Just a quick supplement to my earlier email sent to both colleagues and students.
Zoom
We’ve upgraded our Zoom licence for the next 12 months. Previously, HKU Zoom accounts each had 500MB storage for cloud recordings. Now there’s no storage limit, though any recording uploaded by a teacher to the Zoom cloud will be removed after six months. Before this happens, ITS will send a notification to remind the account holder to download the relevant file to a PC or laptop.
Storing files
For storing files, teachers may make use of the HKU Video Streaming Server, which offers 150GB to each account holder. Teachers can apply for an account via CF43. A user guide can be found here.
Teaching rooms
A reminder, more for future semesters than the current one: the University has 159 centrally-managed classrooms, and all are fully equipped with Panopto and Zoom facilities.
Best wishes, Ian
Professor Ian Holliday
Vice-President (Teaching and Learning)
The University of Hong Kong
We’re continuing to monitor and analyse the COVID-19 situation and its implications for the University. Within this still uncertain framework, we’re trying to figure out the best way forward for teaching and learning. As before, our absolute priority remains the health and safety of both HKU members and the general public.
With this at the forefront of our minds, we’re announcing a series of updates to our plans for the remainder of the semester. We recognise that the choices we’re able to make at the present time are not ideal, but we believe they’re the best that are available to our campus community.
Until the end of the teaching period on May 16, all teaching and learning will be delivered online. There are just a few exceptions, including:
(1) Non-clinical laboratory, studio and practical skills components of courses for final-year students that have to be taught through face-to-face classes in order for students to graduate on time. We will arrange for these students to come on campus for low-density laboratory, studio and practical skills teaching sessions beginning no earlier than March 30. Their other classes will remain online. When required to come on campus, these students will be provided with face masks. Faculties will inform final-year students taking these courses of detailed arrangements at the start of next week.
(2) Clinical programmes in the Faculty of Dentistry and the Faculty of Medicine. These two Faculties will reach out separately to students enrolled in these programmes.
Assessment
Assessment components and weightings will conform to the arrangements already announced by course coordinators. However, for all courses taught online there will be no proctored, in-hall exams during the assessment period from May 18 to June 6. Instead, all ‘final exam’ components will be moved online. We’re asking teachers to rethink the tasks that will constitute the ‘final exam’ to ensure they’re suitable for online assessment.
Assessment choices
As in Semester 1, we’re offering all UG and TPG students three assessment choices:
– Continue with letter grading, where applicable (contributing to GPA)
– Change to pass/fail grading (not contributing to GPA)
– Opt out of the course entirely through a late drop option
Students will be able to make these choices through a link on SIS from March 23 to April 30. Full details will be announced within the next two weeks.
Pass/fail
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 GPA. 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 2019-20 may therefore place themselves at a disadvantage.
Late drop
Students returning to the University beyond the normative study period solely to make up late dropped credits from 2019-20 will not be asked to pay a composition fee. Normally, this policy will apply only in 2020-21. However, in cases where a student is unable to make up the dropped credits in 2020-21 because the requisite course is not on offer or, in special cases where personal circumstances stand in the way, an extension to 2021-22 may be permitted.
As ever, many thanks for working together with us to get through a challenging semester. Please do write to me with queries: ian.holliday@hku.hk.
Best wishes, Ian
Professor Ian Holliday
Vice-President (Teaching and Learning)
The University of Hong Kong
First, a reminder. We extended the add/drop period to 4:00pm on Friday, February 21. So the window remains open only for a couple more days.
Late drop
We understand that the current online learning experience, while good for some students, is not positive for everyone. We’re therefore offering UG and TPG students the opportunity to late drop any of their Semester 2 courses at any point until 11:59pm on Thursday, April 30. Please note that at present we’re not planning to offer students a pass/fail option for letter-grade courses. This is mainly because we have a system of GPA calculation and honours classification that relies on a solid base of data. If we switch too many courses to pass/fail, that base will start to erode. Provided we’re able to return to campus teaching on March 30, as scheduled, we’ll stick with letter grading for this semester.
Feedback
We’re eager to learn about your experience with online learning to improve our courses. We’ve therefore created a webpage for anonymous feedback: http://hku.to/onlinelearningfeedback. While we’ll read all the submissions from students, we won’t respond as we’re not requesting student identities and contact details. If you’d like to receive a response from us, you can send an email to hcm00101@hku.hk.
Engage!
Online learning is very different from campus teaching, but it does still provide students with multiple opportunities to engage with their courses. Please do participate as fully as possible in interactive classes. As you know, there are many ways to do that on platforms such as Zoom. Please do also keep in touch with your course teachers and academic advisers through any of the platforms they use. Teachers and advisers are happy to connect virtually with students.
