The XML project Digital literacy and curriculum innovation in ab initio Spanish Kate Borthwick and Irina Nelson Modern Languages, University of Southampton Reshaping Languages in Higher Education, July 2014

2 What did we aim to do? Work with first year ‘ab initio’ Spanish students Transform an existing assessed task into the medium of Xerte, gaining an understanding of how such tasks fit with module aims and curriculum Deliver training in Xerte (and other tools) Create fledgling group of ‘learning design’ champions to be allied to ‘digital champions’

3 What is Xerte?

The task set for the students: 30 students from Spanish Accelerated 1-2 (ab-initio level) with an A1 / beginning of A2 level from the CEFR Assignment 3 of the course (assessed portfolio piece 10%) –imaginary interview with a representative character from the Spanish-speaking world (400 words) –Introduction - set the historical, social or cultural context of your imaginary conversation ( words) 4

The task set for the students: 30 students from Spanish Accelerated 1-2 (ab-initio level) with an A1 beginning of A2 level from the CEFR Assignment 3 of the course (assessed portfolio piece 10%) –Oral Presentation of your work “in-progress” This presentation requires to be supported by an interactive audiovisual aid (created with the XERTE tool) – 5% –imaginary interview with a representative character from the Spanish-speaking world (400 words) –Introduction - set the historical, social or cultural context of your imaginary conversation ( words) 5

The task set for the students: 30 students from Spanish Accelerated 1-2 (ab-initio level) with an A1 beginning of A2 level from the CEFR Assignment 3 of the course (assessed portfolio piece 10%) –Oral Presentation of your work “in-progress” This presentation requires to be supported by an interactive audiovisual aid (created with the XERTE tool) Your presentation must also contain an interactive and didactic section. For this purpose, you will be introduced to the XERTE tool that will train you for the e-learning development of didactic content material. This part of your assignment has the purpose of form you as author of interactive language and subject learning materials. You will be developing professional skills through this assignment. One training session to operate the XERTE tool will be announced in Week 1 of Semester 2. Visit for more information regarding this tool. 6

7 Challenges/considerations Dealing with innovation on an assessed task - allowing flexibility on software choice - ensuring marking criteria was connected to content and not medium - the challenge of the task Issues with Xerte - technical - task-related

8 Results 12/27 students chose to use Xerte for their oral presentation; others used ppt or Prezi All presentations were of a very high standard and were impressively creative Good use of Xerte and sophisticated use of ppt and Prezi, especially for interactive elements Repetition of content but certainly not dull!

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13 Findings…1 Focussed around: 1)Use of Xerte (or not) 2)Responses to the task Reasons for lack of engagement with Xerte: - lack of time to become technically proficient - technical difficulties - preference for other tools for the task

14 Findings…2 Our observations: The task/use of Xerte had resulted in an explosion of creativity The repetition and testing in the interactive elements reinforced knowledge for the creator and the audience Students had clearly learnt new vocabulary related to managing the interactivity in the task and gone beyond the parameters of the task Students had found an interesting range of sources online to illustrate their materials/presentations

15 Findings…3 Student feedback: The novelty of Xerte was appealing: “…it was fun, more than anything…” “I’m bored of powerpoint” Interactivity made the presentation more interesting and “less daunting,” “less formal” Consideration of class/task management “I got insights into how to engage the audience” Sense of achievement and pride Willingness to share with others

16 Conclusions… Began to think about learning design: consideration of audience; language; language level; task design for learning “Through Xerte I have understood how complex it is to create a functional and enjoyable toolkit…the experience taught me precision any aspect that would not be precisely done would be immediately reflected on the outcome e.g. interactive part not working, font size, etc” Students acquired new skills, knowledge and took more control over their own learning becoming producers of content The task allowed students to build on existing digital skills/knowledge Xerte acted as a catalyst to inspire creativity …and the task is more important than the tool

17 What next? Workshops within ML and the university on Xerte, using students as mentors/trainers Students will have the opportunity to become ‘Learning Design Champions’ in the established Digital Champions network Further training in other authoring tools (e.g. LOC, Articulate) First year students can bed down and expand their knowledge over time Recruit more ML students

18 Thank you! Questions?