Wordle gives a lovely visual representation of this.
This post also demonstrates how a multimedia item may be used as an item of evidence of thinking (and technical skills) for an eportfolio (core activity 4.1).
Showing posts with label eportfolios. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eportfolios. Show all posts
Monday, 19 October 2009
Key features of eportfolio systems
Core activity 3.1 involved the comparison by each student of two (or more) eportfolio systems on about six of the features which they considered to be key. By aggregating the features selected by each student we can see which features (in our opinions at least) really are key.
Wordle gives a lovely visual representation of this.
This post also demonstrates how a multimedia item may be used as an item of evidence of thinking (and technical skills) for an eportfolio (core activity 4.1).
Wordle gives a lovely visual representation of this.
This post also demonstrates how a multimedia item may be used as an item of evidence of thinking (and technical skills) for an eportfolio (core activity 4.1).
Monday, 12 October 2009
Recommending an eportfolio system
The task for core activity 3.2 was to write a 500-word report aimed at an audience of managers in an educational institution or organisation of your choice (or your imagination), overviewing some available eportfolio systems and recommending one or more of them. It should provide information to help them decide which of the systems is best suited for their purposes*.
For this report I consider the selection of an eportfolio system for a scenario which draws on some elements from my work but which fictionalises a number of aspects.
The navy of a European country wishes to expand its training programmes using a range of distance and e-learning techniques. Among their requirements are the need for aneportfolio to:
The requirements given above lead to a number of possible system, dealt with here by requirement.
Requirement 1. All systems offer a way for students to record progress, although not all are tailored for assessment. eNVQ, Mahara, MyStuff and One File all support assessment or are particularly designed for it.
Requirements 2 and 3. These point to a need to support student reflection, and for others (e.g. tutors) to be able to offer formative feedback via comments.Mahara, MyStuff and PebblePad are particularly tailored to support reflective learning.
Requirement 4. The need to integrate with potential future (i.e. as yet unknown) systems is very open ended. Mahara can integrate with the Moodle LMS, and as it is open source, its code can be inspected to consider its appropriateness for future integration.
Requirement 5. Mobile access is necessary for trainees working in the field, and may be provided by MyStuff and PebblePad, but not currently Mahara.
Requirement 6. Mahara and MyStuff both offer the facility for the client organisation to host eportfolio data within their own secure network.
Given this analysis, an open source solution (Mahara or MyStuff, for example) may be most appropriate for a number of reasons:
* The full activity requirements were:
Consider the following issues:
For this report I consider the selection of an eportfolio system for a scenario which draws on some elements from my work but which fictionalises a number of aspects.
The navy of a European country wishes to expand its training programmes using a range of distance and e-learning techniques. Among their requirements are the need for aneportfolio to:
- Record student progress on tasks to provide evidence for certification
- Record student actions in tasks for formative assessment
- Allow students to develop and reflect upon a record of their competencies for use in personal development planning (including identifying future training needs)
- Integrate with current systems including a VLE, and potential future systems such as synthetic training environments
- Accessible by mobile phone/handheld device
- Consider security of data - hosting should be by the client organisation.
The requirements given above lead to a number of possible system, dealt with here by requirement.
Requirement 1. All systems offer a way for students to record progress, although not all are tailored for assessment. eNVQ, Mahara, MyStuff and One File all support assessment or are particularly designed for it.
Requirements 2 and 3. These point to a need to support student reflection, and for others (e.g. tutors) to be able to offer formative feedback via comments.Mahara, MyStuff and PebblePad are particularly tailored to support reflective learning.
Requirement 4. The need to integrate with potential future (i.e. as yet unknown) systems is very open ended. Mahara can integrate with the Moodle LMS, and as it is open source, its code can be inspected to consider its appropriateness for future integration.
Requirement 5. Mobile access is necessary for trainees working in the field, and may be provided by MyStuff and PebblePad, but not currently Mahara.
Requirement 6. Mahara and MyStuff both offer the facility for the client organisation to host eportfolio data within their own secure network.
Given this analysis, an open source solution (Mahara or MyStuff, for example) may be most appropriate for a number of reasons:
- Specific requirements mean current off-the-shelf solutions all have shortcomings
- In-house developers are available to deliver a customised solution based on an open source system
- Unknown future requirements can be met by subsequent development.
* The full activity requirements were:
Consider the following issues:
- the primary users of each system (i.e. higher education, schools, PDP, industry)
- any unique or particularly desirable features from the point of view of the learner, teacher and organisation
- the most appropriate system for this context, given the type of use you intend.
