Learning ‘on the go’ with iTunes U
Following in the footsteps of such illustrious institutions as Oxford and Cambridge, Yale, Harvard and MIT, Stanford and UC Berkeley as well as the Open University in the UK, we enhanced our digital capabilities even further by joining Apple’s iTunes U, which makes our audio and visual educational resources freely available to anyone using a Mac, PC, iPod, iPad or iPhone. We are honoured that iTunes U invited the OUHK to be one of its first Hong Kong partners. The presence on iTunes U means that our educational resources can now be accessed even more flexibly at any time and anywhere.
Digital learning platform
In line with the global open courseware movement and our mission to provide education for all, we launched the Open Learning digital learning platform in June 2010. Offering a wealth of audio-visual and interactive educational material, this digital learning platform builds on the many rapidly developing social networks to engage learning communities. It incorporates tools for creating personalized pages and a learning log to track individual learning experiences. Users can also share content with friends, obtain feedback and make connections with other learners and the OUHK communities.
Education on air
Since our establishment in 1989, the OUHK has been the only university in Hong Kong to broadcast educational programmes regularly on television. The Open for Learning programme, which is aired every Sunday morning on TVB Pearl, covers a wide range of subjects. For example, the series launched this year dealt with topics in areas such as marketing and management, science and technology, computing and information technology, corporate governance, climate change, family and child development, health care and education, history and culture. Much of this material is also available online.
Learning on Smart TV
To expand the reach of our Open for Learning programmes even further, we signed a collaboration agreement with LG Electronics HK Limited (LG) as the company’s Smart TV content partner. Under the two-year agreement, Smart TV customers can watch these programmes any time they like. The OUHK is among LG Smart TV’s first local content partners as well as its first partner in the education scene in Hong Kong.
A growing focus on blended learning
Within the University, there is an increasing emphasis on implementing blended learning, a concept which involves a thoughtful integration of distance learning, face-to-face teaching and other modes of teaching and learning. This development will enhance our learning programmes and provide greater involvement and interactivity for students.
This year, a top-up day-time blended learning programme for the Bachelor of Business Administration in Management was offered for Associate Degree and Higher Diploma graduates. The blended learning approach was also adopted for some of our courses, including Introduction to English Fiction and Introduction to English Drama and Poetry from the School of Arts and Social Sciences and Scientific Research Methods from the School of Science and Technology.
