A game-based learning approach to information literacy: Knovel global academic challenge

In this work, we investigate how online games can be used to promote information literacy in engineering students. The Knovel database provides an online library of science and engineering-focused content, serving more than 700 customers worldwide, including over 400 universities. The Knovel Academic Challenge is a global game designed to highlight key features of the Knovel database, which includes 3500 reference items and 90,000 interactive tables, graphs, and equations. In previous years, challenge questions were comprised primarily of interactive equation references, unit conversions, derivatives, and periodic table lookups. For the Fall 2015 challenge, a committee of students at Drexel University developed a brand new set of questions based on contemporary engineering grand challenges. To generate on-campus engagement in the challenge, we organized a hackathon-inspired "Knovel Marathon" night in which a significant number of undergraduate and graduate students took part in solving the challenge, the vast majority using Knovel for the first time. We observed high levels of engagement, interaction with library staff, and enthusiasm during the marathon, demonstrating how games can be used to demonstrate key functionalities of databases and library resources, and their application to academic research workflows.