ePortfolio: An Assessment Pyramid for Students, Faculty, and Institutions The NERCOMP ePortfolio SIGNovember 3, 2005: ePortfolio: An Assessment Pyramid for Students, Faculty, and Institutions The NERCOMP ePortfolio SIG November 3, 2005 Trent Batson University of Rhode Island


My Perspective on ePortfolios: My Perspective on ePortfolios English professor Chair of the Board of the Open Source Portfolio Initiative (Mellon-funded) Campus IT director responsible for rollout of eportfolios Founder of the New England ePortfolio Project (25 institutional members)


ePortfolios are not yet defined –But here are two for today: ePortfolios are not yet defined – But here are two for today Owned, architected, longitudinal student archives used by learners and guides to develop reflective practices. Aggregated data from student self-reported success in meeting a series of faculty-created rubrics from which program assessors can receive statistical reports tracking student progress toward learning outcomes.


Major Types of ePortfolios for Learning: Major Types of ePortfolios for Learning


And many providers have jumped in: And many providers have jumped in iWebfolio – Nuventive Folio – ePortaro e-Portfolio – Chalk and Wire FolioLive – McGraw Hill WebFolio Builder – TaskStream College Live Text Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium Oracle, OPP, PeopleSoft Pupil Pages PEAKS Alverno College Lanit Consulting True Outcomes Masterfile ePortfolio Manager – Concord Angel ePortfolio --Angel Learning Blackboard CMS TK-20 Open Source Portfolio 2.0 (rSmart group); IBM efolio – Avenet WebCT (in the works) Apple (OSP) Maps by TAG Learning, Ltd Georgia State University Sun, Adobe


Assessment: Assessment What happened to “evaluation”? Assessment in eportfolios: Individual assessment of your own work Program assessment of a cohort’s progress toward learning goals


Assessment Pyramid: Assessment Pyramid Individual Student Portfolios; owned space; sets permissions Collection Organizing work Choosing What to Submit Selection Presenting to Assessment Manag System or for course or resume. Presentation Reflection


Trent’s OSP: Trent’s OSP http://woolworth.uri.edu:8088/portal


First, know thyself: SELF Mirror Facial Expressions of Others Viewing own work “I have a history” First, know thyself Competition Reflection is a meaning-making process – Dewey’s Criteria for Reflection


Progression in College (Perry): 1. Black and white; true or false; right or wrong – “just tell me the answer” – Memory, not reflection or critical thinking. 2. Relativism: “it’s all relative” – “ it depends” Capitulation 3. Commitment: “I don’t know all the answers, but this is what I’ll do or believe” Critical thinking based on reflection Progression in College (Perry)


Slide11: Week 1 Week 7 Wow, I wrote THAT? Reflection: Using ePortfolios


Slide12: Once a person (student) recognizes a problem, that person “owns” the solution. “I’m writing a lot better now than when I first got to campus. That paper in week one is EMBARRASING. I can get a better grade.” Responding not to red marks, but to an innate desire to norm yourself at a higher level.


O w n e r s h i p: O w n e r s h i p eportfolios enable students to: set permissions as to who sees their work retain work after the course use work for their own purposes discover needs for revision themselves take responsibility for their own learning record Core learning value is NOT tracking students, but in ownership of work


Portfolios as Curricular Frame: Portfolios as Curricular Frame “Content” is Student Work Group individual work Brainstorming/Discussion synthesis Expand on synthesis Summarize Reflect a few weeks later Final project is portfolio


A group process (all have access to the Net during class): A group process (all have access to the Net during class) Intro Free chat time S I M U L A T I O N “Refugee” ????? *Bush *New Or. Resident *Jesse Jackson *News commentator ALL IN CHAT, email, wiki Write the view you under-stood best Synthesis eportfolio


Homework: Homework Read the other students’ end-of-class writing after the chat-simulation Find commentary on the Web about use of the word “refugee” to describe internally-displaced persons Talk to at least one other person, friend, another faculty member, etc and briefly record their view


Next Class: Next Class free chat  Intro  Face-to-Face Create an argument in philosophical terms that takes a stand about the ethics of classifying a person by an experience they have


Six Weeks Later: Six Weeks Later How would you change the terms of your argument about the term “refugee” now? How would you change the terms of your argument about the term “refugee” now?


ePortfolios: Students Don’t Hand in Work : ePortfolios: Students Don’t Hand in Work Lynn Nichole Guillermo Kirk ePortfolio System Faculty Students set Permissions


Slide20: Student Portfolio “public space” Student Portfolio “private space” Permissions


Faculty Rewards: Faculty Rewards Opportunities for cross-semester collaboration Can include co-curricular work Pedagogical discussions around eportfolios (faculty themselves reflecting on teaching and learning) Evidence for letters of reference Providing an engaging project for independent work Easy way to check student progress


