Reviews

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Virginia Grover, Birkbeck (University of London):

"I think it is great the way the students learn tech skills and organizational skills at the same time as displaying their work. Also, they must feel proud of seeing what they have done displayed in this format, which is good for their confidence - very important for language improvement. This is definitely a great way to integrate skills and it would have been good at my last job in the UAE where some of my students had integrated projects in which they had to use English, Computers, and Maths. A digital portfolio is a great idea and I like it. You explained in the workshopthat the tech learning is not explicit and I think that is another great aspect of it - they can be creative and learn the skills needed to realize what they are imagining by liaising with their colleagues. It seems that you have factored time for this into the course which is great. I also feel that one of the reasons this all works is because as the instructor, you believe in it and have obviously dedicated a great deal of time to making it work, so I congratulate you on this.

From the students' introductions of themselves, and the way these were written, compared with the assignment work, there seems to be a large discrepancy in English level. I will not mention any names, and I didn't have time to look at all the portfolios, but I think you understand what I am talking about. So knowing that with their level of English they are required to do tasks like critique renaissance literature in English (a big leap) I was wondering how you were able to discern the improvement in their skills, given that what you are assessing includes some "cut and paste" creations. What I am asking is the question that many of us face when there is a big gap between the skill level and the curriculum requirements. I am thinking specifically of my time teaching low intermediates in the UAE, but at university level. I am not sure if there is an answer... but did the digitalportfolio help address this gap and if so how? Did the digital portfolio help the students create original work at their own level and minimize their dependence on "cut and paste"? Or did becoming more tech savvy enable them to become better at searching, cutting and pasting rather than at creating more independent work? This is not meant as a critique of what you are doing, rather as a discussion on the problem of the internet being a double-edged sword."