The presentation was broken into three parts; my research, a chance for individuals to look through 7 of my student’s ePortfolios and lastly a look at three ePortfolio perspectives (students, parents and mine).

The video interviews (lasting 6 mins long) with a sample of my Parents is not viewable from the slideshow below. I do not currently have permission to share the video publicly. However if you are interested email me at j_lietze@yahoo.co.nz or if you have a Centre4 login you can view my presentation with the video and notes here.

I write this post to encourage you to read it if you are interested in the development of ePortfolios in New Zealand and share your thoughts. You can download it here or view the discussion and leave your thoughts here.

The following was my initial response to the report and the two cents I contributed to the forum:

Hi Paul

Firstly I want to say thank you for commissioning the research paper into ePortfolios. It is a timely paper and has encouraged and informed me (and other teachers I am sure) in our schools pilot use of ePortfolios for the purpose of enhancing teaching and learning.

I also wish to thank Ian, Sandy and Viv in the fact that they carried this research out with the following principle in mind: “ePortfolios are not about technology; they are about pedagogy and learning. They are about life-long learning.” (Pg 17 of the paper) This I believe has kept the report rooted where it should be; on learning.

I do wish to support the report findings and the development of one national ePortfolio tool because there is more to it than just reasons of efficiency, user familiarity, access through schooling and learner ownership. I had a conversation with Lenva Shearing a few weeks ago and she referred to the desire of having an ePortfolio tool that was “an empty box” (I hope I have quoted her correctly). I liked this analogy. So from here I would like to share a few more thoughts and add these to the discussion.

If we all used one tool then schools/teachers will have:

1) Flexibility (They can use this one tool to add what they like into it to meet the individual needs and while maintaining student choice, voice and ownership.)

2) Better communication (Students/Teachers would use “one language” and so work together easier across levels and ages developing their ePortfolios.)

3) Efficencey (Professional development is made easier because we are all using the same language and focusing on the one tool.)

4) Better consistency (One school or teacher will not be considered lower than another because they did not have the expertise or financial support to develop superior ePortfolios. Everyone will have the same building blocks.)

Please don’t get me wrong; I am not advocating for a “straight jacket” type of tool. This one tool would have to be cleverly developed so that it did support different learning styles, user choice, offer flexiblitiy, etc.

Picture Author: http://covingtongaliving.com/

]]> http://lietze.edublogs.org/2009/07/17/eportfolio-9-moe-report-eportfolios-celebrating-learning/feed/ 2 http://lietze.edublogs.org/2009/07/06/eportfolio-8-the-next-bandwagon/ http://lietze.edublogs.org/2009/07/06/eportfolio-8-the-next-bandwagon/#comments Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:11:37 +0000 Jamin Lietze http://lietze.edublogs.org/?p=142 Following my Twitter feeds this morning I discovered David Warlick had tweeted about “The Next Killer App…”

Naturally my curiousity got the better of me and I clicked on over to his blog to discover that he was referring to ePortfolios. On another post he put it this way: “the new buzz, is a style of portfolio assessment that integrates into the teaching, learning, classroom, school, and community cultures.”

He goes on to say that during NECC 2009: “My group was assigned to look for ways to make learning more engaging.  So what would engaging assessment look like?  What kind of accountability scheme might we grow into, that is fun to participate in, both for students and for teachers?  How might we make assessment and accountability an integral part of the formal learning process — a learning process that comprises fun and engaging hard work?”

You can follow this link to his post where he identifies a range of features he would like to see in an ePortfolio. I was particularly interested in the following feature he identified: “It will have elements of social networking, featuring personal profiles and a variety of communication devices, such as blogging, micro-blogging, discussion forums, and commenting.”

From my short experience I support the idea of incorporating social networking applications as I have found them to be a key attraction and one which gives students a stronger sense of ownership. This is important in establishing a working, up-to-date student operated and driven ePortfolio. They love receiving messages from peers that include photos and links. It has also given me as the teacher a deeper insight into my students as I have had a number of messages that have expressed gratitude, concern or a genuine call for help. This has enabled me to connect at a deeper level and better meet the needs of my students.

The social networking feature however must have features that enable it to be moderated, kept secure and if need be locked from students if they mistreat it. The Teacher must have control and oversight of the social networking.

Who else uses social networking to support the development of communication and collaboration within ePortfolios?

Social Networking picture author = http://www.icis.com/blogs/icis-chemicals-confidential

When my class found out that they could finally login to their new ePortfolios a jubilant “HOORAY” erupted from the students. For us the rubber was finally hitting the road. :+) We had discussed the ePortfolio concept together as a class from the beginning of Term 1. During this preparation period we put together a written list of the samples we thought would be good to share with our Parents or peers and that would show what we are learning. I was impressed with the discussions and samples the students were suggesting. The list of samples looked like this:

• Special Things About Me: 
  • X-Factor movie
  • Our “Smarts” (a pictorial representation of our Multiple Intelligences)
  • Power points I have made about me
• Term Goals
• Maths Basic Facts tests
• Reading (audio recordings and comprehension activities)
• Writing:
  • Audio recorded or published Pirate narratives
  • Accompanying assessment rubrics
• Handwriting
• Topic Studies:
  • Pictures of our Pirate projects or the Pirate project powerpoints and their accompanying assessment rubrics

Over the last 3 weeks we have been busy setting up our ePortfolios and archiving our work samples (listed above). I continue to offer suggestions and guide my students. While I do this I have to be careful not to “take over” otherwise I rob them of the ability to own the ePortfolio. This is not an easy task. 

