Balancing the Two Approaches to ePortfolios Dr. Helen Barrett http://slideshare.net/eportfolios
Key Themes of My Presentation Purpose Process Product
Raise your hands if you are… Implementing an ePortfolio System with your students Thinking about it Using e-portfolios to support student learning Using e-portfolio evaluation data for accreditation or institutional assessment
“Purpose” Drives the Process This presentation will balance Student-Centered Purposes (Learning, Reflection, Showcase) with Institution-Centered Purposes (Evaluation, Accountability)
Web 2.0 is becoming the Personal Learning Environment of the “Net Generation” Learning that is…
Social and Participatory
Lifelong and Life Wide
Increasingly Self-Directed
Motivating and Engaging
… and Online!
Four key pillars of Lifelong Learning(Barbara Stäuble, Curtin University of Technology, Australia) http://lsn.curtin.edu.au/tlf/tlf2005/refereed/stauble.html
Knowing the learner (Self-awareness) Understanding prior knowledge Motivation for and attitudes toward learning Help learners understand themselves See their growth over time
Planning for learning (Self management) Setting goals Develop a plan to achieve these goals
Understanding how to learn (Meta-learning) Awareness of learners to different approaches to learning Deep vs. Surface Learning, Rote vs. Meaningful Learning Different Learning Styles Help learners recognize success Accommodate approaches that are not successful
Evaluating learning (Self monitoring) Systematic analysis of learners’ performance Responsibility to construct meaning Be reflective & think critically Learners construct meaning, monitor learning, evaluate own outcomes
Deep Learning involves reflection, is developmental, is integrative, is self-directive, and is lifelong Cambridge (2004)
What is a Portfolio? Dictionary definition: a flat, portable case for carrying loose papers, drawings, etc. Financial portfolio: document accumulation of fiscalcapital Educational portfolio: document development of humancapital
What is a Portfolio in Education? A portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that exhibits the student's efforts, progress and achievements in one or more areas[over time]. (Northwest Evaluation Association, 1990)
What is an Electronic Portfolio? Digital Documents Organized and presented with some type of "authoring" software Stored in an electronic container CD-Recordable disc DVD-Recordable disc WWW – Changing the genre!
Most of these documents began as digital documents!Today, we are moving from this container to the WWW
E-Portfolio Components
Multiple Portfolios for Multiple Purposes-Celebrating Learning-Personal Planning-Transition/entry to courses-Employment applications-Accountability/Assessment
Multiple Tools to Support Processes-Capturing & storing evidence-Reflecting-Giving & receiving feedback-Planning & setting goals-Collaborating-Presenting to an audience
Digital Repository
(Becta, 2007; JISC, 2008)
Questions to Ponder What happens to electronic portfolios once learners leave an institution? Can learners continue to maintain their own “digital documentation of development” throughout their lifetime? (Do they even want to?) Has the process of reflective practice become a habit of mind that will support lifelong learning? Cognitive Dissonance
Multiple Purposes from Hidden Assumptions What are yours? http://www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk/acl/eMagArchive/RSCeMag2008/choosing%20an%20eportfolio/cool-cartoon-346082.png
Multiple Purposes of E-Portfolios in Education Learning/ Process/ Planning Marketing/ Showcase Assessment/ Accountability "The Blind Men and the Elephant” by John Godfrey Saxe
ePortfolio designs/strategies for different purposes Learning Portfolios (Formative assessment) Organized chronologically Focus of Reflection: Learning Activities & Artifacts Tools: Reflective Journal (blog) Faculty/peer role: Feedback on artifacts and reflection
ePortfolio designs/strategies for different purposes Showcase Portfolios (Employment, Self-marketing) Organized thematically (position requirements) Focus of Reflection: Suitability for position Tools: Choice of portfolio owner – personalized web pages – digital footprint Personal online branding
ePortfolio designs/strategies for different purposes Assessment/Accountability Portfolios (Summative assessment) Organized thematically (outcomes, goals or standards) Focus of Reflection: Achievement of Standards (rationale) Tools: Assessment system with data from scoring rubrics Faculty role: Evaluation
A few thoughts about Assessment -- What Type? Assessment OF Learning? or Assessment FOR Learning? or Assessment AS Learning
Purposes for Assessment AssessmentOFLearning = Summative Assessment Institution-centered Past-to-Present Assessment FOR Learning = Formative Assessment Teacher/student-centered Present-to-Future
Assessment AS Learning
Student-centered – embedded in learning
Focus on the Present
Confusion of Terminology Electronic portfolios Student-centered Lifelong and Life Wide Assessment About individual learning and growth over time Focus on personalization, reflection, deep learning Formative or summative? Accountability systems Institution-centered Limited Time Frame Evaluation About comparability and sorting into normed groups Focus on standardization, validity, reliability In many ways, our technology-based tools have defined the process… and exacerbated the confusion.
