Jeffrey R. Young, an expert on higher education, is touring Asia to see how the region’s universities are using information technology – and he’s blogging about it. He’s found a lot of interesting stuff, but this story from Singapore grabbed my attention:
Next month a major undergraduate division of the National University of Singapore will ask students to stay out of the classroom for a whole week—and force professors to teach online instead. It’s an unusual drill to prepare for any unexpected campus shutdown, and it was inspired by the SARS outbreaks of 2003 and last year’s concerns about H1N1.
Last week the National University of Singapore staged a series of workshops for the division (the faculty of arts and social sciences) to make sure every professor knows how to use tools that let them teach from home using audio chat, video lectures recorded from their laptops, or other virtual-delivery methods. Later in the semester, other divisions will take their turn switching to online for a week, and most every class at the university will participate sometime this academic year.
Professors have not complained about the exercise—called e-learning week—according to officials. The lack of protest is mainly because professors see such shutdowns as a real possibility, and they want to be prepared, argues Shyam Narayanan, associate director of the university’s center for teaching with technology. “The small size of Singapore really plays a role—a few cases can spread fast,” he says.
If you want to keep up with your studies after the apocalypse, move to Singapore.
