3 to 5 November 2020 – The International Medical University‘s (IMU) Learning Resources Department hosted its first ever Virtual Learning Resources Festival 2020. With the help of the University’s Centre for Lifelong Learning (ICL), the festival was organised completely online and brought together learning professionals and experts, academia and students from around the world. The online festival included webinars by renowned international and national academicians and eLearning experts as well as workshops on technology tools, technology-enhanced learning, gamification, and online assessment. The festival also included IIInovasi and mobile app competitions. With the purpose of exchanging ideas and sharing successful approaches, strategies, and techniques that can be applied to the new norm, exploring avenues for collaboration and partnership among the institutions locally and internationally, the festival was an opportunity for secondary schools, matriculation colleges and higher education institutions to showcase their innovations, and establish links with each other while fostering friendships.
The IMU Learning Resources Festival (LRF) is an annual event jointly organised by the Learning Resources Department (e-Learning, Library & Medical Museum), Clinical Skills & Simulation Centre (CSSC) and IMU Centre for Education (ICE). The LRF 2020 aims to address both technical as well as the non-technical aspects of learning. The LRF event provides various opportunities in sharing and exchanging knowledge, best practices and experiences with the focus on learning innovation and technology.
While we continue to learn and adapt to new ways of doing things in this ‘new normal’, our team is excited to take on this challenge and host this event fully online for the first time. Once limited to the local community, this event is now opened to participants all around the world, in which they can participate from the comfort and safety of their own homes, institutions or workplace through this website. The theme for this year was “Shaping the Future of Learning with Emerging Technologies”. This theme aimed to engage and inspire ideas, discussions, exchange of knowledge and experience, and ignite possible creations and implementations on how the future of learning will drive emerging technologies. Bringing together an outstanding panel of prominent international and local educationists and learning professionals, there were discussions on key issues surrounding the future of learning. The festival also explored the best practices on how educators can deliver learning and achieve the objectives. The festival featured notable local and international speakers who shared their expertise and experience. Among them included:
| Some of the Notable Local and International Speakers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Prof Karl M Kapp | Professor of Instructional Technology and the Director of the Institute for Interactive Technologies | Bloomsburg University |
| Prof Madya Dr Wan Zuhainis Binti Saad | Director at Academic Excellence Division | Department of Higher Education, Malaysia |
| Prof Richard Fuller | Consultant Geriatrician / Stroke Physician and Vice-Dean of the School of Medicine | University of Liverpool |
| Mohsin Memon | Founder & CEO | Memcorp Immersive Learning |
| Prof Rozhan M Idrus | Professor of Open and Distance Learning & Technogogy | Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia |
| Prof Abdul Karim Alias | Director | Center for Academic Excellence & Students Advisory and Development |
| Prof Dr Ir Ts Vinesh Thiruchelvam | Deputy Vice Chancellor & Chief Innovation Officer | Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APIIT) Education Group |
| Dr Siti Azreena Mubin | Lecturer, Software Engineering | Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APIIT) University |
| Prof Sharifah Sulaiha Hj Syed Aznal | Associate Dean, Clinical Affairs & Development | International Medical University (IMU) |
Like previous years, the festival started with the IIInovasi and Mobile Apps competitions. This was followed by the three-day learning festival which saw more than 150 online participants from several countries taking part and exchanging insights and ideas in the fields of teaching and learning.
The top three winners for the competitions are:
| IIInovasi Competition | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Place | Puteri Balqis Binti Mohd Ishli | Kolej Matrikulasi Pulau Pinang | “Genies In Wondercell”: Enhancing The Concept Of Genetic Code Reading In Protein Synthesis |
| Second Place | A/Prof Sharifah Wajihah Wafa Binti Syed Saadun Tarek Wafa | Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin | From Bricks to Clicks Amid Covid 19: Asynchronous Learning on Food System |
| Third Place | Che Noraine Binti Che Arshad | SMK Sultan Badlishah | Module DE-Kit |
| Mobile Apps Competition | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Place | Nor Azmidy Bin Ismail | Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Beruang Melaka | Speedline The Game |
| Second Place | Mohd Saharudin Bin Setapa | Sekolah Kebangsaan Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) | Lespir Digital Spelling Application |
| Third Place | Farah Hazwani Binti Abu Bakar | Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Yan | Science PT3 Ar Learning Application |
Students from 8 Universities (UTM, MMU, IIUM, UPM, UKM, UPSI, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abdidin), 5 Matriculation Colleges and students and teachers from around 50 schools from Peninsular Malaysia participated in the competitions. A total from 149 external participants and 60 IMU participants attended LRF 2020. IMU School of Medicine took the Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Abu Bakar Challenge Trophy once again. This award is to acknowledge schools who display and incorporate technology-enhanced learning in their teaching and learning activities. The winner was selected based on the average points of the showcases participating in the IIInovasi Competition. The award was presented by A/Prof Nilesh Kumar Mitra to the winning school during the Prize Giving Ceremony on the third day of the event.
| Winner of Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Abu Bakar Challenge Trophy: School of Medicine | |
|---|---|
| Virtual Medical Clinic (PRIZE: GOLD) | Team Leader: Dr Sunil Pazhayanur Venkateswaran |
| An Innovative Approach to Develop a Self-Learning Package for Medical Students: A Promising Model (PRIZE: GOLD) | Team Leader: Prof Renu Agarwal |
| Innovative Teaching Learning Activity for Pharmacology During COVID19 (PRIZE: SILVER) | Team Leader: Dr Htet Htet |
| Learn about Antibiotics (PRIZE: SILVER) | Team Leader: A/Prof Velayudhan Menon |
| Community Health Survey Modulefor the MBBS Programme : An Innovative Approach (PRIZE: SILVER) | Team Leader: Dr Supathiratheavy Rasiah |
| The Design and Development of a Module Applied Lesson Plan in a Blended Approach (PRIZE: SILVER) | Team Leader: Prof Shahid Hassan |
In conclusion, this year’s event has provided an exciting experience for the committee members and participants. It is hoped that the experience of organising an online event such as this, will be continued and will be improved from time to time.
We look forward to seeing you all again in another exciting event.
Some of the comments posted in Padlet wall of LRF.
Written by Fareeza Marican Bt Abu Backer, Organizing secretary, LRF 2020, IMU.
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