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Feature comparison of eportfolio systems
Core activity 3.1 - to produce a comparison grid of the key features of two eportfolio or eportfolio-type applications. Tutor group discussion of which features really are 'key' for an eportfolio system to follow.
Not able to display all table columns here... so please see this published Google Doc.
Not able to display all table columns here... so please see this published Google Doc.
Thursday, 1 October 2009
‘e-portfolios’ by George Siemens (2004) - a summary
Core activity 2.3 was to write a summary of the issues raised in en eportfolio paper. I selected ‘e-portfolios’ (Siemens, G. 2004) Available from: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/e-portfolios.htm
This short paper (only 5 pages) provides a balanced and considered overview of eportfolios, including definition, influences, benefits, comments on the creation process, issues, tools, trends and implementation needs.
Siemens makes the argument that portfolio implementations can be viewed as a continuum, that is, that they are driven by the task (either "assessment, PDP, learning portfolio, or group portfolio"). This makes sense: given the many and varied definitions and conceptions of eportfolios, the argument that "the intended task of the portfolio is the ultimate determinant of value" goes some way to explaining why eportfolios are many things to many people. Siemens also argues that, regardless of the format selected, eportfolios should encourage learners to develop the skills to continue building their portfolio as a life-long learning tool. This relates to one of the anticipated outcomes of using an eportfolio identified by this paper, namely that in a knowledge economy the ability to express knowledge effectively improves one's opportunities for employment and access to education. This does however assume that that learners will be motivated to develop a portfolio, and see value in maintaining it beyond compulsory education - something which is far from guaranteed, and which Siemens doesn't really address, except for a single sentence in his conclusion.
Siemens suggests a number of benefits that learners may receive from using an eportfolio to reflect on their experiences. Crucially, he sees eportfolios as a skill for lifelong learning. He suggests that eportfolios support this through (amongst other things) their ability to incorporate artifacts from informal learning and learning through life experiences. Siemens considers that this offers learners personal knowledge management and a history of their development and growth. Perhaps the most powerful benefits to learners identified by Siemens are the use of eportfolios as a planning/goal setting tool, as assistance in making connections between their learning experiences, and in providing the metacognitive elements necessary to assist in planning future learning needs. However, he does not articulate how an eportfolio will achieve these (not insubstantial) aims. My feeling (not yet supported by research evidence) would be that the eportfolio can be a tool in supporting these goals, but that they are processes undertaken by the learner which need support to develop, may require training, and certainly the opportunity to practice. Reflection is often not an easy or natural process, and simply having a tool available will not automatically make the benefits available to learners.
Siemens makes a number of interesting comments on implementation challenges. Unlike some others (refs?), he considers that the "standardization of eportfolios is a potential challenge" and that regulation may stifle creativity and innovation. He also considers that institutions should not be in control of the portfolio, and that learners themselves should retain control over their own portfolios. This is in contrast to arguments such as Jafari (2004) which consider institutional control over alumni eportfolios may be a useful revenue stream!
Siemens notes the need for eportfolios to be embedded into the process of instruction and assessment - that learners require time, training, advice, and promotion of eportfolios by faculty. These are all requirements of culture or attitude - it is not the technology that will make or break an eportfolio implementation. As Siemens concludes, "for many institutions, the challenge is ... to integrate various activities and extend current practices" and to recognise that "effective life-changing use is dependent on the learners themselves seeing the value and benefits".
This short paper (only 5 pages) provides a balanced and considered overview of eportfolios, including definition, influences, benefits, comments on the creation process, issues, tools, trends and implementation needs.
Siemens makes the argument that portfolio implementations can be viewed as a continuum, that is, that they are driven by the task (either "assessment, PDP, learning portfolio, or group portfolio"). This makes sense: given the many and varied definitions and conceptions of eportfolios, the argument that "the intended task of the portfolio is the ultimate determinant of value" goes some way to explaining why eportfolios are many things to many people. Siemens also argues that, regardless of the format selected, eportfolios should encourage learners to develop the skills to continue building their portfolio as a life-long learning tool. This relates to one of the anticipated outcomes of using an eportfolio identified by this paper, namely that in a knowledge economy the ability to express knowledge effectively improves one's opportunities for employment and access to education. This does however assume that that learners will be motivated to develop a portfolio, and see value in maintaining it beyond compulsory education - something which is far from guaranteed, and which Siemens doesn't really address, except for a single sentence in his conclusion.
