JULAC Information Literacy Project

Funded by the University Grant Committee (UGC) of Hong Kong, the Joint University Librarians Advisory Committee (JULAC) launched a cross-institution teaching and learning related project titled “Enhancing Information Literacy in Hong Kong Higher Education through the Development and Implementation of Shared Interactive multimedia Courseware” in three years starting from 2015 through 2018. The Project aims to enhance information literacy among students in UGC-funded institutions by developing and implementing a shared interactive multimedia courseware. After this project, students should be able to uplift their capacity to use information to learn, and to build students’ awareness of themselves as informed learners. There are altogether five sub-projects under this main theme to (a) assess the information and educational needs of undergraduate students at the beginning of the project; (b) conduct research readiness self-assessment exercises for undergraduate students at the beginning as well as near the completion of the project for comparison sake; (c) build up IL capacity of the academic librarians in Hong Kong; (d) develop a shared information literacy courseware; and finally (e) develop IL loaded courses together with faculty members by using the Course Enhancement Funds.

Among other deliverables of the Project, InfoLit for U, a free open-access MOOC on IL using edX platform, was launched in February 2018 as a 24×7, self-paced, non-credit bearing MOOC for undergraduate students. There are altogether eight discipline-related elective modules, namely Arts & Humanities, Business & Economics, Education, Engineering, Health Sciences, Law, Science and Social Sciences. These modules provide inquiry-based context within which information seeking tasks related to these disciplines are designed. InfoLit for U enables users to think and plan the information needs of their research, search for ideas to develop ideas, evaluate ideas to form new ideas, connect ideas to create their own idea, and join and learn from communities.

Leo F.H. Ma

Head, Upper-campus Libraries

The Chinese University of Hong Kong