Imagine a situation that SMU received an urgent notification from MOE that “All schools / educational institutions in Singapore will be shut down with immediate effect due to an unforeseen emergency situation. There will be no face-to-face lessons, until further notice.”
Such a situation is a possible reality. Schools in Singapore were closed in 2003 due to SARS and, some students and staff from a polytechnic in Singapore were quarantined due to H1N1 in 2009.
In such a situation, all faculty members, teaching staff and students at SMU need to be ready to continue teaching and learning effectively, online.
CTE’s Emergency Preparedness for Teaching and Learning (EPTL) Programme aims to support students in being ready for such unforeseen situations through a number of initiatives such as:
- Webinar (WebEx) sessions for students
- Online resources on learning online
Online Learning During Emergency Situations
The commonly used technology tools (recommended by SMU) during such emergency situations will be:
- eLearn tools to communicate and exchange teaching and learning materials as well as to upload assignments and receive feedback.
- Echo360 for online video lectures.
- WebEx Meeting for online face-to-face / synchronous lectures.
- Google Drive Applications for collaborative teaching and learning.
Please note that your instructor/s may also use other relevant technology tools. In that case, they will provide the necessary directions and guidance.
Important Information
It is every SMU student’s responsibility to:
- ensure that their devices (e.g., laptops,microphone, headphones) are functional.
- ensure that they have downloaded plug-ins to access WebEx and Echo360 and have tested out the use of these tools.
- be familiar with the tools in eLearn (SMU Learning Management System).
Information for New Students
New students must complete all of the following activities in the course LIB001 – Library Research Skills 2015-16:
- Survey and elearning course, Oh Crap!
- Register for the on-site LibQuest
Use your SMU ID and password to access these activities and information on eLearn.
If you have enquiries simply, email library [at] smu.edu.sg, browse the FAQs or chat online during office hours via the library’s website.
IITS Online Workshop Course
- All new and existing students are automatically enrolled into the ‘Student Emergency Preparedness Course’ in eLearn. (You will need to log in to eLearn). This is a course that will prepare you on how to use various online tools to continue with learning during an emergency. The course is made up of multiple modules and each one deals with a different set of tools that SMU provides.
- To find out more about eLearn and its tools, please click the eLearn Self-Help link.
- For students who encounter technical challenges in the online workshop, or to get more help on above mentioned tools, please visit the page Emergency Preparedness for Teaching and Learning, or you may contact the eLearn team at elearn [at] smu.edu.sg
- Students may also seek face-to-face support in the EPTL Clinic, to be run a few times in a school term. The schedule is listed at the login page of eLearn and on the eLearn support website
Important Resources
Almost all of the recommended tools (eLearn, GoogleDoc, WebEx) are best used using laptops and desktops and not tablets and mobile devices.
Recommended Resources on Learning Online (Require SMU log-in)