Abstract

• This project aims to develop a knowledge management web application which seamlessly integrates with Blackboard (using LTI standard) for both UGFN1000 “In Dialogue with Nature” and UGFH1000 “In Dialogue with Humanity” in General Education Foundation Programme, in order to cultivate students as responsible cyber citizens who are able to bridge classics texts with contemporary global issues, and have a keen sense of global awareness at home.
• Global citizens should be equipped with scientific and civic literacy in order to facilitate their participation in the virtual world as informed and critical knowledge processors. This project provides students with knowledge management tools in forming a virtual learning community to apply the scientific and civic knowledge learned from classics on international issues happening in the real world, thus enhancing their awareness on both the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals, and other contemporary global scientific, environmental, social and civic issues.
• The proposed web application can overcome the limitations of traditional online forum in serving knowledge management purpose, especially in terms of content sharing in diversified formats and organized content retrieval.
  • For data sharing and interpretation, students can actively share content from trustworthy sources in various formats (articles, news, academic journals, and YouTube videos). They will assign tags to link the content with specific paragraph of the assigned classics, specific branch of knowledge and the sustainable development goals.
  • For data viewing and retrieval, students can select specific paragraphs of the text and relevant contents will be displayed. They can give rating and leave comments on the content. Also, students can sort the contents according to their ratings and number of comments.
• The participation in the web application will constitute 6% of the course assessment. Students are also encouraged to apply the contents in their written assignments that constitute 50-60% of the course assessment.
• Quantitative and qualitative methods will be employed to evaluate the success of the project, including online surveys, focus group interviews and textual analysis of the sharing, comments and written assignments.
• The proposed project well aligns with the strategic development direction of the University that promotes internationalization at home and contribution to the United Nation’s sustainable development goals.

Brief write-up

Project objectives

This project aims at developing a Blackboard-integrated knowledge management web application for courses UGFN1000 “In Dialogue with Nature” and UGFH1000 “In Dialogue with Humanity” in the General Education Foundation (GEF) Programme. Students would be cultivated as responsible cyber citizens who are able to bridge classic texts with contemporary global issues, and thus have a keen sense of global awareness at home.

Activities, process and outcomes

The project created a knowledge management web application for students to share diversified format of content from trustworthy online sources. Concurrently, by viewing, commenting and rating other students’ sharing, an interactive knowledge sharing community was built.

Deliverables and evaluation

A Blackboard web application used by 1,767 students in 2 courses, which has also been promoted to 22 GEF teachers, has been produced. The survey and textual analysis showed that the web application was well-received, and students could attain the intended learning outcomes.

Dissemination, diffusion, impact and sharing of good practices

The project has been presented in two CUHK conferences and one departmental conference. Participants showed a great interest in the online platform. The logic design of this online experiential learning could be replicated in other courses at CUHK, especially for courses with core readings in their curriculum and high enrollment.

Impact on teaching and learning

According to the evaluation results, students had more exposure to both local and international news relevant to the core texts, broadening their global visions. They have also improved their understanding of the course material.

Video Report

Please click the following link for viewing the report.
https://cuhk.ap.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=54324fd1-61bc-4854-9979-b12200b2b17f