Civil and natural resources engineering students at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, take specific courses requiring small group research projects and the presentation of findings to staff and peers. Although one of the aims of these presentations is to assist in the development of the students' communication skills, staff have raised…

The paper explores the relationship between formative assessment and social software. Formative assessment practices though beneficial for student learning become marginalised and constrained in open and distance learning environments in higher education. Feedback is a key factor in formative assessment and learners can benefit from the deployment…