Slide22: It's clear from the research that some people certainly do [use eportfolios for their own purposes], . . . In the survey, we did find strong evidence that lots of users - 27% of the survey respondents - used eFolio [in Minnesota] in different roles, at once or over time, i.e. as both a student and a worker or as both an educator and a worker. I argue that this role switching is strong evidence that people are using portfolios for their own purposes, beyond the institutional demands of a particular academic program. Darren Cambridge, George Mason University, email 9-21-05. ePortfolio as a Cultural Tool


Slide23: Difficult to say [if students use eportfolios for personal purposes]. My guess is that around 5% (give or take 5) have used portfolio for personal purposes. Maybe a tad higher. Far and away the biggest set of users consists of enrolled students who are "required" to complete portfolio assignments. I frequently hear of individuals (both faculty and students) who use portfolio independent of requirements. The reasons vary -- from curiosity to safekeeping of records and, of course, job preparation. Use on our campus is on the upswing, and it is much, much easier presenting it to students because they are more adept at web technology and are far more eager to use that technology for personal record-keeping. Paul Treuer, University of Minnesota, Duluth, email 9-20-05 ePortfolio as a Cultural Tool, 2


Slide24: The largest IT corporations are getting involved in portfolios As with email, the education component will not determine the ultimate form or functionality of eportfolios Use of eportfolios on campus, as with email, will be taken for granted The critical aspect for universities, therefore, is to understand “folio thinking” first and to look at platforms second. ePorfolio as a Cultural Tool Factors and Implications


The Open Source Portfolio OSP Portfolio: The Open Source Portfolio OSP Portfolio www.osportfolio.org The rSmart group: www.rsmart.com The Longsight Group, Scott Sidall of Denison: www.longsight.com Unicon: www.unicon.net All Sakai commercial partners: www.sakaiproject.org


Open Source, Community Source, and Proprietary Code: Open Source, Community Source, and Proprietary Code Traditional: company owns code, you “rent it,” and the price for support services is included in the invoice. On your campus, a tech person is assigned to install and maintain the application


A Common (mis)Understanding of Open Source: A Common (mis)Understanding of Open Source The code is free Use at your own risk You have to have “developers” to use open source applications There is no where to turn for help


Open Source – >Community Source: Open Source – > Community Source A critical mass of developers within academia and the corporate sector have contributed code and continue to do so; some formal organization organizes the community (OSP = Sakai Foundation) At least one commercial company provides services, development, testing, and new versions for the application Code and services are therefore un-bundled


Community Source, cont: Community Source, cont You do not need “developers” but just someone to download the code and maintain the application (the same person who maintains proprietary apps?) Pay the company for any enhancements or customization you need Contribute the purchased code back to the community so you will stay compatible with new versions Total cost is slightly less


Community Source: Community Source Risks, Proprietary: Company is bought or goes out of business or discontinues an application Application is altered in ways you don’t like Price may increase each year An up-front commitment Community Source risk mitigation: More than one company supports app Community votes with its feet for modification of app Only price of services may go up Can pilot and test with less up-front commitment


Cautions: Cautions Portfolio market is rapidly expanding It’s an immature market but has become global and cross-sector Shake out is inevitable “Solutions” will be offered for all five types of eportfolios A strategy should involve pilot, plan B, and possibly multiple platforms


Ideas: Ideas Find out what the high schools, community colleges, and universities are doing in your area – and what’s happening on your own campus Engage in regional collaboration Create or assign assessment leadership Coordinate with accrediting agencies


other info: other info Wiki is in Ward's original description:The simplest online database that could possibly work. Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly.Wiki is unusual among group communication mechanisms in that it allows the organization of contributions to be edited in addition to the content itself.Like many simple concepts, "open editing" has some profound and subtle effects on Wiki usage. Allowing everyday users to create and edit any page in a Web site is exciting in that it encourages democratic use of the Web and promotes content composition by nontechnical users. Blog: A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog.


Resources: Resources http://www.eportfolios.ac.uk/ -- JISC http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/ocotillo/eport/blog.php -- Alan Levine http://www.deskootenays.ca/wilton/eportfolios/ -- 11 months since update http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/eportfolios.htm -- common definitions


More resources: More resources www.eportconsortium.org – the source for up-to-date eportfolio news http://linux.wdg.uri.edu/trent/ePortolio -- The ePortfolio Landscape -- Batson


Coming Event: Coming Event OSP and Sakai conference: December 7 – 9, 2005, Austin, TX www.osportfolio.org www.sakaiproject.org/


Thanks!: Thanks! Trent Batson trent@uri.edu