ePortfolios #1: Why?
Posted by Jamin Lietze on December 13, 2008
Well my excitement has not wavered since sitting in on Nick Rate’s presentation on “Assessment for Learning and Eportfolios” at ULearn08.
What caught and inspired me to seriously have a go next year with eportfolios was his explanation of how they effectively facilitate assessment for learning which enables feedback/forward, greater student ownership, stronger parental partnerships and an increase in personalised learning. There are other reasons for eportfolios but these were enough for me! See his presentation below:
2 months down the track I have successfully negotiated with my Senior Management to trial eportfolios next year. They have also asked me to keep a record of my journey so I will endeavour to share my thoughts and reflections here :+)
December 13th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Hey- can I be on the team as well. I am going to give eportfolios a trial next year as well. I am gonna use Adobe Acrobat Pro and Google Educator. Hopefully, if accepted I will do a preso on how I am getting on with it at L@S.
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December 13th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Kia ora Jamin
Thanks for this. TCS is still in the planning stage for eportfolio implementation, possibly next year.
I will be very intrerested to follow your successes!
Catchya later
from middle-earth
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December 14th, 2008 at 2:02 am
Congratulations Jamin. Look forward to reading your progress and reflections as you embark on yet another learning journey for yourself and your students. Rock on!
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December 14th, 2008 at 2:13 am
Hi,
I’d like to come in on this discussion for several reasons.
Firstly, I feel frustrated that despite Helen Barrett’s work on e-Portfolios over the las 25 years, people are still ‘exploring’ the subject. The product that I promote here in the UK is now 6 years old and has 95,000 users in Minessota alone.
My own full-time work on e-portfolios over the last 2 years has been exciting and informative. I developed my own set of criteria some 18 months ago:
http://www.maximise-ict.co.uk/Prime_Directives-2.pdf
However, following the impressive work that JISC has done, I do come to a few conclusions that worry me:
1. Teachers in training and academic researchers only see a very small part of the picture, looking at e-Portfolios from their own perspective rather than the whole picture of 5-95 learning.
2. The skills and competencies of the above adults or school students in ICT classes should not be the base-line upon which the design, construction and functionality of e-Portfolios should be based. – What of the 5-yr old or the less-able or those out of work and not easily employed or ‘granny’. If an e-Portfolio is to be lifelong and lifewide it needs to be adaptable to all competencies and interests.
3. I say this because far too often I believe that an academically designed e-Portfolio on goes to create a silo effect which blocks the ‘5-95 continuum’.
At my blog you will see more of my informal musings, and would appreciate your comments:
http://www.efoliointheuk.blogspot.com
Best Wishes,
Ray T
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December 14th, 2008 at 5:18 am
Hi, Jamin
Thanks for your progress AND the brainstorm. Our senior team has decided to run with efolios as of week 1 next year.
We’ve trialed class blogs this year and I think we’ve settled on the blogger platform. (In saying that I think we might investigate google sites as well). I saw that edublogs have begun to add advertisements unless you subscribe?
The reasons for blogger are that you can insert third party html (like mindmeister, voice thread etc) and it synces well with google which we are fast becoming based around – We’ve started using gmail, have a google site for our in school business etc.
Fantastic to find your blog and I’ll be really keen to track your progress this year. We’ve posted our elearning meeting brainstorm here http://www.mindmeister.com/12950469?password=seniorteam
Nick Rate has been really helpful for us this year, too. I’m hoping to drill him for all he’s worth, next year, too. Just hope he doesn’t started charging the earth!
It’s amazing how enthusiastic you can become about efolios, isn’t it. Catches me by surprise some times. =)
Love the blog!
(Currently in Palmy)
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