EPortfolios have also been the subject of much debate in the broader academic community too. The main point of debate appears to be that there is not a single understanding or approach to the development and purpose of an Eportfolio. - largely as a result of different didactic and pedagogic approaches to their development and use (www. pontydysgu.org/2010/03/rethinking-e-portfolios/)
So what are EPortfolios main purpose:
- an assessment tool
- a tool for professional or career development or
- a tool for active learning.
Using EPortfolios as a pedagogic approach to personal learning is another application The productive pedagogies that promote the use of ICT's is 'Connectedness' - intellectual quality together with supportive student environments.ICT's are effective learning tools because they provide the student opportunities to have substantive conversations with teachers and peers about the topic they are exploring and together they can increase their levels of understanding and knowledge. "If EPortfolios are to be used they should be a school wide initiative and used across all areas of primary and secondary education so that children learn how to use these and can take their work with them wherever they go (Aldred, 2010). My 4 year old son, Daniel has helped in the preparation of his hard copy portfolio (scrapbook) and he takes great pride in it. It will be a treasured momento for years to come. So when he is capable of developing his own indivdual E-Portfolio this would be a tremendous learning experience and great source of pride for him. With parental and teacher support this could be introduced as part of a school wide initiative. A journal of a student's work can show how they have progressed within Dimension 5 - (Habits of Learning) throughout their school year. In most schools this takes the form of a scrapbook.
Why couldn't this be detailed in an electronic format instead of an old fashioned scrapbook. The student could set themselves goals, and reflect on whether they achieved this - through examples of their schoolwork. Goals don't have to be monumental - just something the student formerly found difficult such as sharing or speaking in front of the class.
References:
http:// www.sallyjames2010blogspot.com/2010/03/using-mahara-in-primary-schools/
http://www.pontydysgu.org/2010/03/rethinking-e-portfolios/
http://www.knownet.com/writing/weblogs/Graham_Attwell/entries/0786277508
http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=4&ved=0CBgQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fresearch.becta.org.uk%2Fupload-dir%2Fdownloads%2Fpage_documents%2Fresearch%2Fimpact_eportfolios_learning.pdf&ei=IaGxS8mkN4aotgPRuo2PAQ&usg=AFQjCNFCrf1sImFigJ-EbfyjNmm9I_t9aQ&sig2=9VMYGJkZnOl8RTkWyRGNMA
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for continuing this discussion. I think it is one of the largest discussions so far on our learning trek and it has certainly brought out some great ideas and thoughts.
I agree with you on the idea that to make e-portfolios successful at school they need to be a whole school approach - I don't think I have seen anyone dispute this point. I do however, find it difficult to think of a teacher in the lower years at primary school incorporating it in to the learning tasks of the students. As Scot had indicated in his feedback on my post that we both agree about self preservation. If you are a teacher with 25 students in your class and you are lucky enough to be allocated a 40 minute computer lesson once a week in the computer lab I personally can't see myself taking on the role of introducing students at such a young age to the e-portfolio idea. I want them to have some basic skills in computer use - eg turn on the computer, log in with specific passwords, open, create and save a word document, use the format tools available, copy and paste images or photos from other sites etc. You might be amazed to know that many children even in year 4 are still just coming to grips with some of these concepts. They might be whiz bang on a playstation game, video game etc but how often do you see kids sitting down to a computer at home playing in a word document or a powerpoint - I wouldn't think too often.
I know that there will be some kids out there that might be ready to learn this type of technology but I don't think that it would be the norm.
I for one plan on assessing my students and then make a final decision on what and when to teach but for now my experience has shown that few students would be ready for e-portfolios under 10 years of age.
Teachers should use it as a whole school approach - I completely agree - and I may well start to implement it at my school next year - I certainly will be advocating for some kind of long term technology for the students to grow with and take with them after year 12. Education should be a community of practice for all our students!
Thanks for your insight into further thoughts on this matter. I have been very eager to see where this discussion leads us all.
Sally
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you re: having a digital portfolio for young children. My son also brought home a scrapbook style portfolio from his school and my concern is what it will look like in twenty odd years time??? We really enjoyed looking through the porfolio as a family but having it stored somewhere electronically would be fantastic. The teachers could use Mahara to do this, as most of the portfolio entries were computer generated OR as you suggested the students could learn how to create an e.portfolio. I do feel this would be very time-consuming. My son has only just learnt how to log-on and access 'Freddy Fish' this week all by himself. He is one of five who can now do it, having spent all last term trying. However, making it a whole school initiative may be the way to go?
Cheers,
Emma