(by Peggy Hartwick)
Despite the early snow and cold, November 2018 was pretty good to me! I was proud to be hooded by Dr. Janna Fox at the Convocation ceremony on November 10th alongside fellow PhD cohort member, Poonam Anand. It was our honour to be among so many other MA and Bachelor grads from ALDS!
In addition to convocation, Mike Barker, Nandini Sarma (French), Nuket Nowlan (School of Information Technology), and I attended WorldCALL 5 in Concepción, Chile. We had the pleasure of meeting and sharing ideas with other like-minded colleagues at a beautiful university nestled near the vineyards of the Colchagua Valley. My talk (based on collaborative research with Julie McCarroll and Allie Davidson) drew on research and conclusions drawn from my PhD and was titled “Reflecting on ePortfolio practice: A novel language learning environment and catalyst for change in EAP practice”. The talk given by Nandini, Nuket and I was called “Creating flexible spaces to promote language interaction and foster 21st century skills in 3DVLEs”. The topic of these presentations has the potential to contribute to EAP teaching and learning in several ways. For example, the research and practical experience we gained through the implementation of ePortfolios in EAP has contributed to a deeper understanding of ePortfolios as an effective pedagogy. Further, we are beginning to identify the affordances of ePortfolios in relation to learning benefits and measurable learning outcomes, especially related to 21st century skills like critical thinking. The interdepartmental 3D virtual learning environment research with Nandini Sarma and Nuket Nowlan has illuminated the types of tasks that help engage learners and facilitate achievement of language proficiency and observable skills (in these spaces). We argue that the affordances of space and flexible artifacts provide an alternative space for language learning that facilitates and promotes learner engagement.
Now, what will December bring?