Vice-President (Teaching and Learning)

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

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

Dear colleagues

Looking ahead to Semester 1, there are a few issues I’d like to brief you on.

Add/drop period

As in Semester 2 earlier this year, the S1 add/drop period will coincide with a period of almost universal online teaching and learning. As before, we’re therefore making a ‘self-enrol’ function available on HKU Moodle to enable students to audit courses. This will only operate during the add/drop period. Once it ends, all such enrolments will be deleted unless the student has formally enrolled in the course through the course registration system.

Webcams

In a survey conducted a few months ago, many teachers expressed their frustration with HKU’s policy of not requiring students to turn on their webcams for interactive online classes. I therefore reached out to HKUSU to discuss this. We agreed that in 2020-21 students taking online classes will be required to turn on their webcams when the teacher asks them to do so. (Virtual backgrounds are of course permissible.) We also agreed that students may apply to their teachers for exemption on a case-by-case basis. If it’s not possible for a teacher and student to reach agreement, the case may be referred to the Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) in the relevant Faculty or, in the case of Common Core courses, to the Director.

Zoom vs Teams

In a separate survey also conducted a few months ago, some students asked for an alternative to Zoom. A number of colleagues also made this point in the teacher survey. This too was thus on the agenda for my most recent meeting with HKUSU. HKU’s best alternative to Zoom is Microsoft Teams. (For a comparison and links to useful videos, see this blog post: https://tl.hku.hk/2020/08/online-teaching-through-zoom-or-microsoft-teams/.) While Zoom is integrated with HKU Moodle and has a better set of functions, Teams is a viable option. HKUSU’s preference going forward is for teachers to use Teams, not Zoom. TeLi is ready to provide support for any teacher wanting to switch from Zoom to Teams in S1, though I recognize that doing so at this late stage may not be possible. Ultimately, the decision lies with each individual teacher.

Classrooms

All classrooms allocated by the Exams Office for f2f teaching in S1 are at least twice the projected class size. Throughout the semester, all centrally-allocated lecture rooms will be available for use in the booked slots. This means that all teachers will have the option of delivering their lectures in class during the regular timeslots and both live streaming and recording while they do so. TeLi is making a demonstration video on streaming and recording lectures inside a classroom, and will upload it next week to https://tl.hku.hk/teachonline/online-resources-for-teachers/.

Alternative ways to deliver course content

Teachers may also live stream and/or record course content in their offices, or pre-record content in DIY rooms. Teachers who wish to live stream and/or make a recording in their offices can gain assistance with initial set-up through a TeLi consultation session. The range of audio-visual equipment that can be borrowed from ITS can be viewed at https://www.les.hku.hk/les-services/equipment-loan-services. Teachers who wish to use a DIY room can do so throughout the academic year. There are two fully-equipped DIY rooms inside the TeLi studios on the Centennial Campus and two inside the Chi Wah Learning Commons. Bookings can be made through TeLi (https://tl.hku.hk/teachonline/online-resources-for-teachers/).

Keeping in touch with students

Students greatly value the chance to interact with their teachers through virtual office hours offered via Zoom, Skype and other channels. Please do create a regular weekly timeslot when students can join you on, say, Zoom to discuss their courses and teaching materials, or to seek more general academic advice. Some academic advising tips when teaching and learning go online can be found at https://aao.hku.hk/wp-content/resources/pdf/10_advising_tips_online_learning.pdf.

SETL/SFTL

Following extensive consultation and piloting in the Common Core, we’ve reformed the Student Evaluation of Teaching and Learning instrument. It’s now called Student Feedback on Teaching and Learning, reflecting the fact that what we receive from students is not formal evaluation, but rather feedback. We’ve also simplified the instrument as much as possible. SFTL will be used for all course and teacher feedback in 2020-21. The SFTL form can be viewed at https://tl.hku.hk/tl/student-feedback-on-teaching-and-learning-sftl/.

Resources

We have colleagues in TeLi, CETL and ITS waiting to help teachers with online teaching and learning. Our recent run of five webinars on virtual flipped classroom design can be found at https://hku.to/V-Flipped. For onsite support with technical issues in classrooms or offices, and for any other technical advice, it’s best to contact TeLi via WhatsApp on 6437-8034. For the Common Core, Wincy Chan (wincy@hku.hk) can provide assistance with course design and technical issues. An S1 overview is available at https://tl.hku.hk/teachonline/.

As before, please contact me with queries at ian.holliday@hku.hk.

