CMALT Portfolio

Contextual statement

I have been working in Higher Education for over ten years now in a variety of teaching, design and management roles. Throughout this time I have always been interested in how learning technology works and how it can improve teaching and learning. This interest has ranged from integrating hardware such as smart screens into classrooms, exploring new applications and software into teaching teams and presenting at conferences on digital course design. In 2018 I exchanged a management role in London for a module lead role at York, and part of the reason for this decision was so that I could become more directly involved in digital course and materials design for English for Academic Purposes (EAP), which is my specific area of interest. EAP is a subject aimed primarily at international students trying to improve their English to the level required to study at university. My module is called Language and Study Skills, and it's part of the Foundation Certificate programme delivered by the International Pathway College. While I do some teaching on this module, the main remit of my role is to supervise a teaching team who deliver the module, while I design the course and write the teaching materials. Since starting this role, technology has played an increasingly prominent role in the design process of my materials, and I have begun writing articles and presenting at conferences on the use of technology in language learning, and how certain applications and approaches can improve course design. Because of the work I've done so far, CMALT seemed like an ideal opportunity to further develop my own use of technology in education through interaction with teachers in other departments. Furthermore, the experience that I have built up over the past three years seemed like a solid foundation on which to draw for the CMALT portfolio. I am a language education specialist rather than a technologist, and recognise that I have a long way to go in developing myself into a proper Technology Enhanced Learning professional. As such, the work presented in this portfolio should be seen merely as a snapshot of my current stage on the journey.

April 2021