davidlms | A personal blog

Important: Translated automatically from Spanish by 🌐💬 Aphra 1.0.0

This is a personal reflection following the reading of Rafael Delgado Valdivielso’s article: NO MORE EXAMS, PLEASE. WE LIVE IN THE 21ST CENTURY. It’s worth pausing here to read his article instead.

I believe that exams are a fundamental tool for learning, as our educational system is currently structured, for several reasons:

• A good portion of students wouldn’t dedicate time to review¹ if they didn’t know they would face an exam at some point.
• The exam indicates areas for improvement for the learner.
• If appropriate feedback² is given at the right time, it serves not only to evaluate but also to facilitate learning.
• In any subject, as one progresses, it’s assumed that previous content has been understood. The exam allows for the detection of an erroneously acquired concept, making it possible to understand more complex ones.

This doesn’t mean I’m against what’s explained in the article; I’m very much in favor of ending exams as understood in the way described there, transitioning towards tests that resemble what can be found in a work environment. But for me, that’s also an exam; we shouldn’t demonize the word.

Important: Translated automatically from Spanish by 🌐💬 Aphra 1.0.0

I’ve been pondering for a while on how to improve the effectiveness of learning in my classes. Lately, I’ve been reading quite a bit about strategies supported by cognitive psychology¹ research, such as spaced learning² or the benefits of formative assessment³. I think that if I want to get results, it’s not enough to keep these in mind for a single activity; they need to be integrated into the subject I teach. They must be reflected, from the outset, in the teaching program⁴.

Important: Translated automatically from Spanish by 🌐💬 Aphra 1.0.0

I don’t know if it’s the same for you, but when I set out to create educational material for my classes, I’m quite demanding about the format¹. We both know the work it takes to prepare new material, so the last thing I want is to create it on a platform that might become obsolete at some point. I also want it to be versatile² and allow me to customize it as much as possible. A big plus would be if it provides the most information possible about the student’s interaction with the material, but on the same platform I usually use for classroom management, otherwise transferring the information and student registration would take up too much of my precious time. Oh, and it should be free of course… Is that too much to ask?

Important: Translated automatically from Spanish by 🌐💬 Aphra 1.0.0

If you’re a teacher or student in this field and you’re not familiar with the Apuntes FP Informática¹ website, you’re missing out.

Tomorrow they’re organizing their I Virtual Congress ApuntesFPInformatica², where I contribute my grain of sand³, but which you should attend for the contributions of the other speakers. These types of initiatives, which aim solely to share ideas among professional peers, are rare, so let’s hope they can organize many more editions.

Important: Translated automatically from Spanish by 🌐💬 Aphra 1.0.0

I’ve been considering starting a personal blog for some time now.

However, I wanted to do it right, taking my time. Perhaps set up a WordPress¹ site, opt for an economical and fast hosting service, choose a good theme, plan the sections…

Today I read an article that dispelled my doubts. It’s far from perfect, but it’s up and running. An account on netlify², a repository on Github, the Hugo³ framework, a simple theme, a custom domain for 9 euros a year… and voilà! It’s here. Fast and economical. With HTTPS, CDN⁴, and easily updatable using Markdown⁵. For the first post, an image from stories.