Best wishes, Ian

Professor Ian Holliday

Vice-President (Teaching and Learning)

The University of Hong Kong  

Dear colleagues and students

The changing public health situation in Hong Kong means that we need to update our teaching arrangements for Semester 1 (S1), 2020-21.

In principle

We remain committed to a dual mode of teaching for UG and TPG courses in S1:

• Online: all courses, apart from a few exceptions requiring hands-on engagement, will be available online throughout the semester. (Faculties will issue separate guidance to their students about any required hands-on teaching.)
• Face to face: when it is safe to do so, we will also offer students the option of returning to campus for some f2f classes.

In practice

This is how S1 will look for UG and TPG courses:

• Sept 1-21: all courses, apart from a few exceptions requiring hands-on engagement, will be delivered online only. (Faculties will issue separate guidance to their students about any required hands-on teaching.)
• By Sept 1: I will issue a bulk email outlining our teaching arrangements for the period from Sept 22.
• Sept 22: we hope to reinstate some f2f teaching for the remainder of S1, though in the event that may not be possible.
• S1 as a whole: all courses will be available online, apart from a few exceptions requiring hands-on engagement. (Faculties will issue separate guidance to their students about any required hands-on teaching.)
• Final exams will take place online, unless there are special requirements or all the students taking a course are in Hong Kong and it is safe for them to attend an in-person exam.

Assessment choices

As before, we are offering all UG and TPG students three assessment choices for S1 courses: letter grade, pass/fail, late drop. Assessment choices can be submitted through SIS from 09:00 on Monday September 28 to 23:59 on Saturday October 10. This deadline is final, and no modifications will be permitted once it has passed. I would like to reiterate here what I have said before. We strongly advise all students to think carefully when opting for pass/fail grading. Courses that are simply passed will be recorded as P on the transcript, with no impact on the GPA calculation. For UG students in particular, this could have important knock-on effects. Internally, we rely on SGPA data for elective opportunities, such as academic exchange and other funded programmes. Externally, employers and universities around the world examine transcripts in some detail when taking decisions about jobs and postgraduate study. Students without solid SGPA data from S1, 2020-21 may therefore place themselves at a significant disadvantage. Please consult your teachers, your academic advisers, the Academic Advising Office, your family and your friends before submitting your assessment choices.

Teaching support

I think most teachers already know about the support for online teaching and learning offered by TELI, CETL and ITS. Hundreds of colleagues have attended each of TELI’s online workshops on Virtual Flipped Classroom Design (https://tl.hku.hk/elearningblog/). Many colleagues have also registered for CETL’s Summer Sandbox Series on Creative Online Course Design (https://www.cetl.hku.hk/sandbox2020/). We also have tech experts and resources available to help with online teaching problems (WhatsApp: 6437-8034). Do contact us with any issues that arise.

Finally, and as ever, many thanks to everyone for enabling us to keep teaching and learning at HKU in challenging circumstances. Please consult our website about teaching and learning in S1 (https://tl.hku.hk/teachonline/). Please contact me with queries (ian.holliday@hku.hk).

Best wishes, Ian

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

Dear colleagues and students

I’m writing to update you on our teaching arrangements for Semester 1 (S1), 2020-21.

As I said in my bulk email of May 26, our core aim in Academic Year 2020-21 is to make a gradual and partial return to face-to-face (f2f) teaching. We know we don’t have enough large classrooms to deliver all lectures f2f, so some will go online. But for smaller lectures and small-group work undertaken in tutorials, laboratories, studios and clinical settings, we will return to f2f teaching from September 1. Full details are here – https://tl.hku.hk/teachonline/class-and-examination-schedules/.

In recent weeks, however, we’ve received a stream of emails from UG and TPG students currently living outside Hong Kong who worry about how to return to campus for S1. In some cases, the journey back looks almost impossible because there are no scheduled flights. In other cases, the journey looks hazardous because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. We’ve decided to offer these students the choice of f2f or online teaching in S1.

What we therefore envisage for S1 is as follows:
Teachers are asked to ensure all their course materials will be available for students who are not able to return to Hong Kong. For lectures, either live streaming or recording and uploading to Moodle (or both) should be fine. For small-group work, enabling students who are not in Hong Kong to connect with the class through Zoom will probably be the best option.
UG and TPG students who are in Hong Kong will be expected to come to campus for required f2f classes. They may choose to participate in non-required course components (often lectures are in this category) either f2f or online. But for required course components in which attendance is checked (small-group work is typically in this category) they will be expected to come to campus.
UG and TPG students who are not in Hong Kong will have the choice of taking their courses online. We will not be able to provide an exactly equivalent experience in all cases, since some elements of our teaching, such as laboratories, studios and clinical work, cannot easily be moved online. Nevertheless, we will do our best to support the learning of students who are not in Hong Kong.
Final examinations will take place online, unless all the students taking a course are in Hong Kong. In those cases only, the final examination will take place in person in an examination hall on campus.

