Online tools to support feedback uptake
There are many online tools you can use to guide students’ feedback uptake and help them use feedback for learning. Of course, there are some tools that are more adequate than others for this purpose, because of their functionalities. However, when using online tools for learning, the use you make of it is the most important, rather than which tool you choose.
In this section, we propose two ideas with free, open-access tools you can use to support your students’ feedback uptake.
To guide the feedback uptake process
Padlet is a platform that takes the idea of the physical board with notes that we all know, and turns it into a digital format. It’s open-access and free. Also, it’s very intuitive and user-friendly.
You can create a single or multiple walls to post all the content you want to share: videos, images, documents, audio, drawings, links, etc. When the user creates the board, they can choose the design that best fits how they want to share the posts. It’s collaborative, so students can work on it individually or in groups, and share it with you, other teachers, and even parents and guardians. It can be public, open to all, or accessible with a password that the admin can choose. You can only allow invited members to use the wall, which is the ideal setup for education. Padlet works on the web, with no need to download any specific software. It’s compatible with both iOS and Android.
Students can use Padlet to complete the scaffolded template to interpret feedback and guide feedback uptake that was introduced in the previous section. You can create the template for them, or you can encourage them to do it themselves, following your steps. In this case, when you create the board, you shall choose the “column” design. Then, create 4 columns:
- What I did right, or “my stars”
- What I did wrong, or “my wishes”
- My new goals
- My next steps, or “my stairs to the top”
Under each column, students can add as many posts as they need. They can choose the colour, the criteria they are referring to, and what they will write. In addition, they can choose what content they want to share. For instance, they can add a picture of the mistakes they made to keep them and avoid making them again, post a video about what they plan to do next, add a link they will usen in the future, or even add a GIF to make it more entertaining.
Here is an example of what this activity could look like. To link this activity with the other course content, Padlet can be shared through a link, or even be embedded. Students could embed it in their learning portfolio or share it with you through the LMSs.
To support feedback uptake in the learning process
In learning portfolios, students collect evidence from the teaching activities with the aim of recording learning and regulate their knowledge acquisition and competence development through the support and guidance of their teachers. Students are responsible for creating and filling their learning portfolios. The purpose is to demonstrate their learning, competence development and progress, through a combination of learning reflections and evidence from the activities they do.
When a student develops their learning portfolio, they have a key role in the assessment process. They actively participate in learning and assessment. At all points, the pupil is aware of their learning process, what they have learned, what they have done right, what they need to improve, and what actions they will undertake to achieve their new goals. All this process is registered in the learning portfolio.
Usually, the creation and recording of tasks in a learning portfolio follows the five-process model:
This model applies to each of the task that students do. Students don’t do a learning portfolio for every task. Instead, they have a learning portfolio for each subject, group of subjects or school year. This, of course, will depend on how the instructional design is organized in each online learning environment.
First, teachers outline the objectives that must be met by pupils in order to complete the work, as well as the competences that must be developed. The assignment will be entered in the portfolio once it is finished, along with all the relevant information. Second, the teacher leads the process of reflection, clarification, and comprehension that assists students in completing their tasks effectively. The outcomes of the completed assignments are then included in the portfolio, which includes the student's evaluation. Last but not least, recommendations, tasks, and modified objectives based on the evaluation findings are included in the portfolio, acting as a guide for students.
How to make a learning portfolio
Reflection activity:
Explore some of the tools that you have just learned about.
- Which one would you choose for your students?
- Which features do you think make it suitable for them?