Among your five senses, what triggers your learning the most?

You and I will probably agree that visuals would be a popular answer.

Artwork, or visual aids, are most definitely a key component of learning. When creating online content that reaches learners of different cultures, visuals speak a thousand words and can boost the learning experience. Good visuals make learning simple and direct.

Let’s take making a MOOC as an example. From small course logos to big posters, short trailers to illustrations in videos, we strive to take care of every artistic detail to create the most enjoyable learning experience. Our in-house artist, Ray, is here to share with you the artistic journey of crafting MOOCs.

The first rule of drawing for MOOCs is to ensure the accuracy of the illustrations, says Ray. “Always remember that you are drawing for an academic purpose, which is different from leisure drawing.” Academic drawings are more than just decorations. Students learn from these visual aids consciously or subconsciously.

For instance, take a look at this course logo designed by Ray for our Dinosaur Ecosystems MOOC.

It may appear as an easily drawn dinosaur, yet in fact, the design went through several rounds of modifications as the dinosaur neck in the original design did not align with archaeological findings. Sometimes the artist may have to negotiate with the course instructor so as to strike the right balance between visual appeal and accuracy.

As MOOCs serve a global audience, artists may sometimes need to use examples and visual elements that speak a common message to learners of different cultures as much as they can.

For example, take a look at the illustrations below, can you tell what it is portraying and which MOOC it was used in? What would be your choice:

1. The Search for Vernacular Architecture of Asia, Part 1
2. Humanity and Nature in Chinese Thought
3. Hong Kong Cinema through a Global Lens

or

4. Making Sense of News?

The correct answer is Humanity and Nature in Chinese Thought! Ray and the course team chose Star Wars, a worldwide known movie, as an example to illustrate abstract Chinese philosophical concepts to the audience. Did you guess the correct answer?

Our students commented positively on Ray’s animations.

These are just some examples to illustrate the flexibility and creativity of visual aids that can enhance learners’ participation. Thanks to Ray, our elearning journey has been made more colourful!

A glimpse into our artist’s working process:

You can now purchase Ray’s design at HKU Visitor Centre.

The Year of the Dinosaur?

 
Upcoming MOOC courses

 
Technology-Enriched Learning Initiative TELI
Teaching and Learning
The University of Hong Kong

When TELI Meets Music: The First CPR Song in Hong Kong
Heart attack is a scary thing to imagine. The collapse of a heart attack victim right in front of you is even more terrifying – Don’t panic. You might just be one step away from saving his life. If we perform CPR on the collapsed victim within 5 minutes, the survival rate can be increased by as much as 50 percent.

There are nearly 3000 people suffering from Sudden Cardiac Death every year in Hong Kong, yet there is no mandatory first-aid training in local schools. To raise public awareness of CPR, the Emergency Medicine Unit (EMU) of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine initiated a series of campaigns in hope of increasing bystander response rates in cardiac emergencies.

One initiative to educate the general public is through music. The TELI team together with RubberBand and the EMU produced a music video on CPR, with correct procedures demonstrated. TELI is proud to act as the bridge between medical professionals and entertainers.

Only a Heartbeat Away: AED Locator App
In companion with the CPR song, HKUEMU AED (Apple store,Google Play store), an AED locator app, has been developed by TELI in collaboration with EMU.

AED stands for automated external defibrillator, a device that can dramatically increase a victim’s chance of survival by applying shock to his heart. However, inaccessibility is always an issue, especially during emergency. With this app and a GPS locator, you can locate the nearest AED in the area. This app also offers instructions on how to perform CPR on heart attack victims. You can also contribute to the map by adding unidentified AED locations!

(From left to right)

“It’s never too late to learn CPR. I cannot see a reason of not acquiring this skill if it can save a person’s life,” said 泥鯭, the drummer of RubberBand. You can be a rescuer at any point of your life. Stay upbeat. Stay alive.

Further reading

1. Behind the scenes – Filming of the MV
2. Press release: 港大倡加強急救技能培訓　冀提升院外突發性心臟驟停患者存活率
3. Press release: HKU Advocates Extensive CPR and AED Training to Enhance Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest Survival Rate

May the magic of the holiday season be with you

 
Upcoming MOOC courses

 
Technology-Enriched Learning Initiative TELI
Teaching and Learning
The University of Hong Kong

Pedagogical innovation is one of the major focuses of TELI. By way of technology, we aim to enhance the quality of teaching. We are delighted to learn from our friend Dr. Chng Huanghoon, Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education), that they are doing the same in The National University of Singapore (NUS). In a fruitful sharing session on November 8, 2016, Dr. Chng and HKU members from different faculties exchanged ideas on new pedagogical initiatives and current developments in advancing teaching excellence.

To kick off, Dr. C.K. Chui from the Department of Computer Science shared about his project with NUS on cross-institutional collaborative learning alliance. In order to enhance students’ collaboration skills and international exposure, the Department of Computer Science is partnering with the School of Computing from NUS to build an online collaborative teaching and learning platform for students to co-write computer programs. The platform also serves as a teacher knowledge hub for assessment resource, learning analytics and learning materials. If the initiation is successful, other universities will be invited into this alliance.

In terms of recognizing teaching achievements, Dr. Susan Bridges from the Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning gave us an update on U21’s progress towards building a Conceptual Framework for Teaching to define, recognize and reward teaching quality so as to guide academic promotion processes across the U21 Network. Having just returned from the U21 Educational Innovation Conference 2016, Dr. Bridges reported that a draft framework was tabled for comments. It is set to be finalized in 2017.

Shifting the focus to Asia, Dr. Chng is also leading an initiative to build a framework for teaching excellence, beginning with forming a core group of committed teachers who would share their good practice in teaching. Through the establishment of a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) Asia in NUS, they aim to develop an academy of scholarly teaching and work towards achieving universal recognition. The initiation sparked exciting discussion around the table who generally agreed that teaching excellence is not getting enough recognition as it should. It is hoped that the exemplars could serve as a framework to achieve a top-down effect and motivate teachers to try new approaches in their teaching.

We’d love to collaborate with you in trying out new technology and pedagogy. Contact us now at enquiry@teli.hku.hk!