Teaching digital and global law for digital and global students: creating students as producers in a Hong Kong Internet Law class

Abstract

ABSTRACT In an increasingly globalised and digitalised society and economy, legal education needs to foster a different skill set among students from that taught traditionally. Law students need practice in responding to a variety of scenarios and contexts, as well as developing creative and critical thinking skills. The “student as producer” approach provides opportunities for students to build such skills by having students produce work that could benefit their fellow classmates and future cohorts, and contribute to the discipline’s knowledge base. We present a case study of a final year undergraduate law course, Internet and the Law, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong where we used the student as producer approach, collaborated with external organisations and used digital tools to foster global and digital-savvy law students. Using a mixed-methods approach we highlight successes and limitations of using the “student as producer” approach, digital tools and an internationalised curriculum in our law classroom. Overall, students and staff found the approach successful in providing global and digital law students with practical skills. We also identified limitations and challenges to be addressed in future projects. Our findings speak to broader themes of active engagement, contributions, and practical knowledge for law students in their learning and future careers.