umagazine issue 18 42 Prof Jin is a linguist, whose research interests include second language acquisition, cognitive processing of languages, and transfer of learning. Prof Jin is especially interested in integrating technology in the teaching of languages and literature. She is now busy designing a MOOC in second language acquisition. ‘Macao is a multicultural and multilingual society. Language courses are the signature courses of our faculty. So we hope to introduce these courses to more students through the MOOC platform,’ she says. The MOOC in second language acquisition, which was designed by Prof Jin herself, is now in its final stage of production. Prof Jin was named the 1998 CASE National Outstanding Baccalaureate College Professor of the Year. She received Hamilton College’s 1963 Award of Teaching Excellence in 1996. She is also a two-time recipient of the NCOLCTL Walton Lifetime Achievement Award. Aside from being an accomplished educator, she also has a wealth of experience in creating online courses. While in the US, she published various audiovideo teaching materials. According to Prof Jin, the distinctive feature of this course lies in language acquisition and cognitive processing. ‘MOOCs differ from conventional courses in many ways,’ she says. ‘They have special requirements for content and format. They require a different theme for each class which must be limited to ten minutes, and they also call for flexible teaching methods to stimulate learner interest.’ MOOC Teams At the end of 2017, Prof Ni arranged for faculty members interested in launching MOOCs to visit Peking University and Tsinghua University to gain hands-on experience. Tsinghua University even organised a workshop for the UM delegation. According to Prof Ni, four faculty members from the Faculty of Education (FED), including assistant professors Li Zihao and Hsiang Tien Ping, travelled to Beijing to attend the workshop to learn how to use Tsinghua’s online course platform, how to design courses, and how to stimulate student interest through innovative teaching methods. Last year, Prof Ni introduced faculty members from FED to Tsinghua’s MOOC technologies, hoping to motivate them to participate in the MOOC project. But at that time, they didn’t show much interest. Later, Prof Hsiang visited Shanghai to attend a conference on education. A participant at the conference mentioned the impact of MOOCs, which made Prof Hsiang realise the necessity of keeping pace with the fast-changing world. Upon returning to UM, she expressed her eagerness to join the MOOC team. She is now busy designing a MOOC in Hanyu Pinyin. Last year, Prof Li Zihao won the Silver Award from the International Outstanding e-Learning Awards and UM’s first Teaching Excellence Award, in recognition of his innovative teaching methods. One of the general education courses he teaches is theatre. In teaching this course, he departs from the traditional approach and adopts a ‘flipped classroom’. He combines this student-centred, outcome-based approach with the latest technologies in augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and zoom, in order to create an interactive learning experience for students. The course has been very well received. When he first offered this course in 2016, only 20 students enrolled. A year later, the students had to beat a long queue for this elective course. 李自豪教授的課以發掘學生創意為主 Prof Li Zihao’s courses aim to promote learner creativity
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