I use digital technology to support my teaching and my students’ learning. In this day and age, students are not as IT literate or comfortable using computers as one might think. My students range from university graduates and postgraduates, to staff and members of the public (national and international) whose ages typically span from 18 years old to retirees. At the beginning of the academic year I always show all my groups how to log into our VLE and navigate through the module sites. I show them where to find my contact details to make sure they can reach me if they need help with any queries that may crop up, regarding Spanish, the use of the VLE and any learning resources. In my experience, it is good practice to keep on asking students every week if they have accessed their VLE module site, and show them where to find the weekly materials to ensure all of them feel confident and are comfortable to explore the VLE outside the classroom. I also have put together an announcement that appears in the modules' homepage to help students find their way in the VLE and develop a good self-study approach.
Being aware of my students’ needs and abilities, is the key factor to help me choose a suitable tool or platform for the intended teaching and learning outcomes. In my experience, a clear function and purpose must be properly discussed/ researched and identified when designing any educational or assessment materials. In addition to that, a website that can be navigated intuitively which is simple, clear, uncluttered and includes relevant and accurate information is a good website. This academic year I started doing something very simple which has improved my students experience navigating the VLE. Although the current system organised in three term folders and subdivided into weekly folders, seemed very straightforward, there were still students who said that they did not find each week's materials easily. In order to solve the issue I decided to highlight the current week’s folder using a different bright colour and adding ‘¡esta semana!' (=this week!) after the folder’s name. Now students can find the relevant folder straightaway and have reported in class that they feel at ease accessing the resources.
I have been using Yorkshare, the University of York VLE, and Blackboard since 2008 when I piloted its use in the language unit where I work, Languages For All (LFA). In 2013/14, over a period of six months, I led a working group which reviewed all LFA VLE modules to ensure QA and QE across all languages. I gathered, produced and disseminated relevant documentation before the meetings. At the meetings I presented the information and my colleagues from the LFA admin team produced and distributed the minutes. I also liaised and met with a member of the VLE team to discuss and address the needs and requirements of the new LFA VLE sites. Together we designed and presented a number of options to the working group during the summer. The design and content of all LFA VLE modules was redeveloped accordingly and the new LFA VLE structure was successfully implemented in 2014/5. One of the main aims of the working group was to ensure QA across all the languages, both European and non-European, improving the learning experience of all language students at the University of York, and allowing consistency to ensure that our VLE sites had a simple and clear structure to provide a more intuitive and user friendly navigation across all languages (Appendix 1c).
Being interested in technology and pedagogy I have always discussed and compared experiences both with colleagues and students. We need to explore and try the resources ourselves but our students’ knowledge and backgrounds differ from ours and what we may find simple or straightforward they might find difficult and vice versa. This is why I practise a ‘show and tell’ approach with my students and my team of Spanish tutors, facilitating a comfortable environment where two-way open discussions are encouraged and supported so that we can share and successfully resolve any queries and difficulties which may crop up. For example, I remember suggesting a student who was unable to access some web resources to try using a different web browser, like Mozilla Firefox or Maxthon, since typically most Windows computers use Internet Explorer by default and sometimes some plug-ins are unsupported. Another common issue with smartphones, smart TV’s and tablets is that they do not always support Flash; which can often be easily fixed by simply downloading Flash from the Adobe website.
As I have been writing and producing audio materials for a while, some years ago I designed and ran a workshop on this topic to share my knowledge with colleagues, from all languages, who - as my students - are national and international, and whose experiences, qualifications and areas of expertise are very diverse; taking this into account I have also run one to one sessions with colleagues; and, together we have created learning and assessment materials. Being able to develop our own learning and assessment materials, my colleagues and I have produced tailor-made resources to ensure Quality Assurance and Quality Enhancement (Audio materials).
Being aware of my students’ needs and abilities, is the key factor to help me choose a suitable tool or platform for the intended teaching and learning outcomes. In my experience, a clear function and purpose must be properly discussed/ researched and identified when designing any educational or assessment materials. In addition to that, a website that can be navigated intuitively which is simple, clear, uncluttered and includes relevant and accurate information is a good website. This academic year I started doing something very simple which has improved my students experience navigating the VLE. Although the current system organised in three term folders and subdivided into weekly folders, seemed very straightforward, there were still students who said that they did not find each week's materials easily. In order to solve the issue I decided to highlight the current week’s folder using a different bright colour and adding ‘¡esta semana!' (=this week!) after the folder’s name. Now students can find the relevant folder straightaway and have reported in class that they feel at ease accessing the resources.
I have been using Yorkshare, the University of York VLE, and Blackboard since 2008 when I piloted its use in the language unit where I work, Languages For All (LFA). In 2013/14, over a period of six months, I led a working group which reviewed all LFA VLE modules to ensure QA and QE across all languages. I gathered, produced and disseminated relevant documentation before the meetings. At the meetings I presented the information and my colleagues from the LFA admin team produced and distributed the minutes. I also liaised and met with a member of the VLE team to discuss and address the needs and requirements of the new LFA VLE sites. Together we designed and presented a number of options to the working group during the summer. The design and content of all LFA VLE modules was redeveloped accordingly and the new LFA VLE structure was successfully implemented in 2014/5. One of the main aims of the working group was to ensure QA across all the languages, both European and non-European, improving the learning experience of all language students at the University of York, and allowing consistency to ensure that our VLE sites had a simple and clear structure to provide a more intuitive and user friendly navigation across all languages (Appendix 1c).
Being interested in technology and pedagogy I have always discussed and compared experiences both with colleagues and students. We need to explore and try the resources ourselves but our students’ knowledge and backgrounds differ from ours and what we may find simple or straightforward they might find difficult and vice versa. This is why I practise a ‘show and tell’ approach with my students and my team of Spanish tutors, facilitating a comfortable environment where two-way open discussions are encouraged and supported so that we can share and successfully resolve any queries and difficulties which may crop up. For example, I remember suggesting a student who was unable to access some web resources to try using a different web browser, like Mozilla Firefox or Maxthon, since typically most Windows computers use Internet Explorer by default and sometimes some plug-ins are unsupported. Another common issue with smartphones, smart TV’s and tablets is that they do not always support Flash; which can often be easily fixed by simply downloading Flash from the Adobe website.
As I have been writing and producing audio materials for a while, some years ago I designed and ran a workshop on this topic to share my knowledge with colleagues, from all languages, who - as my students - are national and international, and whose experiences, qualifications and areas of expertise are very diverse; taking this into account I have also run one to one sessions with colleagues; and, together we have created learning and assessment materials. Being able to develop our own learning and assessment materials, my colleagues and I have produced tailor-made resources to ensure Quality Assurance and Quality Enhancement (Audio materials).