ePortfolios: Back on the agenda again
This article from Campus Technology made me revisit some of my old posts on portfolio’s (see ‘related links’ below) and that, in the right hands and syllabus structure, “seem to improve student engagement and learning”.
Apparently;
“ePortfolio systems and associated portfolio practices finally are on track to become the centerpiece of educational transformation they always seemed destined to be.”
Does that mean we’ve finally worked out the best way to use them, or does it mean the developers and providers have worked out what it is we need, not what they want to give us?
“Many signs now point to a sudden explosion of electronic portfolio planning, adoption, and rapid market expansion [and] behind this market upswing is the return of academia to the learning values of portfolios based on a recognition that portfolio theory is a good guide for transformation of the academic side of the institution in this time.”
What tools are out there at the moment that are getting the coverage in articles like this:
- Mahara: “Mahara is an open source e-portfolio system with a flexible display framework.”
- ePortfolios.org: “ePortfolio.org is a student-centered platform.”
- FolioSpaces: “… provides you with the tools to set up a personal learning and development environment.”
- PebblePad: “… is a Personal Learning System being used in learning contexts as diverse as schools, colleges, universities and professional bodies.”
ePortfolio practice is:
“… as an educational process, rewarding and engaging and fits the times; student owned, stays with student over time, produces additional metrics by which to assess and evaluate students, supports high-impact learning experiences outside of the classroom, helps create a strong resume, develops reflective and integrative thinking, supports life-long learning, and so on.”
The article continues by saying traditional VLE-type environments like BlackBoard, Moodle, etc, are at the end of their ‘decade’ and that “electronic portfolio systems are more and more the new center of campus strategic thinking about learning and technology.”
The piece finishes by saying that “electronic portfolios, after seemingly running into a dead end a few years ago, are again a robust growth sector and a path to educational transformation. It’s about time.”
- Trent Batson has created this website for all information and links to ePortfolio resources: www.eportfolio-source.org
So, what system are you using or do you plan to use in the next few months or years, and how do you intend to implement it; fully hosted or hosted for you, integrated into your VLE / LMS or stand-alone? Please share by commenting below.
But then won’t the ePortfolio face the same future as the VLE? Big systems trying to do cover lots of functionality that you can use elsewhere, for free and swap around as you please? Which leads to the question of how does the ePortfolio relate to the so called, PLE?
What’s the ePortfolio for, exactly? Being able to carry your resources and musings through such aggregateable services such as blogs, wikis, discussion fora, etc… So, again…is it a PLE? A component of one?
I just wonder whether, with the trend for having learners all have an ePortfolio, the same mistakes are being made when it comes to locking people into systems, etc….all in the name of personalisation. Is it the VLE but under a different banner, one that is under the control of the learner rather than the institution but still, ultimately, restrictive?
That’s just my – perhaps – uninformed view. So I’d be interested in hearing what others think about it. So I apologise for all the questions ;)
Mark – Thanks for the questions … I think it’s safe to say that no one knows where this ‘trend’ could be heading, but it would be fairly easy to guess that ePortfolios could indeed be heading the same way as the VLE if not properly managed and implemented.
I also think it depends on how you use the ePortfolio – in Law (for example) students are encouraged to start their portfolio during their study and continue it into their careers where it becomes an integral piece of their PDP and future employability and professional qualification. In this way the students have the scale of responsibility from day-one of their under-graduate studies.
If we can incorporate an ePortfolio system (based on CSS or some other accessible technology) into the PLE (theirs and ours) then surely we ought to use the system that enables portability to other systems?
All the best, David.
Mark: “is it a PLE? A component of one?”
I believe a PLE consists of many things, both physical and virtual. It could include the place you study (such as the library, cafe, beach), the hardware you use (such as pen, paper, book, laptop), other sensual stimulations (such as background classical music), and increasingly the software tools you use (eg. LMS, RSS aggregator, online books, blog etc.). In this sense, an ePortfolio is just one of many components.
Mark: “I just wonder whether, with the trend for having learners all have an ePortfolio, the same mistakes are being made when it comes to locking people into systems, etc….all in the name of personalisation. Is it the VLE but under a different banner, one that is under the control of the learner rather than the institution but still, ultimately, restrictive?”
The LEAP2 protocol allows students (lifelong learners) the ability export their ePortfolios so that they can be imported to other systems. It allows interoperability between systems that adhere to this industry standard. Mahara is one of the ePortfolio systems to take this standard seriously, and export/import of ePortfolios has been possible for some time.
FolioSpaces (based on Mahara) was founded in recognition of the need for lifelong learners to be able to port their ePortfolios from one place to another, or to host their ePortfolio in a place independent of their school, university or place of employment. It provides the freedom from “lock-in” that many people are rightfully wary of, giving full control back to the user.
Cheers,
Steve.
The campus technology article suggests that the end of the VLE or LMS is near but I have to completely disagree. Our LMS is at the center of our virtual learning environment, it is connected to various other systems, pulling everything together so that students don’t have to log into multiple systems.
I find the Personal Learning Environment concept interesting but getting rid of the LMS and using RSS feeds, a CMS and various other systems might sound fine to a techie but for the average staff member or student they just want their elearning environment to be easy to use and all in one place.
It is true that the VLE is usually very teacher centric, but advances are happening here with the most recent version of Blackboard implementing tools such as a Wiki, student groups areas that students set up, peer review etc.
Our eportfolio system, Pebblepad, is different to the LMS because it is completely student centric, it is their space and they control it. It is not suitable for teaching a class in, it is a place for students to record and share their achievements.
I think the future still includes the LMS but rather than being the only tool or even the main elearning tool it is one of many elearning tools and is the one tool that brings all the others together.
Colin Lowe
Sydney University
Australia
Colin – thanks for this. I am also looking at PebblePad for a specific use to be used along side our BlackBoard-based VLE. Do you have any advice on PebblePad and the options/questions we should be looking at?
All the best, David.
Hi David, forgot to subscribe to your blog so missed your reply. I think you’ve covered the best portfolio systems. We’re still piloting PP and yes it has weaknesses but it’s mostly very user friendly and I think will suit our needs. I do like Mahara but we don’t do open source at Sydney Uni, not my decision I might point out.
Colin