I would define my area of expertise as the design and development of online learning materials that are innovative, motivating and pedagogically stimulating and effective, and can support cross-institutional collaboration.
TANGO is a digital task learning programme that promotes self-regulated learning and as such it can play a key role in making students better equipped learners while helping them develop invaluable skills for their future professional careers, enabling them to become lifelong learners.
I started devising TANGO in the summer of 2011, after receiving an unexpected visit from one of my colleagues at the University of Oviedo. It occurred to me then how useful it would be to work in partnership with Oviedo, bringing students the opportunity to work in collaboration with a language partner while sharing and discovering intercultural aspects of their mother tongues. Giving students a first-hand experience that would grant them a deep understanding of linguistic and cultural issues, as well as their own learning process.
Initially I thought about designing some collaborative work using email and message based chat. However, I realised that, in this day and age, real-time face to face communication and collaboration would be more appropriate and effective. Establishing working partnerships, where students took an active role and responsibility for their learning; discussing and reflecting on it and practising critical thinking with one another through synchronous communication, using innovative and motivating learning resources that enhanced the learning experience of students at the UoY and Oviedo, providing them with a sound, practical and deeper, learning experience.
After correspondence and meetings with Richard Walker, the University of York E-Learning Development Team Manager & VLE Service Group Leader, and Wayne Britcliffe, the UoY Learning Resources Manager, we came to the decision that utilising the, then, relatively new, University of York Gmail accounts, Google Apps could be used (Appendix 5.1). Students in Oviedo who didn’t have a Google account had to create one, but this was a free and simple way to allow them access to the learning and discussion sites as well as content and apps.
TANGO is a digital task learning programme that promotes self-regulated learning and as such it can play a key role in making students better equipped learners while helping them develop invaluable skills for their future professional careers, enabling them to become lifelong learners.
I started devising TANGO in the summer of 2011, after receiving an unexpected visit from one of my colleagues at the University of Oviedo. It occurred to me then how useful it would be to work in partnership with Oviedo, bringing students the opportunity to work in collaboration with a language partner while sharing and discovering intercultural aspects of their mother tongues. Giving students a first-hand experience that would grant them a deep understanding of linguistic and cultural issues, as well as their own learning process.
Initially I thought about designing some collaborative work using email and message based chat. However, I realised that, in this day and age, real-time face to face communication and collaboration would be more appropriate and effective. Establishing working partnerships, where students took an active role and responsibility for their learning; discussing and reflecting on it and practising critical thinking with one another through synchronous communication, using innovative and motivating learning resources that enhanced the learning experience of students at the UoY and Oviedo, providing them with a sound, practical and deeper, learning experience.
After correspondence and meetings with Richard Walker, the University of York E-Learning Development Team Manager & VLE Service Group Leader, and Wayne Britcliffe, the UoY Learning Resources Manager, we came to the decision that utilising the, then, relatively new, University of York Gmail accounts, Google Apps could be used (Appendix 5.1). Students in Oviedo who didn’t have a Google account had to create one, but this was a free and simple way to allow them access to the learning and discussion sites as well as content and apps.