Padlet & training

Initial situation

The main objective of the teacher is to make the students active in order to promote their learning. In order to achieve this, she has set up various activities such as quizzes from which they can self-evaluate or the drag and drop tool.

Project implementation

The teacher begins the course with a Padlet entitled “But why did you choose this course? This exercise allows for a discussion of the course content, but also for an assessment of the students’ expectations, which can be very different since they do not all have the same background. The reasons being varied and quite broad, the discussion that follows leads the students to understand the interest of specialty languages, the subject of the course.

She also set up a vote with colored papers for the 1er class. During the course, she asks students whether they feel the texts she presents use a specialty language or not. At the beginning of the class, she hands out red, green and blue papers corresponding to the answers yes, no and I don’t know. Unlike a show of hands, students vote at the same time and can observe each other’s responses. It is also easier to identify the dominant response than with a show of hands. This method of voting encourages students to look at each other and encourages a group dynamic more than an online vote (which was used in previous years). It also makes it possible to identify the students who gave a particular answer and to question them directly about their choice.

During one of the sessions, the teacher proposes drag and drop exercises using the H5P module of Moodle. During a 1h30 class, she presents the theory and the grid on which the exercises are based for 45 minutes. During the next 45 minutes, students complete the exercises on Moodle, alone or in groups. The goal of these exercises is to get students to categorize texts intuitively by choosing the right characteristics to observe. During this time, students are given feedback and clarification on the grid, the concepts and the exercise, which they finish at home. During the next session, the teacher proposes an exhaustive correction of the exercises, a discussion on the application of these criteria to the specialty languages and, if necessary, returns to the sensitive points.

At the end of each thematic block, students are given a formative quiz based on the topics covered in class. This self-corrected activity is optional, but it prepares them for the final exam by allowing them to evaluate their knowledge of the concepts covered. These quizzes are available on Moodle, and students can take them at home and as many times as they wish. The last week’s review class allows the teacher to revisit the quiz questions that were problematic (low success rate) and allows students to ask questions related to the entire course content. The teacher reviews the points asked and offers an answer key from the previous session’s exam.

The evaluation of the course is based on a written file produced by groups of 4 (30%) and on a written exam at the end of the semester (70%). The instructions for group work place the students in a professional “pseudo-mandate”. They must assume the position of translator in an institution working in one of the three fields proposed (e.g., cryptocurrencies, photovoltaic energy, legal entomology). Students receive the grade obtained on the file as well as a detailed feedback and correction on it before the final exam. The written exam consists of short questions and case application on texts. Records of past examinations are available to students. If they take them, the teacher will propose a correction.

Thoughts and advice

The teacher emphasizes that it is important to adapt the format if the teacher and/or students do not find it useful. It is essential not to remain static and not to hesitate to propose new tools that are better adapted to one’s pedagogical objectives. It is important to proceed step by step, to add activities little by little and to leave time to evaluate them. What doesn’t work one year can work the next year depending on the cohort. For example, the teacher introduced group work back in 2012, quizzes and Votamatic in 2016. In 2020, she scaled back the use of Votamatic in favor of paper voting and introduced Padlet and drag and drop the same year.

It is important not to be overly ambitious, but rather to ensure that you are able to relate to the innovation being used. For example, over the years, the teacher has moderated her use of Votamatic. She realized that many online questionnaires required a lot of preparation time, demotivated students and did not encourage discussion. The physical participation in the first vote in class allowed her to observe the establishment of a group dynamic and more exchanges between students. It is important to find the right balance between investment of time and results in terms of teaching.

The teacher, before using the drag and drop tool on Moodle, offered the students the exercise in paper format. The switch to digital, in addition to an ecological aim, facilitates the exercise, everyone answers in the same way, which simplifies the correction. Indeed, the answers are constrained and only the number of chosen answers can vary. Moreover, digital technology allows the exercise to be portable. Students appreciate the fun aspect. The immediate correction and marking of the exercise motivates the students and makes them want to do it again to improve. However, the teacher advises against using this tool for evaluation purposes. Indeed, it is difficult to set parameters and the omission of answers in the case of multiple answers is not noted. This tool therefore has certain limitations (limited graphics, parameters that cannot be changed) and sometimes malfunctions depending on the equipment used.

Student feedback

“I find that the examples given in class are often very useful to better understand the theory. Also having formative mini quizzes on Moodle, I find useful so students can see if they really understood or if there are concepts that need to be better explored and reviewed.” “The structure of the course is one of its strengths. It’s not just a PowerPoint lecture, we do other activities (quizzes, Votamatic, group exercises) which makes the course more interesting and interactive.”