Digital Showcase

Overview

This final lesson in “Digital Skills for the Future” helps students evaluate their own digital portfolio and present it clearly to peers. Students use structured peer feedback to improve and deepen their learning, aligning with how pupils evaluate ideas and products against design criteria and consider others’ views to improve.

Learning intentions

• WALT evaluate our digital work against clear design criteria.
• WALT give and receive constructive feedback using a peer assessment template.
• WALT present our digital portfolio clearly to an audience of classmates.

Success criteria

• I can explain what my digital product is, who it is for, and how it meets the design criteria.
• I can share evidence (screenshots, examples, features) that show my improvements.
• I can give feedback that is kind, specific, and helpful (what works + how to improve).
• I can use peer feedback to identify at least one next step or refinement.

Curriculum links

• Design and Technology — When designing and making: evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work.
• Design and Technology — When designing and making: investigate and analyse a range of existing products (used as models for expectations in feedback).
• Design and Technology — Technical knowledge: apply understanding of computing to program, monitor and control their products (supported through how students describe features and behaviour).

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and purpose

• Teacher explains that this is the final “Digital Showcase” and today students will present, evaluate, and use peer views to reflect.
• Students unpack the focus question: “What makes my digital work effective for its audience?”

2. 5–12 min · Quick model and criteria check

• Teacher shows a short, anonymised example portfolio walkthrough (or teacher-made slides) highlighting: clear purpose, strong features, and evidence of iteration.
• Students read the success criteria and the peer assessment template and highlight key words (e.g., “specific”, “evidence”, “next step”).

3. 12–27 min · Portfolio prep

• Teacher circulates to support students in finalising their presentation: order of screens, speaking points, and one improvement they made.
• Students rehearse their 60–90 second presentation using notes: “What I made / How it works / What I improved / What I’d do next.”

4. 27–44 min · Showcase rounds (peer feedback)

• Teacher sets up turn-taking: each student presents while one peer acts as “feedback partner” using the template.
• Students present clearly; feedback partner completes the template with two positives, one suggestion, and one question.
• Teacher uses an observation checklist for evidence of evaluation (design criteria referenced, feedback quality).

5. 44–52 min · Whole-class feedback synthesis

• Teacher leads a brief discussion: “What patterns do you notice in the best feedback?” and “How can feedback help you improve?”
• Students listen and add one refinement idea to their own notes (not rewriting everything, just choosing a next step).

6. 52–58 min · Self-evaluation snapshot

• Teacher prompts students to complete a quick “final evaluation” section: meets criteria / partly meets / needs improvement, with reasons.
• Students complete their self-evaluation and underline one strength and one next step.

7. 58–60 min · Exit ticket

• Teacher collects exit tickets: one sentence each—“My product works because…” and “Next time I will…”
• Students submit and prepare for tidy-up.

Resources

• Student digital portfolios (completed work in folders or on devices)
• Peer assessment template (paper or digital)
• Teacher observation checklist (presentation + feedback quality)
• Timer for round-based showcase
• Slide/page order planning cards or simple “presentation cue” sheets
• Dyslexia-friendly reading sheets (short versions of template and success criteria, larger font)
• Speakers/headphones (if needed) and charging cables
• Example model portfolio (teacher-created or anonymised screenshots)

Assessment

• Formative: teacher observation during showcase rounds (references to design criteria; clarity of explanation).
• Formative: peer assessment templates (specific positives + improvement suggestion + question).
• Summative-in-miniature: final self-evaluation snapshot and 2-sentence exit ticket.

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters for presentations (“My product is for…”, “One feature I improved is…”, “I think it meets the criteria because…”).
• Support: use a simplified peer feedback template with icons (thumbs up for positives, speech bubble for suggestion, question mark for question) and fewer prompts.
• SEN/dyslexia-friendly: offer a printed “large text” version of success criteria and templates; allow students to discuss answers with a partner before writing; reduce on-screen reading load by highlighting only the current prompt.
• Challenge/extension for advanced students: require one “design decision” justification (e.g., “I chose this layout because it helps users find…”), plus a more detailed feedback suggestion that includes a specific change and expected impact on the user.
• EAL support: allow feedback to be drafted with key phrases from the template; encourage visual evidence (screenshots, icons) to reduce reliance on complex writing.

Extension (optional)

• Students who finish early can record a 30-second “future improvement” video clip: what they would change, why, and how it would improve the user experience.