We recognize that this modification of our teaching arrangements for S1 will generate some variability in teaching and learning since, as I already mentioned, it’s difficult to move some elements of our courses online. This is also likely to be quite challenging for many teachers, and we’re ready to offer full assistance through central units such as TELI, CETL and ITS. Balanced against all that is the flexibility we’re now able to offer students who face difficult journeys back to Hong Kong. I should reiterate that such students have a choice – to return to campus for S1, or to keep in touch with their S1 courses online.

As ever, please contact me with feedback and queries.

Best wishes, Ian

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

Message from Vice President (Teaching and Learning)

Dear colleagues

I’m writing with information about central T&L support this summer.

Chi Wah studios

Many colleagues are keen to make use of the summer to prepare online teaching materials. For the months of July and August, we’re therefore opening five studios in Chi Wah Learning Commons for recording and editing course content. All five rooms will be supported by experienced TeLi colleagues, and by summer interns recruited for their expertise. Teachers can book an initial one-hour consultation session at https://appointment.teli.hku.hk/. They can also arrange follow-up assistance if need be. When making your first booking, please provide a brief statement of the input you require. From September onwards, we’ll retain two of the five Chi Wah studios.

WhatsApp hotline

As before, TeLi will operate a WhatsApp hotline for e-learning queries. The number is 6437-8034. We aim to respond to all queries within 10 minutes during regular office hours. Please do not phone this number, as calls will not be answered. But please do send a text whenever you encounter any e-learning problems. This hotline will continue to function throughout Semester 1.

TechSmith Camtasia

We’ve purchased a TechSmith Camtasia 2020 site license for all HKU staff and students. ITS will send out access details in early July. Camtasia is an easy-to-use, all-in-one screen recorder and video editor. It enables you to create teaching videos with screen recording functions, and allows for easy editing of recorded videos for upload to Moodle.Online tutorials are at https://www.techsmith.com/tutorial-camtasia.html. We will retain our Camtasia license for at least the next three years.

Existing studios

All year round, we have bookable studios on the Centennial Campus and in the Main Library. They don’t have the dedicated support provided for the Chi Wah studios over the summer months, but they’re still an excellent resource for colleagues with some understanding of what they plan to do.

TeLi Studios, Centennial Campus (CPD1.46, Jockey Club Tower): https://tips.teli.hku.hk/

Editing Rooms, 2/F Main Library: https://libguides.lib.hku.hk/c.php?g=894602&p=6442213

Webinars

TeLi will conduct a series of webinars on online teaching and flipped classrooms on five successive Fridays during the summer. Registration details will be circulated by bulk email.

Virtual Flipped Classroom Design (Video production)

Date: 10 July (Fri)
Time: 11:30am – 12:30pm
Speakers: Dr Leon Lei, Ms Crystal Luo, Ms Sharon Keung
Registration: https://tl.hku.hk/elearningblog/?pid=30453

Virtual Flipped Classroom Design (Lecturing)
Date: 17 July (Fri)
Time: 11:30am – 12:30pm
Speakers: Dr Leon Lei, Ms Sharon Keung

Virtual Flipped Classroom Design (Group work)
Date: 24 July (Fri)
Time: 11:30am – 12:30pm
Speakers: Dr Wincy Chan

Virtual Flipped Classroom Design (Assessment)
Date: 31 July (Fri)
Time: 11:30am – 12:30pm
Speakers: Dr Leon Lei, Ms Sharon Keung

From Classroom to Remote Teaching
Date: 7 August (Fri)
Time: 11:30am – 12:30pm
Speakers: Dr Wincy Chan

Contact us

Technical questions: WhatsApp 6437-8034 or contact ITS at https://www.its.hku.hk/service-desk
Pedagogical issues: contact CETL at https://www.cetl.hku.hk/ or cetlhku@hku.hk
Policy issues: drop me an email at ian.holliday@hku.hk

Finally, a website with T&L resources for the coming academic year is here: https://tl.hku.hk/teachonline/

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