I have found the following ways to be effective in building student ownership:

1. Allow students to upload things that are of interest to them eg: sport pictures, power points they have made or to create links to other pages they enjoy visiting.
2. Show students how to design their own ePortfolios so that they become personalised eg: the different ways they could create an avatar, change the layout of their portfolio, colour schemes, etc.
3. Always include the students in discussions about their ePortfolios. We all contribute, then discuss ideas and finally solutions are arrived at together.
4. Give options for the different ways you can come to the same conclusion eg: in Term 1 we wrote Pirate narratives together as part of our Pirate topic. Together we discussed the different ways we could publish these. Some students choose to type them while others choose to record them orally.

Below is my final platform analysis. Before you view it please keep in mind the following points:

1. eFolio is not an LMS but a smaller product compared to the others I trialled. It was built primarily as an ePortfolio platform. However because my trials have focused on ePortfolios I included it in the analysis.
2. Spike@School has since removed itself from the party of Vendors the MOE had previously identified.
3. I was unable to trial the MyClasses platform. At first they replied to my initial request but then did not get back to me again until yesterday (9th April). At that stage they informed me that I had contacted their overseas office and that they do not sell directly to NZ schools. They then directed me to contact the NZ SchoolZone Helpdesk. Unfortunately I needed to make a decision before school finished for the Term so time has run out. I would still be interested in reviewing their platform in the near future and will contact them later.
4. I realise that within months my analysis will quickly go out of date. Vendors are working hard on developing their product to meet the guidelines the MOE has set for them as Development Partners. I therefore strongly encourage you to talk to individual vendors before making your own personal decisions.

Here is how I rated the following products:

Update (7.5.09): There has been some confusion on my behalf in relation to SMS-LMS interoperability versions 1.3 and 2.0. To clear things up, no LMS-SMS at this stage has been approved by the MOE for Version 2.0.

There was more to eFolio’s V2.0 than what I saw when trialling their beta version. I have therefore updated the “Multiple Spaces and Views” to meet this. My apologies to eFolio for missing this.

So what does this mean for my school?

We have chosen Ultranet as our preferred LMS in our ePortfolio Pilot for 2009.

Why?

• Ultranet is not the perfect ePortfolio option but it came the closest to meeting each of my criteria. I hope to work with them and help them develop their ePortfolio module.
• I believe Ultranet has the cleanest and simplest interface, which I can see 5-18 year olds being able to navigate.
• It was in my school’s best interest to go with a product that is one of the 3 development partners the MOE is supporting. This way I knew for sure it was going to be a sustainable option and one that would meet the MOE’s guidelines.
• I was impressed with Ultranet’s social networking functionality. Entitled “uSpace”, I believe this feature will be a location my students will use regularly to interact and share their learning with others. It will be a gateway that will lead to greater collaborations and peer assessment.

Each of the platforms were measured against the criteria I set earlier. I have repeatedly gone back and fine tuned my purpose and criteria. The final product is included below for your interest (or click here if it does not display correctly):

Where to from here?

• Run the ePortfolio pilot until the end of December 2009 with 4 classes; in Year 1, 5, 6 (my class) and 7.
• Organise and plan for Parent meetings to inform and teach them how they can partner more in their child’s learning eg: commenting on their child’s work and interacting with them though Ultranet. Within these meetings we can address Net safety and other concerns they may have.
• Watch the Ministry of Education’s moves as they are undertaking some research in June into forming one ePortfolio tool for NZ schools. The MOE have indicated a possible date for this launch in January 2010. Stay tuned!

Is there anyone else that uses Ultranet and would like to become a buddy class?

]]> http://lietze.edublogs.org/2009/04/10/eportfolio-6-my-eportfolio-choice/feed/ 11 http://lietze.edublogs.org/2009/02/16/dialogue/ http://lietze.edublogs.org/2009/02/16/dialogue/#comments Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:07:25 +0000 Jamin Lietze http://lietze.edublogs.org/?p=114 Below is some of the dialogue that I have been entering into regarding the topic of ePortfolios:

• Since identifying my criteria I wanted to see what others thought of it and whether it would stand up against international perspectives. So I uploaded it to Helen Barrett’s Google discussion group “Researching Lifelong ePortfolios and Web 2.0″ (You will need to sign up to view the discussion.) It was great to see others share their research and viewpoints. The discussion became very ‘busy’ when the principle of “interoperability“, standards and views were expanded on. It was interesting to note that during the discussion, Helen Barrett believes the product I am looking for doesn’t exist:

• Nick Rate visited our school last week and shared his research. It was a great chance for my colleagues and computer technicians to see some ePortfolios in action and to hear the benefits they offer when they are used as an assessment tool for learning. Nick answered my questions regarding Wordpress MU and at this stage I find myself moving towards a commercial product as it seems it is the only way most of my criteria is going to be met.

