Committed to the promotion of open education, Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU) recently received a grant of HK$23.1 million from the Quality Education Fund (QEF) to transform the existing Open English textbook series for primary and secondary schools into an application (app) with multimedia and innovative technological elements. The app will facilitate blended teaching and self-directed learning through the use of multimedia and interactive technologies, such as videos, animations, games, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and chatbots. This is in line with the global trend of enhancing the effectiveness of learning and teaching through the use of technology and is intended to address the lack of support for Hong Kong students to learn English outside the classroom.

The three-year project to develop the multimedia and interactive app, coordinated by HKMU Vice President (Research and Student Development) Prof. Ricky Kwok Yu-kwong and Director of Advancement of Learning and Teaching Dr Eva Tsang Yuen-mei, will commence in September this year. The app's features include providing an immersive experience through VR and AR technologies to help students understand the teaching content more easily, as well as read-aloud modules and chatbots to offer more practice opportunities for students with weaker social skills and even those with special educational needs (SEN) to improve their confidence in speaking English.

More than 10 schools have been invited to be the project's seed schools, including TWGHs Chen Zao Men College, CCC Fong Yun Wah Secondary School, Lingnan Dr Chung Wing Kwong Memorial Secondary School, De La Salle Secondary School, N.T., Buddhist Yip Kei Nam Memorial College, St Paul's Convent School, and Fung Kai Innovative School. Up to 36,000 primary and secondary school students and 1,200 teachers are expected to benefit from the multimedia and interactive app after its official launch. The app will be widely promoted to Hong Kong teachers, students and parents through seminars, expositions and various online platforms.

“HKMU is keeping pace with the trend of blended learning,” said Prof. Ricky Kwok. “The objective of developing the multimedia and interactive app is to provide students with a more flexible, fun and personalised English learning experience, while helping teachers keep track of students' progress and needs, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of teaching and learning.” Since young people are used to using apps, Prof. Kwok pointed out that the app would differ from the traditional textbook-based teaching method by incorporating abundant multimedia and technological elements to build a vibrant online English learning environment to boost students' learning motivation.

Dr Eva Tsang said that promoting blended learning and using education technology to enhance independent learning are both important goals of the University. One of the key features of the app is its support for Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI), which enables the creation of student learning profiles that can be imported into a Learning Management System (LMS). Teachers can keep track of students' learning progress through the system's Dashboard, and can create, edit and import question banks to suit the level of their class, and share their teaching materials with other teachers.

With years of experience in compiling teaching resources, HKMU has been actively developing innovative education technology and teaching materials to provide learning support for students of all ages in Hong Kong. As early as 2016, with the support of the Education Bureau and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the University launched the Open Textbooks for Hong Kong project, in which the Open English textbook series, consisting of both printed and electronic versions, was added to the Recommended Textbook List for primary and secondary schools by the Education Bureau. The copyright is open to teachers who can select suitable topics for their school-based curriculum, and also provides students with free English teaching resources. In view of the new paradigm of “blended learning”, which combines traditional face-to-face classes with e-learning, the HKMU Office for Advancement of Learning and Teaching is leading a team comprising the University's instructional design experts, experienced teachers, academics, and the innovative and technology sector to transform the existing Open English textbooks into an online multimedia app, in order to meet the future learning needs of primary and secondary school students both in and outside the classroom.

Project description: Please watch the video at https://youtu.be/5nTah5AhQsY