Individual Award
Dr Annie HU Xinyun
胡馨允博士
Assistant Professor, Department of Early Childhood Education
In an increasingly changing world, Dr Annie HU Xinyun has had a remarkable impact on her
students and community as a leader in the innovative use of technologies for early childhood
education. She developed the Experience, Discover, Create (EDC) learner-centred approach using
evidence-based research, applications and advocacy to transform the use of technology,
redefining the roles of the learner and teacher in a future-oriented learning context.
By systematically scaffolding her students to adopt new digital technologies in early childhood
education for multimodal learning, the students self-developed bespoke solutions, further
evolving self-learning in the field and impacting the learning of young children in the real
world. Her innovative pedagogical approaches have inspired and enhanced self-directed learning
in her classes, as she co-created STEM toolkits and e-learning packages rich with sensory,
graphic and interactive elements.
Dr Hu has led the transformation of blended-learning approaches and pedagogical play strategies
at EdUHK and beyond. Specifically, she led teaching teams that worked with the faculty
E-learning Innovation Team, and co-created four e-learning packages that supported more than
1,700 students in (1) 360-degree virtual field trips, (2) 360-degree virtual school visits, (3)
designing school gardens using augmented reality (AR), and (4) using a digital platform to share
self-directed teaching aids. She was also the first lecturer to pioneer the Creative Lab (Pilot
Future Classroom) in 2018. Beyond normal learning settings, in 2021, her students engaged in
co-designing and co-creating flexible learning spaces in the Future Early Childhood & Primary
Classroom programme.
Her technology-driven framework has alleviated the impact of the pandemic on educators, allowing
them to maintain continuity and engagement with their students. To underpin her evidence-based
practice, Dr Hu and her team published the paper "Technology Integration for Young Children
During COVID-19: Towards Future Online Teaching", which the World Health Organization selected
for its COVID-19 global literature database library (ID: covidwho-1238369).
Dr Hu’s outstanding contributions have been honoured with coveted awards, such as Blended and
Online Learning Ambassador in 2016, the Excellence in Knowledge Transfer Award in the Department
of Early Childhood Education in 2020, and the Certificate of Merit under FEHD Leaders in the
Learning Award Scheme in 2021.
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