Lifelong ePortfolios

Cruel Illusion or Emerging Vision?

AAEEBL Boston ConferenceJuly 30, 2013

Learning AgentsePortfolio, eLearning, eMedia

http://bit.ly/DonPresant_ePortfolio

My viewpoint

• Starting outside the institution• Adult learning principles• Access to education

– Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition

• Employability• Sustainability

21st Century Skills and Learning

http://barwellroades.wcpss.net/mediatech.html

Archive, reflect and project

http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/e-portfolios

Benefits of “e”Virtual Binder for 21C

• Information Management capabilities– Collecting, archiving, sharing, making different versions– Multimedia evidence

• Digital technology, Internet literacy• Learning and collaboration integration

– Online research: documents, networks– Easy to add comments, edit, mentor, coach

• Digital Identity– Professional Profile, Personal network

• Measurement, alignment– Link to frameworks, rubrics, track learning over time

• Systems integration and interoperability– Learning management systems, HRIS

University President’s VisionAlan Davis, President, Kwantlen Polytechnic University

BC RPL Summit presentation March 2013

Genesis of the VisionAlan Davis, President, SUNY Empire State College

“Open SUNY” planning document 2012 p. 8

“Design your own degree”

But what is an ePortfolio?Who gets the final word?

The University of Nottingham

Tales from the trenches

NaysayersWhat one contentious Scotsman says

E-portfolios – 7 reasons why I don’t want my life in a shoebox:

1. Uninteroperable2. Institutionalised3. Human nature4. People are not learners5. Boundary problems6. Plus ca change7. Recruitment myth

DONALD CLARK PLAN B

Lessons learned

• Faculty were not included in initial focus groups and did not want to learn another technology tool; Blackboard was enough

• Should have identified some faculty promoters

• Underestimated the time to implement and technology problems, don’t choose vendor with most bells and whistles, simple is better

• Students did not see the value of the eportfolio

• Should have had students pay for eportfolio

Lessons Learned from a Failed ePortfolio Pilot Project for Student AssessmentSue Lawler, Rush University

Making it FailHow to effectively screw-up an eportfolio implementation

http://www.slideshare.net/eportfoliosaustralia/making-it-fail-how-to-effectively-screwup-an-eportfolio-implementation

Making it FailHow to effectively screw-up an eportfolio implementation

http://www.slideshare.net/eportfoliosaustralia/making-it-fail-how-to-effectively-screwup-an-eportfolio-implementation

Big DataePortfolios & Learning Analytics

Linking up Innovations in Assessment: Eportfolios, Open Badges, and Learning Analytics - Darren Cambridge, ePIC 2013http://t.co/PISRi5mFdo

Questions that need asking

• Do you have an ePortfolio?• Is an ePortfolio just another way of getting a

grade?• Is ePortfolio just another way of “reporting up”?• If ePortfolios are used for learning assessment,

are you prepared to assess for prior learning?• If it is a tool for transition:

– What happens when a student brings an ePortfolio to your institution, say from high school?

– Will your students want to keep their ePortfolios after they graduate?

– If they do, can they? Is this a favour from you, or a deliberate strategy?

Key Question

• Why do 52% of undergraduates have an ePortfolio?

BACK TO THE EMERGING VISION

ePIC 2013

http://bit.ly/13bb38D

www.epforum.eu/

10 ePortfolio Challenges Serge Ravet 2009

1. Universal ePortfolio Repository (aggregator)2. Universal Competency Identifiers3. ePortfolio social (PLN)4. ePortfolio semantic editors (automated)5. Universal ePortfolio Readers6. Open & Trusted Service Architecture7. ePortfolio-based performance support

system8. ePortfolio discovery mechanism9. URIs as tags10.Universal Metadatahttp://www.learningfutures.eu/2009/09/10-eportfolio-challenges.html

ePortfolios and MOOCs

ePortfolios and MOOCs

ePortfolios and MOOCs

Open Badges Coming fast down the pike

Rapidly Evolving EcosystemOpen Badge Factory – LMS independence

University President’s Vision 1Alan Davis, Kwantlen Polytechnic University

BC RPL Summit presentation March 2013

What is ePortfolio?Virtual learning companion

http://www.slideshare.net/4nitsirk/mahara-open-source-eportfolio-application

Digital IdentityShareski, Couros

http://www.slideshare.net/shareski/identity-management-project

http://www.slideshare.net/courosa/developing-digital-citizens

ePortfolios and PLEs

http://www.edtechpost.ca/ple_diagrams/index.php/2314107350_b5a5339dba_m

Learner controlled assessment Skill/Outcome Match Summary Example

Success FactorsOrganizational perspective

• Burning platform?– Program outcomes > institutional accreditation

• Principles of change management– Accelerating vs. accepting the maxim: “change

happens one retirement at a time”

• Faculty portfolios (“eportfolio is good for you”)– Graduate portfolios– Hiring Portfolios– Continuing Professional Development

• Department portfolio to support accreditation– But don’t let this need “drive the bus”

Success FactorsStudent perspective

• Watch the frame of reference– Emphasize “internal” (personal values & interests) over “external”

(expectations of employers & recruiters)

• Focus on learning, not just assessment– PLE, lifelong companion, personal narrative– Private, shared and public space

• Start early and monitor progress• Emphasize content over technology• Opportunities for peer interaction

– Peer review, brainstorming, portfolio buddies, presenting portfolios

• Take small steps with lots of scaffolding– Simple tasks to begin, provide examples– Provide technical and content support and feedback

• Eat your own dog food (i.e. build your own eportfolio)

Future State: the Open ePortfolio“Small pieces, loosely joined”

StudentRecords

OnlineCredentialVerification

Job Boards, Recruitment

Sites

PersonalNetworks,

Communities

OnlineMentoringServices

LocalizedLabour Market

Information

Employer HRManagement

Systems

GovernmentInformation

Portals

ePortfolio

Web 2.0YouTubeLinkedInTwitter…

eLearningLMS

Moodle, D2L, etc.

Options for Lifelong Access(not exhaustive, remixable)

• Export and import to free provider (Mahara)

• Free account supported by state (eFolio MN)

• Free account supported by vendor (D2L*)• Individual subscription administered by

vendor (PebblePad)• Individual subscription administered by

institution (?)• Online community supported by

institution’s marketing budgets (?)– Con Ed and/or Alumni Association

Would student take their ePortfolios lifelong?• YES, because:

• NO, because:

Learner-owned Lifelong ePortfolioSummary thoughts

• ePortfolio as a lens for the world– Personal Learning Environment– Performance support platform– Recursive assessment platform

• ePortfolio as a dialogue– Group ePortfolios, PLNs, learning communities– Multiple tools, aggregated by need– Simplify/standardize the touch points

• Destination vs. journey

Final thought

The future is already here; it’s just not very evenly distributed.William Gibson

Creative Commons http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Gibson

This presentationhttp://bit.ly/lifelongep

More about ePortfolios and Higher Ed

http://bit.ly/eP4HigherEd

don@learningagents.caTwitter: donpresant

ePortfolio: bit.ly/DonPresant_ePortfolio