Best wishes, Ian
Professor Ian Holliday
Vice-President (Teaching and Learning)
The University of Hong Kong
In the past couple of days I’ve had opportunities to discuss online learning with the Associate Deans (T&L) and, when visiting with the President, with colleagues in the Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences. In recent weeks I’ve also had many email conversations with colleagues and students. I figure it makes sense to circulate some of the lessons learned in the form of another FAQ list.
Can the assessment weightings for a course be changed?
This issue has already been discussed within Faculties. The answer is yes, but the window for making such changes will soon close. Normally by this point in the semester we would require full class consent (all students). However, until 4:00pm on February 21 we’re in the extended add/drop period, so as yet there’s no fixed class for each course. This means we can make changes more easily. All colleagues need to do is revise the assessment weightings as they see fit, inform all students registered for the class, update the relevant course information on SIS, and send a record of the change to Faculty Board for endorsement. Students who feel disadvantaged by the change will be able to drop the course. While this is not an ideal option, it is still a choice. Note that this must be done before February 21. Thereafter, full class consent will be necessary.
Should the assessment weightings for a course be changed?
If a course taught this semester relies heavily on a proctored final exam, it would be a good idea, where possible, to reduce the weighting for that component and boost the weighting for other assessed tasks. At this stage in the unfolding coronavirus situation, we remain committed to holding in-person exams in examination halls at the end of the semester. However, if the disruption becomes more severe, we may have to revise our assessment arrangements. Were that to happen, it would be good not to be too reliant on final exams, which we know generate issues that are difficult to manage.
Should teachers require students to switch on their camera and microphone for interactive classes?
I discussed this issue at length with the Associate Deans. We agreed that at the level of University policy we should not require this because it could be intrusive in the home environment in which many students study (even though Zoom has a function enabling the background to be blurred or replaced). At the same time, we recognized that teachers may have strong reasons to encourage students to adopt this practice. A colleague in Arts also made the point that in some courses it may be necessary to ask students to do this because of the nature of the learning materials and tasks.
How can students be encouraged to view online lectures?
One suggestion made by a colleague in Social Sciences is to ask students to complete a weekly assignment consisting of a brief account of the lecture and a short list of questions related to the material covered in it.
How are students currently located in the Mainland connecting with HKU?
For our online exam (OLEX) platform at the end of the first semester, we secure a leased line from Alibaba. This enables students located in the Mainland to connect with HKU as if they were in Hong Kong. The line is not monitored because it uses a point-to-point https protocol, where the ‘s’ stands for ‘secure’. All traffic between the two points is encrypted. For online T&L in this semester, we have again secured a leased line from Alibaba.
How can teachers stay in touch with their students during this period of online T&L?
Moodle remains the best way to keep in touch with students. In addition to any uploaded materials, please do post weekly consultation hours for students to schedule individual conversations with you (using, say, WhatsApp or Zoom). Many students have questions, but they no longer have the option of catching hold of a teacher after a lecture or calling by during office hours. This is also a way to keep the academic advising function going.
How can colleagues share good practice and lessons learned from online T&L?
Some Faculties have created online platforms for teachers to post good and bad experiences of online learning. This is also something we could consider doing for HKU as a whole, linked to Faculty pages. In many Faculties informal groups of colleagues are coming together to share experience and provide mutual support. This is clearly a very welcome development.
How can upload speeds on Zoom be enhanced?
We recognize that Zoom is an outstanding T&L platform and we’re keen to ensure it’s fully available to colleagues. At present we’re exploring options for enhancing Zoom functionality at HKU. In the meantime, however, for obvious reasons upload speeds are better at the ends of the day. It’s also possible to download, say, a recorded lecture from Zoom to a desktop computer or laptop and then upload for students to view through Microsoft OneDrive. Details are available here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362473-Local-Recording?mobile_site=true .
The University is continuing to draw on expert medical knowledge in monitoring the coronavirus situation in Hong Kong. While all of us are eager to return to teaching and learning in early March, we realize that it is now unlikely that scheduled classes on campus will be able to resume so quickly. As long as there is risk of infection in a crowded classroom, we cannot deliver face-to-face teaching. I’m writing to inform you of how we envisage the remainder of the semester unfolding.
Please note that the teaching and assessment schedules for professional undergraduate programmes may differ from those described below, and will be announced separately by programme directors.
Undergraduate programmes
Now – Feb 15
As you know, we are devoting these two weeks to online learning.
