Progress Tracking and Online Learning Assisted by Social Media Tools: A Case Study of Teaching Architectural Design

The study of architectural design is similar to the execution in architecture firms, and the chief designer must keep an eye on all the work progress. Before the outbreak of Covid-19, tutors can check the progress of design assignments as long as they walk into students' studios;as all design drawings or models are on the table. It is possible to save time by leaving notes for improvement. However, in distance teaching, especially in the case of being unable to meet for a long time, what communication tools can effectively maintain the connection between tutors and students is the focus of this study. After trying and experiencing various tools, our teachers and students have found that LINE, a social software, has played a great role. The second is the communication products of Google and Microsoft;the functions of these two are comparable. After several semesters of online communication, the teacher team has also accumulated a set of methods suitable for architectural and/or design learning, at least currently effective. The acceptance of digital tools by a teacher's age group also affects online quality. In addition to reflecting on various suboptimal experiences, this paper also reports improvements at this stage, especially in the interaction between teachers. © 2022 IEEE.

The study of the dilemma on the control of COVID-19 spread and face-to-face learning and its trade-off solutions

To control the COVID-19 spread, face-to-face learning has been prohibited. Instead, some of the classes have been canceled and some are being conducted in an e-learning mode. Both teachers and students have encountered difficulties in the unusual and less-effective online learning environment. Particularly, the situation is getting worse from the senior group (university) to junior groups (secondary school, primary school, and kindergarten) as students’ maturity levels are closely related to learning. Various research studies and surveys have summarized that the educational standard and learning outcomes are generally lowered during the pandemic. To address the dilemma between health and face-to-face learning, cutting-edge techniques should be introduced to provide trade-off solutions for school management and government. Case studies are discussed to examine the dilemma and trade-off solutions. The pros and cons of the solutions have been summarized. We have highlighted some emergent research directions as future works. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Study of Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPET) Students' Online Learning Experience during the Outbreak of Pandemic

During the outbreak of COVID-19, schools at all levels were closed and face-to-face classes were cancelled. The stagnation was considered as the most impactful in human history. Surprisingly, the incident also revealed that the education sector was most vulnerable and yet resilient. Schools that have been implementing e-learning/online learning/blended or flexible learning prior to the pandemic mostly survived and were able to adapt to the new normal while those heavily relied on face-to-face classes delivery suffered the most. Readiness and responsiveness were the two key factors for educational institutions to survive. Readiness here included not merely the preparation of e-learning and teaching resources but also the stakeholders' learning and teaching practices, habits and willingness. Schools' timely responses and decision making on the changes of policies, curricula, timetabling as well as choosing the appropriate learning and teaching platforms were equally important. This study looked specifically into one of Hong Kong largest vocational and professional education and training (VPET) institute's learning and teaching policy and students' online learning experience in response to the outbreak of the pandemic. The institute also experienced the closed down of campuses and classes suspension due to the social unrest in Hong Kong in 2019. This paper first reviewed the contingency policy followed by a study on the implementation of online learning and teaching activities during the pandemic. A questionnaire survey was then conducted to 1,381 full-time and 193 part-time students on their online learning experience for the enhancement of the online learning and teaching practices and future planning. Results of the study showed that online learning experience varied amongst students from different learning programmes. This study also found that part-time students had a more satisfying online learning experience and were more adaptable to online learning than full-time students. Findings also revealed that clarity and sufficient guideline in using online learning platform and learning materials, enhancement of online assessment as well as guidance, support and feedback from teachers were the salient points to be addressed. © 2021 IEEE.

Healthcare workers acquired COVID-19 disease from patients? An investigation by phylogenomics.

The increasing number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the community has posed a significant epidemic pressure on healthcare settings. When healthcare workers (HCWs) acquire COVID-19, contact tracing and epidemiological investigation might not be adequate for determining the source of transmission. Here, we report a phylogenetic investigation involving two infected HCWs and nine patients to determine whether patient-to-HCW transmission had occurred in a hospital without a previous COVID-19 outbreak. This is the first study to apply phylogenomics to investigate suspected nosocomial transmission in a region with low prevalence of COVID-19. Our results do not support the occurrence of direct patient-to-HCW transmission.