Tsinghua was on its winter vacation when WHO declared a global emergency on 31 January. In the days preceding this, the outbreak of COVID-19 was being valiantly fought with prevention and control measures.
With the situation changing day to day, thoughts naturally moved to what impact it may have on the upcoming new semester. I joined the open class on 3 February along with thousands of Tsinghua faculty and students, and learned that the new semester was to start on schedule using technology to bridge the physical distance. The classes were to be taught online.
I was very excited about this, as the necessary move to teaching online provided a great opportunity to rethink my courses and determine how to integrate available technologies and resources, matching them to the course content, learning objectives and student needs. With only two weeks remaining before the first class, the countdown was on.
I started my preparation by testing the different platforms recommended by the university supporting team, such as Rain Classroom and the commercial platforms Tencent Meeting and Zoom. Being a lecturer at the Language Centre of Tsinghua University (LCTU) means that many of my classes require a high degree of interactivity with the students.
I settled on Zoom as my platform of choice, along with making full use of Rain Classroom and creating WeChat groups for each class. Then came the adjustment of teaching plans and writing guidance for students, such as how to be ready to attend the first class.
Of course, I did not do all this preparation in isolation. I worked together with my colleagues in LCTU (naturally, this was done online), sharing tips and solving problems.
Two weeks after the announcement in the open class that teaching was to be carried out online, I started my first online class at Tsinghua on Monday morning at eight o’clock. I expected there to be at least some minor issues, but to my delight, everything went smoothly. I did two back to back classes, and ended the morning with a feeling of exhilaration. I’m sure many of my colleagues shared the same feeling.
Writer: Kamleshkumar Patel
