think critically about a range of social issues such as classism , racism , and misogyny . The enhanced awareness of social issues and ability to approach subjects from multiple angles via collaborative annotation activities on Talis Elevate encouraged students to become critically engaged citizens , precisely by fostering respect for differences and promoting critical reflection on social inequalities in literature and the societies in which we live . 9
Limitations and opportunities of using Talis Elevate for student learning
Upon reflection , there are limitations surrounding my approach to integrating Talis Elevate into Playing Parts , including accessing readings after seminars , limited types of activity , and potential information and technology overload . In what follows , I outline these issues and offer some solutions that can enrich students ’ learning experiences when engaging with Talis Elevate .
1 . Provide clearer instructions
Some students struggled to access documents on Talis Elevate after seminars , though they were able to do so via the hyperlinks in seminar worksheets in the designated MS Teams channel . Going forward , I will provide clearer instructions on how to access and annotate documents asynchronously to avoid further confusion and ensure all students can revisit readings in their own time should they wish to deepen their understanding of the subject matter . From a critical pedagogic perspective , this approach will help to remove barriers to learning and create a more equitable educational environment by enabling all students to access and interact with the materials at their own pace outside of scheduled seminars .
2 . Diversify reading activities
In Playing Parts , Talis Elevate was primarily used for collaborative reading activities during synchronous seminars , though there were occasions where students interacted with Talis Elevate asynchronously . Through these activities , I observed a marked improvement in students ’ analytical abilities both during seminar discussions and in written assessments ; nonetheless , students would benefit from engaging in more collaborative reading tasks outside of synchronous seminars . Asynchronous collaborative reading activities have the potential to enhance students ’ knowledge of the subject matter and foster an even greater sense of community , which helps to create an environment where students feel more comfortable engaging in conversation and co-constructing knowledge together ( Adams and Wilson 2021 , 251 ). Going forward , I plan to follow in Wood , East , and Williard ’ s footsteps by setting more asynchronous reading activities to deepen students ’ understanding of the reading and support them in preparing for seminar discussions ( 2021 , 67 ). These activities will , in turn , enable me to develop my critical pedagogic approach to teaching by creating further opportunities for students to share their ideas and become active participants in knowledge-making processes . Such activities will vary according to the intended learning outcomes , i . e . they may be undertaken independently or collaboratively .
I am also interested in diversifying the types of media that students read and annotate on Talis Elevate . For Playing Parts , students collaboratively annotated poems and extracts from plays on Talis Elevate during synchronous seminars . However , I have set asynchronous collaborative reading activities in another module within the Masters in Higher Education Practice ( Keele University ) that involved annotating a journal article and short video on Talis Elevate . The ability for students to choose what type of document they read and interact with ( e . g . text and / or video ) has the potential to promote critical pedagogic practices not only by enabling students to take ownership of their learning but also by ensuring that learning materials are tailored to the individual learning needs and preferences of diverse learners . It also exposes students to the various types of academic sources available for them to access and engage with in their own work , helping to promote equitable academic literacy development .
3 . Avoid technology overload
The increased use of technology in higher education during the pandemic created many learning opportunities , but also posed challenges in terms of information and technology overload . Playing Parts was , to my knowledge , the first module at Keele into which Talis Elevate was embedded , meaning that it was a new tool for most students . 10 While students valued the ability to use Talis Elevate for their learning , they had to invest time into learning
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