東海大學為支持學生適性發展，讓學生以低試探錯誤成本探索自我潛能。於2023年12月，利用爭取到教育部補助素養導向高教學習創新計畫（XPlorer探索者計畫）資源與Hahow for campus合作，提供學生帳號可以無限次觀看平台課程，創造學生的多元化，讓學生透過線上學習到的內容，產生不同視野觀察社會。
Part Two! How to Study Online: From Busy Academics to Self-Discovery
On May 24, 2024, in the large conference room on the north side of the College of Creative Arts at Tunghai University, a group of students gathered to share their experiences of balancing busy academic schedules with a two-month self-directed online learning program. These students came together to discuss their experiences during the second session of the "How to Study Online" learning exchange. Participants rated the session with an average satisfaction score of 9.6. “During the exchange, I heard many students share their learning experiences, such as how they scheduled and motivated themselves for online learning, as well as the challenges they faced. It also gave me the chance to share my own learning progress and thoughts,” said Ms. Chen, a law student, in her feedback afterward.
The participants came from various schools, including the College of Social Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, College of Management, College of Creative Arts, College of Law, and College of Engineering. Their common ground was that they all took part in the "Part Two! How to Study Online" program. As early as the March 29 kickoff meeting, the 25 students involved in the self-directed online learning program had already met each other. “I’m very grateful to the university for offering this online course. It helped me learn new things and gradually understand what works best for me in terms of learning,” said Mr. Lin, a statistics major, excitedly. Through guided discussions, students also gained insight into successful learning strategies used by their peers.
How to Study Online: Self-Directed Learning Program
To support students' personal development, Tunghai University launched the "How to Study Online" program in December 2023. This initiative, made possible through the Ministry of Education’s XPlorer Competency-Based Higher Education Learning Innovation Grant, in partnership with Hahow for Campus, provided students with unlimited access to online courses on the platform. This approach allowed students to explore their potential at a low cost of trial and error, broadening their perspectives through the diverse content available online.
Following the first round of the program, adjustments were made based on student feedback, including the addition of a kickoff meeting and a review sheet. Many students found the review sheet helpful in their self-directed online learning. "I believe that reflecting on why I failed to achieve my goals, or why my goals and actions were misaligned from the beginning, can help me avoid repeating those mistakes," said Ms. Luo, a sociology student. Ms. Chen from the College of Law also provided feedback on the review sheet. She felt that the section asking students to record what to start, stop, or continue each week was not very useful for her, as she was already in the habit of taking notes. As a result, she found it difficult to decide what to fill in for that part.
Humanities and Social Sciences Students’ Interest in Career Skills
The online platform offered over 100 courses covering various topics such as lifestyle, business English, programming languages, visual design, management, digital marketing, data analysis, and workplace skills. Students in the humanities and social sciences fields were most interested in business English and digital marketing, completing over 40 courses in total. The category with the highest completion rate (58.33%) was lifestyle, which included courses on stress management, music, and stickers, reflecting students' personal interests and needs.
Finding Time for Courses Can Be Tough – Shift Your Mindset!
Many students admitted that finding time to watch courses amid the pressures of their semester workload was challenging. Mr. Lin, an information management student, shared that he maintained a daily routine of watching courses by treating it like watching TV, relaxing and watching every day without the pressure of having to learn something specific. “I even look up how much the course costs on the Hahow platform, and after completing a class, I feel like I’ve ‘earned’ something,” shared Mr. Yang, a philosophy student, explaining his different approach to learning.
Joining the Online Learning Program Again – Need for Better Scheduling
In their final reports, many students acknowledged that they needed to adjust their scheduling and planning. They also gained a deeper understanding of their own learning habits. For example, Mr. Hong, a Chinese literature major, shared, "No matter what assignments or reports I have, I shouldn’t let them interfere with the time I had originally planned for online courses." The online learning program helped him realize his shortcomings in time management and planning. When he had school assignments or reports to complete, the time set aside for online courses became less and less consistent, resulting in many courses he had planned to take going unfinished, and he was unable to keep up with his original learning schedule.
