In this blog, I discuss the benefits of a hybrid model that combines online and offline experiences. To spice it up a little bit, I do it on video - check it out here: https://youtu.be/w4LT9tnqA7k About the Author Johannes Urpelainen is the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Professor and Director of Energy, Resources and Environment at … Continue reading Combining Online and Offline Experiences
One of my most memorable experiences in 2019 was teaching an online lecture to a group of high school students in Guangzhou, China from a coffee shop in Delhi, India on my mobile phone. At ViaX, we had decided to demonstrate our service with a short lecture and Q&A. The catch was that at the … Continue reading Delhi to Guangzhou: Online Teaching as a Liberation Technology
The typical workshop at ViaX focuses on a substantive issue. In my case, for example, I teach classes on China’s Belt & Road Initiative and US-China Relations. But students also benefit from general improvement in their academics skills, from data collection to writing. Teaching research skills in online workshops presents a set of specific … Continue reading Teaching Basic Research Skills in Online Workshops
People are busy these days. The entire higher education industry is facing growing pressure to develop more flexible methods to complement traditional, multiyear degrees with full-time residence on a campus. At ViaX, we deal with this issue all the time. Our students are mostly enrolled in a full-time degree program elsewhere, so their ability … Continue reading Problem-Based Learning For Busy People
On a basic level, online teaching is not any different from traditional classroom teaching. The instructor imparts knowledge to students using a variety of methods, ranging from lecturing to discussion and group assignments. However, the use of online technology does require paying attention to a few specific challenges. To help my fellow instructors take … Continue reading Five Tips for Online Teaching
September 9 will be a special day for me and our program. We will launch our new gateway course on energy, resources, and environment. Together with my capable colleagues, Professors Simone Tagliapietra and Roger Raufer, we will teach the same materials to our new students across the three SAIS campuses: Washington DC, Bologna, and Nanjing. … Continue reading A Gateway Course for Our Program
Advances in information technology provide exciting opportunities for online education. One particularly important development is the availability of real-time teaching platforms that allow students to participate from anywhere in the world. Real-time online teaching was for the longest time a major problem. Problems with internet connection would make interaction awkward and unproductive, so that the … Continue reading Teaching Online With Zoom
Over the past new year, my career has taken an exciting turn. In my capacity as the Director of the Energy, Resources and Environment program at Johns Hopkins SAIS and as an instructor for ViaX Online Education, a Beijing-based learning and education company, I have grappled with the challenges of innovation in higher education. Thanks … Continue reading Innovative Higher Education: My Blog
Johannes Urpelainen 