Objectives

There are three objectives for this CoP:

1. To harness and share good practices in pedagogies that support virtual teaching and learning including hybrid and global classrooms, eAssessments and more
2. To plan, conduct activities/initiatives and explore the use/impact of emerging technologies e.g. virtual/augmented reality, metaverse, gamification, blockchain in Learning and Teaching
3. To harness a Body of Knowledge in Virtual Teaching and Learning in the form of people, documents in repository, Open Educational Resources (OERs) and connections to external networks

Expected Outcomes

There are three major outcomes for this CoP:

1. This CoP will shed light on how to overcome many of the challenges encountered by colleagues in their pursuit to adopt and sustain virtual teaching and learning (VTL) including, but not limited to, pedagogies for flipped, hybrid, global classrooms, applying gamification, knowledge virtualisation to design new learning environments, and the incorporation and creation of OERs in the learning process
2. A target set of easy-to-use yet effective VTL tools with appropriate pedagogies to operationalise them are identified and members/colleagues are increasingly adopting these tools and pedagogies to enhance their Learning and Teaching efforts
3. Living up to the fundamental characteristics of a CoP, this CoP will function as a “Help Centre” or a “Centre of Excellence” on topics covered by its domain

Work Plan and Activities

The best way to attract and maintain members’ interest is to satisfy their quest for knowledge. In that regard, this CoP will hold seminars, workshops on topics of prevailing interest. In addition to PolyU colleagues, speakers/facilitators from outside PolyU may be invited to deliver CoP events (in-person and/or online). Such people may include academics and/or leading practitioners with a demonstrated track record on applying a particular technique/tool, vendors from companies that offer educational products/services based on emerging technologies. This CoP also actively encourages member to carry out pilot projects on adopting new pedagogies/tools and then share with other members; we have budgeted funds for student helpers to assist CoP members to carry out such pilot projects.

In addition to planning meetings, this CoP expects to hold 4-6 events per year.