Principles of Assessment FOR Learning Definition:Assessment for Learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there.
Overlap of Assessment Types Positivist Constructivist Assessment Management Systems: that support Assessment OF Learning Electronic Portfolios: that support Assessment FOR Learning Institution-centered Learner-centered “Checklist of Competencies” • Balance • “Students’ Story of Learning”
Types of E-Portfolio Implementation Working Portfolio The Collection The Digital Archive Repository of Artifacts Reflective Journal(eDOL) Collaboration Space Portfolio as Process-- Workspace (PLE)“shoebox” Presentation Portfolio(s) The “Story” or Narrative Multiple Views (public/private) Varied Audiences(varied permissions) Varied Purposes Portfolio as Product-- Showcase
Structure of E-Portfolio Types Portfolio as Process/ Workspace Organization: Chronological – eDOL(Electronic Documentation of Learning – U. of Calgary) Documenting growth over time for both internal and external audiences Primary Purpose: Learning or Reflection Reflection: immediate focus on artifact or learning experience Portfolio as Product/ Showcase Organization: Thematic – Documenting achievement of Standards, Goals or Learning Outcomes for primarily external audiences Primary Purpose: Accountability or Employment Reflection: retrospective focus on Standards, Goals or Learning Outcomes (Themes)
QUOTE The e-portfolio is the central and common point for the student experience… It is a reflection of the student as a person undergoing continuous personal development, not just a store of evidence.-Geoff Rebbeck, e-Learning Coordinator, Thanet College, quoted in JISC, 2008, Effective Practice with e-Portfolios
Student-Centered Philosophy "A portfolio tells a story. It is the story of knowing. Knowing about things... Knowing oneself... Knowing an audience... Portfolios are students' own stories of what they know, why they believe they know it, and why others should be of the same opinion.” (Paulson & Paulson, 1991, p.2)
Constructed Meaning "The portfolio is a laboratorywhere students construct meaningfrom theiraccumulated experience."(Paulson & Paulson, 1991, p.5)
Some Basic Concepts “ePortfolio is both process and product” Process: A series of events (time and effort) to produce a result- From Old French proces (“‘journey’”) Product: the outcome/results or “thinginess” of an activity/process- Destination Wiktionary
What is the best tool? Do you need an all-in-one system or multiple tools?
Categories of E-Portfolio Software Created as part of my study of different online tools: http://electronicportfolios.org/categories.html “Not just tools for telling [presentation] but more tools for talking![conversation]” - Julie Hughes, University of Wolverhampton Conversation transforms!
http://electronicportfolios.org/categories.html Web 2.0
Major Categories of ePortfolio Tools Higher Individual & Institutional Authoring Tools Static Web Services Interactive Web Services Institutional Software - Server required Hosted Services Assessment Systems - Hosted Services Lower Level of interactivity Higher Level of personalization & creativity Lower
Web 2.0 tag cloud
Recent changes in technology
Architectureof InteractionArchitecture of Participation (Web 2.0) allows a Pedagogyof Interaction (ePortfolio 2.0)
Google Sites ePortfolioshttp://sites.google.com/site/eportfolioapps/
WordPress/Movable Type ePortfolioshttp://sites.google.com/site/eportfolioswp/
All you need is… an <Embed> Code! Hall Davidson To link students’ Web 2.0 content into e-portfolio systems
Social Learning How can we integrate ePortfolios with what we know about social learning and interactivity?
Think! What are the engagement factors that drive the use of social networks and how can we incorporate those factors into ePortfolios?
Premises of Deep Learning Motivation Active Learning Interaction with others A deep foundational knowledge “Because portfolios get students into a rich and deep knowledge base focused on their own learning experiences, portfolios are highly motivating. Collaboration with others deepens these individual experiences by allowing probing questions, socially constructed knowledge, and alternative viewpoints. Zubizarreta, J. (2009) Learning Portfolios. Jossey-Bass , p. xx
How can you leverage the technologies learners own? Accessibility from “net books” and home computers Connectivity with cell phones Audio (podcasts) and Video (digital stories)
“every day-ness” How can we make ePortfolio development a natural process integrated into everyday life? Lifelongand Life Wide Learning
Making ePortfolios Stick Will your students want to use the e-portfolio process after they graduate? Will ePortfoliotools be available to them after graduation? Gartner Group “Hype Cycle for Education” has ePortfolios "Sliding Into the Trough"
Two “Paradigms” of Assessment (Ewell, 2008) Ewell, P. (2008) Assessment and Accountability in America Today: Background and Content
Opportunity Cost The alternative you give up when you make a decision… The cost of an alternative that must be forgone in order to pursue a certain action What is the opportunity cost of emphasizing accountability/compliance in e-portfolios over improvement/reflection and deep learning?
