Milli mála - 2019, Blaðsíða 83
Milli mála 11/2019 83
PILAR CONCHEIRO
move from being a peripheral activity to being widespread practices
which are well-known and highly-valued by university educators and
management.37
As a limitation for this study and future improvements to consi-
der, it is necessary to mention the constant follow-up that the teacher
must do in order to check the students’ participation and task fulfil-
ment. The teacher’s role as a guide was essential for this type of proj-
ect. Also, for future editions, we have discovered that it is really
important to give some practical workshops or dedicate some time
just to show them the features of some digital applications that will
be used during this telecollaboration project to foster digital compe-
tence among students. That was the case of the WhatsApp instant
messaging service that is so spread out in Spain but not that much in
Iceland. So, just to give an example to illustrate this situation, stud-
ents at HI took a really long time to reply to their colleagues at UB
and when they were asked about the reason, they answered that they
were more familiar with using messenger than this “new” app.
Another example is that they did not explore all the Flipgrid features,
the application used in the first task, for themselves and did not use
them when they recorded their videos.
As a representative closing remark, I will conclude this article by
quoting one the reflections of a student from the University of Iceland.
I would like to leave those words in Icelandic, in the original version
they were written.38 Those words sum up perfectly this project be-
cause they express gratitude towards teamwork and a willingness to
keep on learning a language through a virtual learning exchange.
• “E., M. og hinar stelpurnar eiga hrós skilið. Þau voru mjög
almennileg og skemmtileg, skilningsrík og alltaf tilbúin að
hjálpa. Svona “jafningjafræðsla” er mjög sniðug. Ég myndi
hiklaust mæla með þessari kennsluaðferð. Vonandi verður
þessi hugmynd innleidd við kennslu fleiri tungumála við HÍ.”
37 Robert O’Dowd. (2013). “Telecollaborative Networks in University Higher Education:
Overcoming Barriers to Integration.” Internet and Higher Education, 18, pp. 47–53.
38 Translation: Elena, Miguel and the other girls deserve praise. They were very kind and fun, und-
erstanding and always ready to help. Such “peer education” is very clever. I would sincerely
recommend this teaching method. Hopefully this idea will be implemented in teaching more
languages at UI.