Apr
2016
Designing a worksheet: part 2
As I mentioned earlier, today we had a feedback session where our worksheets were peer reviewed. And what an exciting session it was! To say that I was impressed by the materials my peers created is understatement. Everyone did a fantastic job! It was particularly interesting to see that one of my peers created a worksheet for the same exam task as me. Although the way we approached it was different, it was good to see that we used similar teaching strategies.
My work received a lot of attention and people seemed to be impressed. I partly expected it due to the wow factor of augmented reality (AR) . I was, however, looking for some critical feedback so I could improve my work. Here is the feedback from my peers:
I found the comments very useful and it just shows how beneficial peer reviewing can be.
Positive points:
Innovative use of technology
Engaging visual/kinaesthetic activity
Makes a very dry task interactive and collaborative
Really testing students’ skills
Looks appealing and professional
The content of the reading text is interesting
Nice layout
Great warmer
Negative points
- Is it reliant on every student having a smart phone and Aurasma or can it be done without?
And we are back to the classic technology vs pedagogy argument. What can I say? Can this activity be done without the use of technology? Yes. After all, we have been doing jigsaw reading activities with the strips of paper for years. Is it the case of using technology for the sake of using technology? I don’t think so. I’m going to use Vicky Saumell’s (2016) principles for meaningful technology integration to demonstrate. Firstly, the focus is on the learning task and not the technology. Technology is used to transform what is usually a dull and non-communicative reading task into one with genuine engagement and collaboration. Secondly, this activity involves the students (as opposed to just the teachers) actively using the technology. Thirdly, the use of AR addresses 21st century skills’ issues and digital literacy training. Finally, technology integration works well for my specific context. Although my school doesn’t provide mobile devices, my students have no problem bringing and using their own phones. Also for this activity, for example, it is not necessary for everyone to have a mobile phone as students work in groups and one device per group is enough. All these factors, according to Saumell (2016), are signs of meaningful technology integration.
- When doing black and white copies of the worksheet, some parts of the worksheet won’t be seen well/will consume lots of ink?
This is an interesting comment as I initially designed this worksheet to be used in its digital form. In my teaching I am trying to be as paperless as possible and this is where technology helps. I’ve decided to stick to my beliefs and am going to demonstrate the improved version of this worksheet in a digital format that can be viewed on a computer as well as a mobile device.
3. The title gives it away too much.
Fair point. I agree that a good title should be intriguing. I came up with a new title.
This is the updated version of the worksheet.
I additionally made some design changes, added more instructions and prompts. I also completely redesigned exercise 3, making it more of a guided discovery task rather than eliciting.
My next step was to evaluate my material using the evaluation framework we came up with in week 3.
Here is what I found.
MATERIALS SHOULD :
| Teacher
Be adaptable The AR jigsaw is easily adaptable as the teacher or even the students can apply different text to it in order to make it more relevant. Cater for teachers with different teaching styles I want to say yes, as the activity by itself is very student-centred and doesn’t rely too much on a teacher. However I am aware that the technology involved in the activity might put some teachers off. Introduce teachers to new techniques Definitely. It integrates technology into a lesson and promotes digital literacy skills.
|
Student
Be engaging The wow element of augmented reality definitely motivated my students and made an otherwise dry task very engaging. Cater for students with different learning styles The jigsaw puzzle makes it perfect for kinaesthetic learners. Be communicative As students need to work collaboratively on the task, it makes a reading task extremely communicative. Be relevant to learner’s needs. Integrate life/soft skills I believe this activity integrates life skills. Firstly, it improves students’ digital literacy skills. Secondly, as they are working together and making a puzzle they practise negotiation skills and learn how to work in a team. Use technology to facilitate language learning Yes 🙂 Take into consideration learner’s role Although the exam task this activity caters for is a rigid control practice, this adaptation of it is very student centred. Before the actual reading task, students have plenty of opportunities to supply their own answers and ideas. |
Content Be authentic The ‘original’ text is authentic and is taken from the Guardian newspaper. Also, as I mentioned earlier, other text can be used
.Be culturally sensitive The ‘original’ text I believe helps build intercultural awareness as it is talking about young British cyclist travelling around the world. Also, as I mentioned earlier, other text can be used. Be related to real life The ‘original’ text is about a young British cyclist who cycled around the world in 2015. As most of the students in my context are in their early 20s, they can relate to the story and since the event happened fairly recently, it’s quite up-to-date. Reflect the nature of language learning Behaviourally, the combination of social interaction and gaming could be used to offer powerful multi-sensory learning and social language learning experiences. Have extra materials There is ‘Explore more’ section at the end where students can visit’s the cyclist’s blog and reflect on his journey. |
Design
Have clear/logical layout With the improvements I have made hopefully the layout is clear and logical.
Have clear instructions With the improvements I have made hopefully the instructions are clear Have ‘catchy’ visuals I would say yes. The physical jigsaw puzzle and the augmented reality make the activity very visual. It is definitely more visual than the standard exam practice tasks students usually have to do.
|
Overall, I feel that the task I have designed scored fairly high. I think the most important points of this activity are that it is engaging and motivating, easily adaptable and not only helps to develop exam skills but other life skills too.
The drawback of it is, however, the fact it relies on technology available to hand and the technological competence of a teacher and students. But as I demonstrated above, such technology integration is meaningful
Saumell, V. (2016) Principles for meaningful technology integration. Modern English Teacher 25(2), pp 15-17