• Over the last few days Ray Tolley has been introducing me to eFolio’s demonstration beta product xFolio. I am currently still exploring xFolio so will report on it later.

• On the 10th of February 2009 it was great to see the Ministry of Eduction here in New Zealand identify their “Learning Mangement System Development Partners” on the Google “MLE Reference Group”. The successful vendors are;
  1. Edtech with the “Ultranet” LMS
  2. Editure with “MyClasses”
  3. Catalyst with “Moodle”
  4. Dataview with “The KnowledgeNet”
  5. Spike@School with “Learning Caves”

So what is my next step?

1. Have a closer look at the LMS Development Partners the NZ MOE has established. Could one of these options meet the criteria? It certainly would be foolish not to seriously consider one of these options as the MOE are financially supporting the development of these LMS products.
2. Explore more of xFolio.
3. Review my criteria and rank them in order from “Must have” to “Could do without”.
4. Present my findings and recommendations to my School Management Team for their guidance and approval.

Picture Author:
Dialogue = http://www.nonformality.org/index.php/2007/02/questioning-intercultural-dialogue

A few weeks ago John Pallister shared with me the MOESP Study (completed in October 2007). I found section 5 “The Open Source Approach To E-Portfolio Software” to be just what I was looking for. In this segment (pages 62 – 82) there is an analysis of e-Portfolio software products and they are graded using 5 levels (see picture below. Author: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/eportfolios.htm). It was interesting to see how the products rated back in 2007. (For more information click here to download the study.)

By this time my head was swimming with the many perspectives and terminologies in relation to my reading on e-Portfolios. So I was happy to read Helen Barrett’s blog and be reminded of the importance of “purpose“:

Following this I put together a draft document that outlined my purpose and criteria.

(To view it click on the picture of the check list below)

My thinking was guided largely by the influence of Nick Rate and his research criteria (jpg), Ray Tolley’s “Prime Directives” (pdf) and Helen Barrett’s pictorial representation of the two faces of an ePortfolio (see picture below):

I am interested in your thoughts. Do you agree with my criteria? What have I missed?

Picture Authors:
George Seimen's Levels = http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/eportfolios.htm
Check List Pic = http://www.inspectamerica.com
Helen Barrett's Diagram = http://electronicportfolios.org/blog/2009/01/balancing-2-faces-of-eportfolios.html

Below are several that stood out:

• Ray Tolley stepped into my world after he left a comment on a previous post of mine. His knowledge and perspective caught me and I have since enjoyed communicating with him and reading the following writings:
  • “The Prime Directives for an ePortfolio” Here Ray identifies 10 criteria for an ePortfolio (compiled 18 months ago).
  • “A Universal ePortfolio?” was put together for a conference Ray presented in Paris in Feb 2008. It explores the potential for a universal ‘5-95′ ePortfolio.
• I was excited to finally see Nick Rate’s completed research in December and so enjoyed the 73 page read entitled “Eportfolios and Assessment For Learning.” What interested me was:
  1. His writings on “Assess to learn – a formative approach to teaching, learning and assessment.”
  2. The reflective perspectives of both the teachers and students who engaged in ePortfolios.
  3. His investigations into the following ePortfolio platforms: Elgg Classic, Wordpress MU, Knowledge Net, Marhara and DrupalEd.

So what am I up to now?

1. I have booked Nick Rate to come and visit my school, speak with my ePortfolio team and share his research with interested staff.
2. Ray Tolley is currently arranging for me to view and play with his eFolio platform.
3. Pebblepad has just been pointed out to me as a “nice user interface for children.” So I have been investigating this.

Animation Author: http://www.free-animations.co.uk/animation.html

• JISC publication (Sept 2008), “Effective Practice with e-Portfolios: Supporting 21st century learning”
  
• Ian Fox’s research (Feb 2008) “Eportfolios; a personal space for learning.

During this time I put together a brainstorm of ideas identifying:

1. Why we have chosen eportfolios (the purpose).
2. How they could be set up based on Nick Rate’s criteria for an eportfolio platform.
3. Management ideas to facilitate eportfolios in the classroom, including the ICT skills/resources we might need to teach the students.
4. What the eportfolio might contain (targeted at my Year 6/Grade 5 students).

Click here to download the brainstorm.

Our next step is to finalise the platform that we will use for the trial. Can you help us?

• What platform have you used that has been successful?
• How does it compare with Nick Rate’s criteria?
• Has anyone used Mahara, Wordpress MU, 21Classes or Edublogs for eportfolios and can comment on these?
  

Picture Authors: Reading = http://www.barnstable.k12.ma.us/bhs/Library/1index.htm Brainstorm = http://www.sitefriends.com

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 :+)