Opportunity Cost – a conversation with a high school teacher: "It took all the thinking out of it. They gave me the standards and told me which artifacts to put into each one! It wasn't as effective as what my students did!” http://electronicportfolios.org/blog/2008/07/necc-2008-update.html What learning opportunities are we missing when we completely structure the learner’s portfolio?
Goal: Balance in Electronic Portfolios Purpose Accountability/ Compliance (Institution-Centered) Improvement (Student-Centered) (Or Course-Centered) Along a Continuum ?? ?? Opportunity Cost
Goal: Balance in Electronic Portfolios Purpose Improvement Accountability Highly Structured Uniformity and Standardization Required Assignments Faculty Evaluation Complexity Checklist Data! Engagement Deep Learning Personalization Choice and Voice Lifelong Skills Ease of Use Ownership Time Opportunity Cost
Goal: Balance in Electronic Portfolios Purpose Accountability Improvement Flexible Structure Self-Assessment & Feedback Lifelong Learning Skills More Social Learning Personalization Choice and Voice Engagement Story Faculty Time Involvement Ease of Scoring for… Collection of Data for… Accountability Institutional Support & Funding? Opportunity Cost
Goal: Balance in Electronic Portfolios Purpose Accountability Faculty Feedback Uniformity Flexible Requirements Data Program Improvement Improvement Self-Assessment Personalization Choice and Voice Student Engagement Increased Achievement Social Learning Faculty Time Involvement Complexity Opportunity Cost
Finding Balance in E-Portfolio Implementation Tools Use separate tools for assessment management and student e-portfolios? Ball State’s rGrade & WSU’s Harvesting Gradebook Incorporate blogging and social networking tools for interactivity and engagement Open Source Tools: WordPress, Movable Type, Mahara Allow embedding student Web 2.0 links, including video, into their e-portfolios Enable exporting e-portfolio to students’ lifetime personal webspace
Finding Balance in E-Portfolio Implementation Strategies Acknowledge the importance of both portfolio as workspace (process) & showcase (product) Support student choice and voice in e-portfolios Facilitate reflection for deep learning Provide timely and effective feedback for improvement Encourage student use of multimedia in portfolios for visual communication and literacy Digital Storytelling & Podcasting Picasa/Flickr slideshows Acknowledge/Encourage students’ Web 2.0 digital identity
Move beyond text-only artifacts Encourage development of multimedia artifacts Introduce alternative strategies for reflection Blogging Digital storytelling
Why Digital Stories in ePortfolios? Reflection is the “heart and soul” of portfolios Digital Stories can humanize any model of ePortfolio Digital Stories add VOICE
Do Your e-Portfolios have VOICE? Individual Identity Reflection Meaning Making New Literacy “When words are infused by the human voice, they come alive.” - Maya Angelou
Convergence
Wordle.net This following Word Cloud was created collaboratively by educators around the world, who contributed keywords that came to their mind when thinking about Digital Storytelling. Words that appear larger were used by more contributors. http://langwitches.org/blog/2008/07/27/digital-storytelling-part-ix-wordle/
ASCILITE 2005 (Australia)
My Story QuickTime Required: http://homepage.mac.com/eportfolios/iMovieTheater11.html
Ongoing dialogue about e-portfolios My Google Group: Researching Web 2.0 Portfolioshttp://groups.google.com/group/web2eportfolios EPAC: http://epac.pbworks.com/ Electronic Portfolio Action Committee Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL) – a professional organization for e-portfolios in education http://www.aaeebl.org AAEEBL’s first National E-Portfolio Conference planned:Boston (co-located with Campus Technology Conference) July 19-22, 2010 AAC&U E-Portfolio Day planned:Washington, D.C., January 20, 2010 IUPUI Assessment Conference in October – e-portfolio track
My Final Wish… May all yourelectronic portfolios become dynamic celebrationsandstories of deep learningacross the lifespan.
Dr. Helen Barrett Researcher & Consultant Electronic Portfolios & Digital Storytelling forLifelong and Life Wide Learning Center for Advanced Technology in EducationUniversity of Oregon College of Education eportfolios@gmail.com http://electronicportfolios.org/ http://slideshare.net/eportfolios
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