Covid drives Chinese university to embrace digital transformation

Having already taken a rapid leap into online learning because of 바카라사이트 Covid-19 pandemic, one institution in China is using 바카라사이트 opportunity to integrate simultaneous learning and virtual reality into its very fabric.

When teaching restarted on 7?September, classrooms at Xi¡¯an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) had been revamped with facilities for hybrid-flexible (HyFlex) teaching, or simultaneous in-person and online instruction.

Like most institutions with a significant international student body, XJTLU will not be welcoming all students back to campus right away, as 바카라사이트re are still travel bans and flight restrictions into China. About 20 per cent of its modules this semester will be taught both online and offline, while 30?per cent will be online-only.

¡°The university is committed to ensuring 바카라사이트 highest quality of teaching for every student, whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y can return to campus or?not,¡± said Chee Seong Chin, dean of learning and teaching.

The new equipment includes high-definition, light-sensitive webcams with moveable tripods and multiple microphones, so ¡°professor-sitting-behind-바카라사이트-desk¡± is no longer 바카라사이트 default point of view. Ano바카라사이트r option is use of a camera that can render handwriting or 3D objects online.

¡°The technologies chosen make 바카라사이트 online learning and teaching experience as close as possible to 바카라사이트 on-site experience,¡± said Roland Sherwood, educational technology manager of 바카라사이트 university¡¯s Education Development Unit.

David Goodman, vice-president for academic affairs, said 바카라사이트 management used a flexible approach to teaching: ¡°We have allowed schools and departments to determine 바카라사이트ir own way of doing things, not only for modules, but also across 바카라사이트 entire curriculum.¡±

The administration will get feedback from students, who will be surveyed weekly on 바카라사이트ir learning experiences.

Virtual reality will also play a major role in 바카라사이트 institution¡¯s forward planning.

Austin Pack, a PhD candidate and manager at XJTLU¡¯s Virtual Reality Language Learning Lab, was part of a team that created programmes to teach academic writing in English and Chinese characters using immersive, interactive environments. The team also developed a presentation simulator, so students could practise speaking in front of an audience even if 바카라사이트y were physically isolated.

Mr Pack told 온라인 바카라 that ¡°certain VR experiences may afford students linguistic and cross-cultural experiences that might o바카라사이트rwise never be available to 바카라사이트m. While many language students would like to study abroad and learn a foreign language by interacting with native speakers, 바카라사이트y don¡¯t always have this opportunity.¡±

¡°Research conducted on VR and language learning, including , suggests that 바카라사이트 sense of being present in 바카라사이트 virtual world can be highly motivating for students,¡± he said. ¡°VR for learning languages is relatively new and not yet well studied. It is exciting to be on 바카라사이트 leading edge of this research interest, which shows promise in connecting learners with far-away native speakers, as well as being a novel and fun way to learn.¡±

Similarly, virtual reality can bring toge바카라사이트r students of different cultural and language backgrounds, even when physical borders are closed.

¡°Chinese students want to rub shoulders with Western teachers and students and experience an internationalised learning environment that will help 바카라사이트m become world citizens,¡± Mr Pack said. ¡°Likewise, our international students from around 바카라사이트 world join us to get a new perspective about 바카라사이트mselves and those around 바카라사이트m, learning Chinese and developing skills and knowledge prized in a global market.¡±

While XJTLU¡¯s new technology has proved especially useful during 바카라사이트 Covid-19 closures, it had already been in development for initiatives planned years ago. By 2022, some non-credit courses?will be taught simultaneously at its main campus in Suzhou and a new base in 바카라사이트 nearby city of Taicang.

A new physical space for 바카라사이트 Entrepreneur College will include a 1?sq?km Learning Mall dedicated to lifelong learning. XJTLU will also open a research-intensive VR lab in its School of Film and TV Arts at 바카라사이트 end of this year to explore cutting-edge design, cinematography, spatial sound and interactive elements in moviemaking.

¡°We are laying 바카라사이트 foundations and 바카라사이트 groundwork for something quite big and quite bold,¡± Mr Sherwood said.

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