CAES Annual Report 2019-2020

CAES ANNUAL REPORT 2019 – 2020 11 10 The Digital Literacy Lab (DLL) began to pilot the use of peer consultants to provide one-to-one and small group consultations. Uptake of this new service was impacted by the campus closure. Since the service was paired with on- campus equipment loaning, and this equipment could not be accessed, few students booked consultations. The team subsequently transitioned into one-to-one consultations, with 110 slots offered but only 17 taken. At the same time, the shift to online delivery resulted in even more digital media assessments being required of students to replace face-to-face activities. In view of such developments, the focus was shifted to providing online resources to support learning. The DLL provided support in the form of consultations and workshops for four different undergraduate courses across three faculties. Semester 1 In the first semester, a team of six full-time Communication Advisors (CAs), six full-time CAES teachers and 36 part-time Peer Consultants delivered one- to-one and group activity support for digital/visual projects, general language advising, speaking and writing in Zone R of the Chi Wah Learning Commons, and on Zoom during periods of campus closure. The standard length for all consultations was 30 minutes; students were able to upload their work prior to booked sessions for consultants’ review. Speaking Studio In total, 160 students registered for Speaking Studio (SS) services. SS offered 970 one-to-one 30-minute consultations, of which 570 were booked, for a booking rate of 58.8%. The attendance rate for booked consultations was 92.1%, and the attendance rate for offered consultations was 54.1%. A total of 399 places were taken for group workshops and discussions. Writing Centre In the first semester, 628 students registered for sessions with the Writing Centre (WC). The WC offered 2,259 one-to-one 30-minute consultations, of which 1,775 were booked, for a booking rate of 78.6%. The attendance rate for booked consultations was 95.9%, and the overall attendance rate for offered consultations was 75.3%. A total of 137 places were taken for group writing workshops. General Language Advising Of the 91 places offered by General Language Advising (GLA) to students referred or invited by their teachers, supervisors or our CAs to enrol in our cycle-based advising programme, 91 registered students were recorded. A total of six advisors (full-time CAES teachers) took charge of the consultation sessions, with each offering a total of five 30-minute sessions per week over ten weeks. Overall, the attendance rate before the suspension of face-to-face teaching was 93%. Digital Literacy Lab Out-of-Class Communication Support CAES Communication Support Services (CSS) offers a variety of one-to-one consultations, workshops and discussions to help UGC-funded students succeed at the university, and to support their development as communicators beyond the university. CSS began the 2019-2020 academic year delivering its services in Zone R of the Chi Wah Learning Commons and migrated all services to the ZOOM platform as a response to campus closure policies. The use of CSS services is self-directed and voluntary, and all quality assurance/student evaluation is carried out based on the uptake of services offered. Quality assurance data is provided by the CAES IT Team and processed by the CAES Teaching and Learning Committee.