Feb 17 – 29
As announced previously, we will take a recess for the final two weeks of the month to enable teachers to make course adjustments for the rest of the semester, and to enable students to engage in self-study based on the three weeks of teaching already undertaken in the semester.
Mar 2 – 28
Since the coronavirus situation in Hong Kong is likely to prevent us from resuming campus teaching in March, we will return to online learning for these four weeks. While some students may be able to visit the campus for specific activities, there will be no scheduled face-to-face classes. We plan to make use of the reading week (March 9-14) for online classes, though we will of course respond sympathetically to absence requests from colleagues and students with pre-existing commitments.
Mar 30 – May 16
We hope to resume scheduled classes on campus for these seven weeks. Should that not be possible because of ongoing health and safety concerns in Hong Kong, we will make an early announcement of alternative arrangements. (In the event that it becomes safe to return to on-campus teaching before the end of March, we will seize the opportunity and make an announcement to all students at least 14 days in advance.)
May 18 – Jun 6
We intend to conduct proctored exams during the assessment period, and will require all students taking exams to be present in the examination hall. We will move the assessment period back by one week, with the aim of bringing the semester to a close in early June. We have heard from many students, especially in the final year, about the importance of concluding the semester within a reasonable timeframe. We will make every effort to do that.
Taught postgraduate programmes
We are adopting a flexible approach to the scheduling of taught postgraduate programmes. Faculties or programme teams will announce the detailed teaching arrangements to their own cohorts of taught postgraduate students.
Research postgraduate programmes
University policy encourages research postgraduate students with no immediate need to visit the campus to undertake their research, and liaise with their supervisors, remotely. Students who need to conduct their research in a campus setting, such as a laboratory, must adhere to Government and University infection control protocols before returning to campus. All research postgraduate students should discuss their study plans in detail with their supervisors. We will respond sympathetically to requests for candidature extensions necessitated by disruptions experienced during this semester, and for tuition waivers for the extended period of studies.
Visiting campus
One general reminder during the current coronavirus situation in Hong Kong: colleagues and students who visit the campus must adhere to Government and University infection control guidelines. We will have no alternative but to take strict disciplinary action against anyone not adhering to them.
Once again, many thanks for your understanding and cooperation as we seek to navigate the remainder of an unprecedented and unpredictable semester. As before, please stay vigilant and continue to make personal health your top priority.
Important message from The President and Vice-Chancellor
Dear Students, Colleagues, Alumni and Friends,
2020: Build and Rebuild
The miracle of Hong Kong is rooted in its dynamism and resilience. As a beacon of knowledge, our university has stood tall for more than a century. 2019 was tumultuous, but not once did we waver in our faith in our mission and in the city’s future.
In the most difficult moments, we came together. I salute you and thank you for your courage, determination and commitment to our university. We value diverse opinions and even opposite ideas in a community that treasures inclusiveness and respect for others’ views. We insist on civility on campus and rational debate that challenges one another.
Our teachers and staff have been reaching out to students and as the new semester begins in late January 2020, we are planning more engagement opportunities in big and small groups, formal or informal. We, as a university community, will build bridges together and search for solutions.
Looking ahead, we will build five new student residences and in collaboration with the world’s best universities, we will embark on cutting edge research and transform lives with the InnoHK schemes to be launched soon. The Tech Landmark on the Main Campus with its new institutes, the expansion of the Medical Campus and the new Institute of Advanced Dentistry are all symbols of our ambitious vision.
I invite all of you — students, colleagues, alumni and friends — to come together on our university’s unique journey of learning and discovery. It may not always be a smooth voyage, but we are here to innovate and to create knowledge to advance humanity.
Merry Christmas and Happy 2020 to you and your families!
In my message dated November 19, the deadline to indicate your assessment options (letter grading, pass/fail grading, late drop) was set at 5pm today.
Unfortunately, the HKU IT system has been unstable today. Six Faculties have been affected: Architecture, Dentistry, Law, Medicine, Science, Social Sciences. The deadline for students from these six Faculties to indicate their assessment options is therefore extended to 9:30am tomorrow (December 7).
If you are a student from one of these six Faculties and are finding it difficult to indicate your choices on the system, you may fill in the form here and send it back to sisenrol@hku.hk .
There is no deadline extension for students from the other four Faculties, as they were not affected by the system instability today.
We are trying our best to fix the system, and we apologise for the inconvenience caused.
