exams”. Since the videos are available online, students can review them multiple times before the actual assessment.
Assessing Medical Students Real-time with E-portfolio
Dr. Pamela Lee from the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine conducts real-time assessment of her students when they are practicing with real patients on-site. She observes students’ performance in the ward, an authentic workplace, and assess their practical competences on an e-portfolio system. This is an effective way to evaluate students’ competencies in practising in the real world.
(Left) Dr. Lee assessing students’ competence in examining real patients in the ward with an iPad.
(Right) The e-portfolio system for real-time assessment.
Facilitating Peer Assessment in Teaching Drama
“In authentic assessment, feedback is very important,” said Ms. Tanya Kempston, instructor of the Common Core Course CCHU9059 Making and Appreciating Drama. In her class, students perform drama in groups and assess their peers using an online tool called TEAMMATES.
In order to “make the assessment a more authentic experience for our students”, Ms. Kempston believes that assessment should not be unidirectional and carried out only by the course lecturer. Instead, students should be given the opportunity to provide formative qualitative feedback for their peers and grade them in terms of their contributions to the group.
Highlights of the Symposium
Check out the following recordings of the Symposium for more inspiring ideas in teaching and learning!
Authentic Assessment: Introduction and Example (Reflective Media Diary)
Professor Rick Glofcheski
Professor, Faculty of Law
A 3D approach to integrated learning and assessment
Ms. Alice Lee
Associate Dean (Academic Affairs), Associate Professor, Faculty of Law
Transforming Your own Teaching
Authentic assessments generate positive backwash effect on students’ learning experience. Contact us if you are interested in enhancing learning with authentic assessment and technology.
