Reflections on our inaugural Pedagogy Panel

We’ve seen so many successful uses of Talis Elevate in learning and teaching, and we’re always looking to share those accomplishments. That’s why we’ve launched a new monthly discussion series, the TLCR Pedagogy Panel, where Talis Elevate users and academics using Talis Elevate with SAGE Catalyst books are invited to join us and share how they’ve used social annotation, the steps they’ve taken to ensure their success, and any reflections they have on the process as a whole.
We were delighted to be joined by Dr Sarah Holland from the University of Nottingham, Dr Darshi Bandara from Keele University, and Dr Anouk Rigterink from Durham University for our first session. The session began with each of our panellists talking a bit more about their work with Talis Elevate.

First to present was Dr Darshi Bandara, who talked about the experience of using Elevate with foundation year students. With a diverse group of students enrolling on the course, Darshi wanted to provide a way to help students engage with each other and collaborate. Darshi detailed how, in module workshops, students are divided into multidisciplinary groups and asked to collaboratively annotate resources. Groups then respond to one another’s work. Darshi found that Elevate allowed for an inclusive classroom where students had the chance to share their knowledge.
Next, we heard from Dr Sarah Holland. Sarah shared reflections on Elevate from the perspective of a historian, discussing how she encourages a collaborative approach to primary sources. In the past, this collaboration has often happened via annotating print-outs or visiting archives, but has started to move more to digital means – and Sarah detailed how the pandemic was the catalyst for the adoption of Elevate. We were delighted to hear that Elevate has given students a sense of ownership, and it had helped to foster a collaborative learning environment.
Finally, Dr Anouk Rigterink told us about her use of Talis Elevate for summative assessment. When teaching a cohort of 71 third-year undergraduate students, Anouk used Talis Elevate to track engagement across 6 policy report readings, worth 10% of the final grade. It was very useful to have Anouk explain how much preparatory work went into setting up the assignment, and it was also great to hear that students felt that it was a useful incentive to do the reading.
The attendees then had the chance to ask each of our panellists questions, which generated some fascinating conversation. You can watch the full recording of the Pedagogy Panel, including the questions asked by our audience, below:
We were thrilled to have such an enthusiastic crowd of Elevate users in attendance, and we hope to see even more of you there next time!
Join us on March 29th at 1pm for our third Pedagogy Panel, “First Steps with Social Annotation!” We’ll be joined by Dr. Antonella Liuzzo Scorpo, Associate Professor at the University of Lincoln, Dr. Deborah Toner, Associate Professor at the University of Leicester and Dr. Cathy Elliott, Associate Professor at University College London. Our focus for this session will be on how academics can establish a successful pilot project at their own institution. We hope to see you there!