Abstract:

Online learning has been a hot topic in recent decades. With the outbreak of novel coronavirus in China and other Asian countries, many kindergartens, schools and colleges are rushing to switch their traditional classrooms online in order to minimise face-to-face contacts and the possibility of the virus transmission. However, there are many challenges to conduct class online, such as, students having low motivation to access the online material, attention problem, and prior teacher training and support is needed (Kim & Bonk, 2006).

This paper introduces an online training programme that utilises dramatised video (adapted from Thombs et al., 2015) to engage university resident assistants’ in the training. The dramatised video shows learners a story about a university resident’s event, and engages learners through interactive features that require them to make decisions about how to intervene a resident with mental health issues. Online learning logs and qualitative interviews show that the learners in general engaged in and were satisfied with the training. Theories of active learning and literature on active learning in virtual classroom are applied to explain and discuss the result.

This paper also provides the development process of the online training video and how it can be incorporated into the university’s e-learning platform. The learners’ comments and suggestion are also reported. Finally, the author, who is the developer of the online training, shares his insights about this project and gives recommendations for further research and practice.

References:
[1] Kim, S., Khera, O., & Getman, J. (2014). The experience of three flipped classrooms in an urban university: An exploration of design principles. Internet and Higher Education, 22, 37–50. doi:0.1016/j.iheduc.2014.04.003
[2] Thombs, D. L., Gonzalez, J. M., Osborn, C. J., Rossheim, M. E., & Suzuki, S. (2015). Resident assistant training program for increasing alcohol, other drug, and mental health first-aid efforts. Prev Sci, 16(4), 508-517. doi:10.1007/s11121-014-0515-x

Keywords:

Online Learning, e-learning, Engagement, Dramatised Video, University Resident Assistants.