Best wishes, Ian
Professor Ian Holliday
Vice-President (Teaching and Learning)
Congratulations! HKU’s Common Core Teaching Team wins the University Grants Committee Teaching Award 2019! Here, receiving the award at the UGC office are (left to right) Mr Matthew Pryor, Professor Gina Marchetti, Director of Common Core Professor Gray Kochhar-Lindgren, Dr Xiao Hu, and Dr Julian Tanner. Learn more about #HKU Common Core courses and the team’s outstanding achievements at http://www.hku.hk/press/news_detail_20033.html
Preparing for Experiential Learning: a video resource pack – helping students get the best out of their experiential learning
Experiential learning is a very important part of the many learning opportunities available at The University of Hong Kong. In collaboration with teaching staff, students and a range of units from across the university, The Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning has, on behalf of the Gallant Ho Experiential Learning Centre, developed a video resource pack to help HKU students prepare themselves for experiential learning.
Preparing for Experiential Learning: a video resource pack is open to every student at The University of Hong Kong. Students are free to watch all or any of these modules or any combination of videos from across modules that they think will be relevant to their learning context. They can do so either on their own or with the supervision of their teachers.
The topics covered in Preparing for Experiential Learning were selected on the basis of a review of experiential learning projects at HKU to date, and they have been tested through student surveys of their perceived usefulness to HKU students. In the thirty videos in the resource pack, students will hear a number of teachers and fellow students sharing their experiences of a wide range of experiential learning activities from their own distinct perspectives. They will also get advice from fellow students on the basis of the lessons these students have learnt while on experiential learning.
Preparing for Experiential Learning consists of five separate modules. Module One contains videos that introduce students to what experiential learning is, how it helps them learn, and how they might be assessed during or after experiential learning. Module Two contains videos that help students manage their finances, logistical arrangements, personal safety, culture shock, and issues such as ethical photography during experiential learning. Module Three consists of videos to help students develop the interview skills, team working skills and communication skills they may need while undertaking experiential learning. Module Four contains video support for students to set about preparing learning products. Module Five consists of videos that help students decide on some of the key aspects to reflect on in any specific experiential learning context.
And finally…
This video resource pack could not have been produced without the funding support it received from the Gallant Ho Experiential Learning Fund and the time generously donated by a range of units (TELI, CEDARS, CAES, HKU Horizons, GHELC), and by teaching staff and students from across The University of Hong Kong. We should like to thank everyone for the support for this worthwhile project!
Message from Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)
Dear Colleagues and Students,
I am very pleased to announce the recipients of the University’s Teaching Excellence Awards 2018. The Selection Panel was deeply impressed with the awardees’ dedication to teaching, their tireless and creative efforts to make learning enjoyable and challenging, and the impact that they have made on their students’ learning.
University Distinguished Teaching Award
Dr. Michael G. Botelho, Faculty of Dentistry
Outstanding Teaching Award
Individual awards Dr. Janet L. Borland, School of Modern Languages and Cultures, Faculty of Arts Ms. Tanya J. Kempston, Faculty of Education Professor Alice S.T. Wong, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science Professor Daniel F.K. Wong, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, Faculty of Social Sciences Dr. Patcy P.S. Yeung, Faculty of Education
Team awards Dr. Gary J. Harfitt (Leader), Ms. Jessie M.L. Chow and Ms. Candace W.F. Mok of the Faculty of Education for Nurturing today’s students and tomorrow’s teachers through experiential learning (EL) Professor Gray M. Kochhar-Lindgren (Leader) of the Common Core Office, Professor Gina Marchetti of the Faculty of Arts, Mr. Mathew R. Pryor of the Faculty of Architecture and Dr. Julian A. Tanner of the LKS Faculty of Medicine for Transdisciplinarity in Action: Creating Multiscalar Teaching and Learning Platforms in the Common Core
Early Career Teaching Award
Dr. Elizabeth A. Barrett, Faculty of Education Mr. David S. Lee, Faculty of Business and Economics Dr. Tom McDonald, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences Dr. Dirk Schnieders, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering
Teaching Innovation Award
Dr. Michael G. Botelho, Faculty of Dentistry
I would like to thank our external assessor Professor Anthony Smith (Vice-Provost (Education & Student Affairs) of the University College London) for providing us with expert advice in situ during the final selection process. I would also like to thank the other Panel members: Dr. Shahla Ali, Professor Grahame Bilbow and Mr. Daniel Lei (student representative) for their assistance in this important exercise.
Please join me in congratulating the awardees. I look forward to seeing you all at the Award Presentation Ceremony on Monday March 25, 2019.
Professor Ian Holliday
Chair
Selection Panel for Teaching Excellence Awards 2018
