Arrival of the long-anticipated double cohort of first year UGs brought challenges and excitement. Over 700 new UGs joined the Library orientation tour and were welcomed by many colleagues who usually work behind the scenes, including those from Acquisitions, Cataloging, Systems, and Administration. All volunteered to help as tour guides, glad of the chance to greet and introduce themselves and our resources, facilities and services to the earnest new UGs.
After a successful pilot collaboration with the Center for Language Education in 2011/12, integration of information literacy instruction into 1st and 2nd year language courses was at full steam this year. Librarians from Reference and Technical Services taught 84 sessions to 2,870 1st year LANG 1001/1002 students.
Searching Research Literature Effectively and Academic Integrity & Intellectual Property were offered as a trial run for next year's Professional Development Course series for RPGs. With other classes for CLE programs, course-related instruction and open workshops, 328 library sessions were offered to 8,321 staff & students.
To supplement face-to-face instruction and enhance student learning, many course guides were created, often embedded with interactive e-learning objects. The Library Research Guide for LANG 1001/1002 (http://libguides.ust.hk/lang1001) is embedded with 2 interactive animations: What is a Citation? and How to Cite in APA Style. Online quizzes were also incorporated into LANG 1001 and 1002 course sites on LMES, helping reinforce learning and test understanding.
These e-learning resources received very positive feedback from students, and instructors considered them an important component of their courses. It seems we survived the double cohort and this next year will be an adventurous yet fruitful one for all. |