TEACHING AND LEARNING THE REVIEW2020 INNOVATION New ways to deliver content and enrich student life are being tried out in the wake of COVID-19. Jumpstarting Telemedicine Dr Anderson Tsang Chun-on of the Department of Surgery first encountered telemedicine consultations while studying in Canada, where it was used for patients living in remote rural areas. That exposure inspired him to try it out at HKU during the COVID-19 closure. He adapted bedside teaching and clinic sessions so students could consult patients via video during lockdown and continue to refine their skills. Clad in white coats, final-year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) student Ho Yik-to and her classmates took patient histories and performed simple neurological examinations over Zoom. For example, they were able to modify the finger-nose test in which patients touch their nose with their finger and then touch the examiner’s finger. “Before, I wouldn’t have thought that this test could be performed virtually because it involves direct interaction between the patient and the examiner. But with slight modification, we were able to obtain useful information from the test despite not seeing the patient face to face. Telemedicine has its limitations, but it also encourages us to think out of the box.” Her classmate Verma Rohit Kumar said telemedicine helped ensure their skills could continue to develop and it even improved on some aspects of in-person learning. For instance, he joined an operating theatre session in which groups of students spent half the time watching brain surgery via video link from a conference room and the other half in the operating theatre, where Dr Tsang had a camera mounted on his head. “It actually gave us a better view than being there in person and he communicated with students in both places,” Rohit said. “This was all very valuable experience for me.” Dr Tsang is drawing on these experiences to integrate telemedicine into the MBBS curriculum, with support from a Teaching Development Grant. “The pandemic has catalysed the adoption of telemedicine. Aside from the obvious advantage of enabling clinical teaching to continue, it has provided an opportunity for students to learn telemedicine consultation skills, which will become more important in future.” A ‘Take-home’ Lab Laboratory work was one area where teachers had to be creative during the COVID-19 closure. Dr Lui King-shan and Dr Sam KH Lam’s Integrated Design Project course, for instance, focusses on getting Electrical and Electronic Engineering students to work in teams in the laboratory to produce an automatic vehicle system. How can that be achieved when they are told not to come to campus? The teachers’ workaround was to quickly develop video lectures and instructions that were uploaded online, to adapt laboratory experiments so they could be done at home, and to arrange for packets of key components to be sent to students so they could complete their project at home. Students who were stuck overseas were provided with simulators to complete the work. “It was not perfect, but I think most of our course requirements were fulfilled,” Dr Lui said. “Students were still assessed according to our original plan. The major difference was we watched a lot of videos instead of real-time demonstrations and there was not much chance for us to ask questions. But the students were very understanding and patient.” They also felt the experience deepened their learning. Fourth-year student Gary Choi Ki-hin said: “The lecture videos were beneficial for self-learning, which is also an essential and critical skill.” 2020 graduate Molly Rathore, who was in India at the time, had additional challenges in getting a computer compatible with the simulator and dealing with errors, but she succeeded in the end. “Some of the tasks I simulated were developing a robotic car with features like obstacle detection and warning system and a Bluetooth car. It required a lot of additional research and this was great learning for me. The course was designed with a lot of thought and it was one of the most interesting courses I took at HKU.” Orientation and Volunteering Take to Zoom One of the biggest impacts of COVID-19 has been the damper on extracurricular activities that enrich the university experience. The Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS) has found a creative get-around that gives students these opportunities and helps them connect with each other, through online delivery of its Non-Academic Induction programme. When the new academic year kicked off in September 2020, the programme accommodated 258 students who participated in such things as ‘speed friending’ (rotating through chat rooms to meet new people), goal setting sessions, inspirational activity sessions and an Instagram challenge about adjusting to life as university students. About 30 current students were recruited to help facilitate newcomers through these activities. There were also online induction talks, attended by about 1,900 students, and an online Weeks of Welcome for international students. A volunteering programme to connect students with the children of former inmates was also moved online. In spring and summer sessions, student volunteers held Zoom sessions with the children to teach them fun educational activities such as making their own ice cream and a balloon rocket. The children, aged 5–12, were at home because schools were closed due to COVID-19. They were identified with the help of the Society of Rehabilitation and Crime Prevention. Gessy Li, a second-year Master of Social Work student, said the timing of the programme worked well. “We were all trapped in our own homes and feeling isolated and powerless, so when this virtual service opportunity came, I realised there was always a way to spread love and care. I was also interested to learn more about rehabilitated people and their families,” she said. There were other benefits for HKU participants, too. “We acquired some new skills, such as knowing how to place camera angles so your audience can see you and making use of breakout rooms for personalised instructions. It was surprising how much could be done virtually.” Second-year Bachelor of Laws student Sam Lee Cheuk-ming said the experience gave him insights about these children. “I used to think that children of former inmates had low selfesteem because of who their parents are, but that is entirely not true. They were just like normal children, they don’t like being bored and they like asking why, how, what and when.” MBBS students (in the TV) carrying out telemedicine consultation and examination on a patient in the neurosurgery clinic at Queen Mary Hospital. The simulation used to understand the system. Student volunteer Gessy (bottom) and Sam (top) held Zoom sessions with the children of former inmates to teach them fun educational activities. 10 | 11
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODI4MTQ=