Beyond-the-Classroom Strategy: Integrating Technology into Virtual Teaching and Learning

Today’s learning can occur anywhere exceeding the physical space limitation, thanks to technological advancement. Scholars and educators are keen on designing and developing technologies and tools that can be leveraged to provide immersive and authentic learning experiences for students.

Today’s workshop is an event organized with 3 partnering institutions of an inter-institutional project, “Establishing Effective Virtual Teaching Strategies to Support Learning Beyond the Classroom,” led by The Centre for Learning Enhancement And Research (CLEAR) at CUHK. Speakers from CUHK, HKBU, HKUST, and CityU are invited to share the good practices of their design of innovative approaches. Also, they will share their experience and insights with implementing technological tools and applications to facilitate virtual teaching and learning.

Project Website: https://www.vtl-beyond-classrooms.com

Presentations:

Presentation 1: Data Analytics in Accounting and Finance: An Integrated Approach

Despite the shortage, tech-savvy business graduates remain difficult to cultivate due to the interdisciplinary nature of Fintech and AI accounting. Business students often lack backgrounds in machine learning models and programming languages. Instead of writing raw automation scripts, we teach students to use ready-developed automation tools with a focus on application. We demonstrate how we teach several popular AI tools in online teaching sessions. Further, we integrate career development education in discovery-based group projects. Students not only learn to apply automation tools to solve real-world problems, but also analyze future job opportunities and discover where they fit. More importantly, students learn how to use their competitive advantage in business training to embrace the challenges of the digital age. We also collect feedback from the students and cast our reflections and future plans.

Dr. Alex Zhang Assistant Professor Department of Accountancy, CityU Dr. Rengong (Alex) Zhang is an assistant professor of accounting at the City University of Hong Kong. He researches labor and ESG issues with big data and publishes in top journals such as the Journal of Finance and Quantitative Analysis, Organization Science, and the Journal of Operations Management. His research impacts practitioners and has been featured on S&P Global’s website and Twitter. He is also a guest speaker on “the market trend alternative data” in S&P’s webinars. He is also passionate about integrating big data analytics into teaching. He is a recipient of CityU’s teaching development grant “Discovery-based Financial Education in a Digital Society: Incorporating Online Artificial-intelligence Tools in Student-led Learning Activities.”

Dr. Xiaoli Hu Assistant Professor Department of Accountancy, CityU Dr. Xiaoli Hu is an assistant professor of accounting at the City University of Hong Kong. She researches corporate tax, disclosure, and debt using big data and publishes in the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Economic Research Journal (经济研究), China Journal of Accounting Research, and China Journal of Accounting Studies. At CityU, Dr. Hu transformed the course of Accounting Information System to embrace the era of AI. She had also been nominated for the University Teaching Excellence Award. She is a recipient of CityU’s teaching development grant “Adopting Robotic Process Automation Technology in Problem-Based Learning: A Student Discovery Approach.”

Presentation 2: Learning Beyond the Classroom with Virtual Reality

Today’s learning is no longer constrained by a physical space. When teaching and learning cannot be conducted physically due to emergency circumstances (i.e. pandemic, natural disaster, etc.), VR (Virtual Reality) can be a new learning venue. It provides immersive learning experience that cannot be obtained through 2D slides. Moreover, it can enhance the students learning through self-exploration and active participation.

Dr. Liusman in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at CUHK has developed three sets of VR trails: “A Walk in CBD and Wanchai District”, “Peak Galleria” and “Central Market”. The students can easily teleport from one location to another anytime to observe the city’s landscape and explore the architectural spaces. There are also interactive descriptive information for students to learn about the design and functions of these spaces and how they are managed. Moreover, the VRs can further enhance the student learning through “Internationalization of Curriculum” and “Student-as-Partners (SaP)”.

Dr. Ervi Liusman Lecturer School of Hotel and Tourism Management, CUHK Dr. Ervi Liusman received her PhD degree from The University of Hong Kong. She is currently a lecturer at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. She currently teaches various subjects related to real estate economics and shopping mall management. Despite teaching, Dr. Liusman is active in carrying out research in real estate discipline, as well as teaching and learning innovation. She has developed several Virtual Reality (VR) projects, including VR of Hong Kong CBD, Peak Galleria and Central Market. Her outstanding contribution to teaching and learning has been recognized by CUHK Business School Faculty Teaching Excellence Award 2018-19.

Presentation 3: Enhancement of Student Learning through Education Mobile Apps in Analytical Sciences

Today’s learners are always on the move which a great deal of learning can happen in our daily life. With the use of mobile devices, students can actively acquire knowledge anytime anywhere achieving ubiquitous learning outside the walls of classroom. In this era of proliferating mobile apps used by our App-Generation, we have developed novel education mobile apps as a digital strategy to enhance students’ experience in learning chemistry. This presentation will outline the designs and applications of our apps (Analytical Chemistry Challenge, Organic Chemistry Challenge, ChemEye, and Chemistry Glossary) and present the outcomes of success to enhance student learning effectiveness.

Dr. Gray Ho Senior Lecturer Programme Director, B.Sc (ATS), Department of Chemistry, HKBU Dr. Ho is a Senior Lecturer cum Programme Director of BSc in ATS at CHEM/HKBU. In recognition of his innovation, imagination, and pioneering effort, as well as excellence in T&L, he is the recipient of the President’s Awards for Outstanding Performance in Early Career Teaching as well as in Team Teaching 2018 and the Faculty Performance Award in Team Teaching 2021 at HKBU, and the Exemplary Teaching and Learning Award (Silver) 2019 from eLearning Forum Asia. Besides, he has been awarded as a Fellow by the HEA in 2019 and Chartered Science Teacher by the RSC in 2020.

Presentation 4: I'm IN - A VR Job Interview Practice Application for Business Students and Beyond

The present project aims to break the physical limitation of job interview practices for students in LABU2060 Effective Communication in Business, the last required language course of the Business School’s program. The pandemic has intensified the need for incorporating emerging technologies, e.g., virtual reality (VR), in Higher Education. Conventionally, job interview practices are, largely, in-class. With the VR/ 2D job interview application as a blended element of the course, students, now, could practice, in lieu of a peer and a teacher, to improve their job interview and communication skills. The project hopes to investigate the use of a Virtually Reality/ 2D job interview application in LABU2060 to increase students' practice time and its suitability.

Ms. Kasina Wong Lecturer Center for Language Education, HKUST Kasina received her MPhil degree in Applied English Linguistics (2004) from the Hong Kong Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is currently a Lecturer at the Center for Language Education, HKUST, co-leading LABU2060 Effective Communication in business, and her research interests include gamification, brain-based teaching and learning and classroom pedagogy. She presented an action research study, “Play” for first-year students in EFL classrooms in higher education in the Chinese context?", at HKCPD Hub Virtual International Conference 2021.