Online teaching is getting common in higher education around the world. Without exception, the Educational Development Centre (EDC) under PolyU has started working on it a few years ago. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are one of the examples that were first introduced in 2008. These online courses allow unlimited number of participants to access the courses through the website. It creates a new format of transmitting knowledge out of the classroom setting. A forum is being set for the teaching staff and students for consultation purposes. Students can learn the knowledge at any time that suits their schedule. Furthermore, the teaching staff can respond to the students’ enquiry at his or her convenience. In some universities, there may be a combination of in-person and online teaching before fully implementing the online structure.
What are the benefits of online teaching? Firstly, it is more convenient for both students and the teaching staff. It is not limited to the fixed daytime teaching hours and suits every participant who can access the web at any time. Secondly, the teaching staff can check on the progress of individual students by searching the frequency of participation. Furthermore, the online platform enables the teaching staff to view the performance of student at regular intervals. The teaching staff can easily pick out those weak students by viewing their up-to-date scores. The teaching staff can also save some time in finding and meeting the students by posting message on the forum.
Making such a move needs support and resources. As the participants are from different countries with different backgrounds, the teaching materials must be carefully and clearly written, using a common language for all parties. Furthermore, to draw the interest and attention of the participants, filmed lectures must be professionally taken. More important, the financial support from the management is required. Since online teaching is a trend, teaching staff must be prepared and get ready for such a move.