Use of Discussion Board and PaperShow in Translation Class

Abstract

This report presents how the learning technologies Discussion Board and PaperShow are incorporated into postgraduate translation modules by means of observing their impact on students' learning. Initially and mainly for administrative reasons as well as being encouraged to make use of the university's virtual learning environment (VLE), I set up discussion forums to collect students' translation work. It soon became clear that the forums had the potential to facilitate student-centred learning and increase students' responsibility toward learning. In this paper, the use of Discussion Board on the VLE, which forms the foundation of in-class discussion and student participation, is described. Then, students' learning is evaluated from an 'active learning' aspect. It can be said that Discussion Board enhances students' active learning and promotes quality learning experiences for them. PaperShow, which is used in class to support a student who has a hearing disability, is also discussed. PaperShow is useful for all who wish to revise important points raised in class, which are saved and included in the presentations made available online. Both Discussion Board and PaperShow proved to be more pedagogically useful than initially anticipated. The paper concludes with suggestions for possible areas of language learning in which these pieces of technology could be applicable.