MA Dissertation VII

In asking a learner to write an email with a pen-and-paper, we are affronting the construct validity of the test: what are we testing? The ability to write an email? Or to wield a pencil?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

C41: It's the New Black (& White)

Colour.  There's that cliche in movies or TV when someone falls in love, or smokes pot for the first time, and everything goes from monochrome to colour.  The Wizard of Oz moment. B&W's fine, it's just time to move on.  Which makes discovering these formulae really very fortuitous.  I've got some of those chemicals for B&W developing anyway.  C41 developing, playing around in a sink full of warm water is the sort of innocent fun you don't get much in adulthood.  Thanks to this guy , in this Flickr DIY Color Group thread for passing on the craic.  I've been trying to get that on and off for years. My mate cliffdotmac flickrmailed me tonight and said he was giving up on film, because of the expense.  Which is fair enough, if you've shelled out for a DSLR and its all-singing-and-dancing lenses, I can see how film would feel like and extra expense.  But if you haven't done that, if your biggest expense has been a few hundred quid a ...
Read more

PC Pit Stop

A newish computer and peripherals shop in the former garage on Albert Rd, where Hebburn merges in to Jarrow. I bought a Bearpaw 2400TA Plus scanner there on my last holiday at home. It was cheap, less than £40. Will it run with Vista? Oh yes, no trouble, just go on Mustek's website. They'd also order a laptop, to be ready the next day, for only £340. Splendid. I told them it was really important that it was ready the next day: this was Thursday, and I was flying back to Libya on the Saturday, early. "It's as good as here," said the man. I rang them on the Friday to see if it was there. "I've been trying to get in touch with you. We can't do it." Ach, well, these things happen... I was in the Town, anyway, and got a Samsung Curry's were doing for £399. And now I'm back in Libya with an utterly useless scanner. No way, no how, will the fucker run with Vista. I've been googling all evening trying to find a solution. There is...
Read more

Water!

Image
We had a shower or two overnight: the grass was wet-ish when I went out first thing with the dogs, anyways. So first thing I did on arriving at the allotment was to check out the water barrels... ...and there you have it. Bone dry yesterday, a bit of water this morning. Admittedly, there's probably only enough to fill a thimble, if not an egg-cup, but it shows that the guttering is working. More showers forecast for the weekend. Pond still dry this morning.
Read more