Siemens suggests a number of benefits that learners may receive from using an eportfolio to reflect on their experiences. Crucially, he sees eportfolios as a skill for lifelong learning. He suggests that eportfolios support this through (amongst other things) their ability to incorporate artifacts from informal learning and learning through life experiences. Siemens considers that this offers learners personal knowledge management and a history of their development and growth. Perhaps the most powerful benefits to learners identified by Siemens are the use of eportfolios as a planning/goal setting tool, as assistance in making connections between their learning experiences, and in providing the metacognitive elements necessary to assist in planning future learning needs. However, he does not articulate how an eportfolio will achieve these (not insubstantial) aims. My feeling (not yet supported by research evidence) would be that the eportfolio can be a tool in supporting these goals, but that they are processes undertaken by the learner which need support to develop, may require training, and certainly the opportunity to practice. Reflection is often not an easy or natural process, and simply having a tool available will not automatically make the benefits available to learners.
Siemens makes a number of interesting comments on implementation challenges. Unlike some others (refs?), he considers that the "standardization of eportfolios is a potential challenge" and that regulation may stifle creativity and innovation. He also considers that institutions should not be in control of the portfolio, and that learners themselves should retain control over their own portfolios. This is in contrast to arguments such as Jafari (2004) which consider institutional control over alumni eportfolios may be a useful revenue stream!
Siemens notes the need for eportfolios to be embedded into the process of instruction and assessment - that learners require time, training, advice, and promotion of eportfolios by faculty. These are all requirements of culture or attitude - it is not the technology that will make or break an eportfolio implementation. As Siemens concludes, "for many institutions, the challenge is ... to integrate various activities and extend current practices" and to recognise that "effective life-changing use is dependent on the learners themselves seeing the value and benefits".
Thursday, 24 September 2009
OneNote for an ePortfolio
I am not alone! Other people are using OneNote as an ePortfolio tool. This is pleasing as I was a little worried that the lack of mention of OneNote in the course and associated discussions might mean it was an inappropriate tool choice (despite my feeling convinced that it does what I need it to). It's been good to do a little web research, and find out what other people are doing.
So, firstly I found the OneNote and Education blog - not surprising that they would have something to say about ePortfolios there then. This blog talks about a maths teacher using OneNote to teach classes, give homework, engage students in collaborative assignments, store grades, give feedback etc. Critically, every child in that school has a laptop for their work.
Next there is the Language Education and Resource Network which included a conference presentation titled 'Use OneNote as ePortfolio to Increase Interaction and Collaboration', and has made the PowerPoint of the talk available. Again, the focus of this is more on class teaching, collaboration, electronic grading and integrating distance and present learners, than on a more personal ePortfolio, but great to see another example.
There's even a sample ePortfolio available from Microsoft. It includes sections for each individual pupil with homework, quizes and tests subsections, a group work space, and plenty of space for pupils to do their own work as they see fit. It's not a portfolio structure that will work for my own current H808 needs, but nice to see a suggestion.
It has to be said that all of these examples are quite different to how I expect to use my ePortfolio, but they illustrate several important points. Firstly, ePortfolios are many things to many people - there really is no concensus on the term. Secondly, OneNote has the toolset and capacity to assist in the gathering, selection and storing of ePortfolio artifacts. Thirdly, it's a good choice for me!
So, firstly I found the OneNote and Education blog - not surprising that they would have something to say about ePortfolios there then. This blog talks about a maths teacher using OneNote to teach classes, give homework, engage students in collaborative assignments, store grades, give feedback etc. Critically, every child in that school has a laptop for their work.
Next there is the Language Education and Resource Network which included a conference presentation titled 'Use OneNote as ePortfolio to Increase Interaction and Collaboration', and has made the PowerPoint of the talk available. Again, the focus of this is more on class teaching, collaboration, electronic grading and integrating distance and present learners, than on a more personal ePortfolio, but great to see another example.
There's even a sample ePortfolio available from Microsoft. It includes sections for each individual pupil with homework, quizes and tests subsections, a group work space, and plenty of space for pupils to do their own work as they see fit. It's not a portfolio structure that will work for my own current H808 needs, but nice to see a suggestion.
It has to be said that all of these examples are quite different to how I expect to use my ePortfolio, but they illustrate several important points. Firstly, ePortfolios are many things to many people - there really is no concensus on the term. Secondly, OneNote has the toolset and capacity to assist in the gathering, selection and storing of ePortfolio artifacts. Thirdly, it's a good choice for me!
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Still thinking about ePortfolios
Have read two articles today which have highlighted for me the different conceptions of ePortfolios. The faculty, the teachers, the course leader, the assessors, the verification boards, the careers departments, and of course the students, all have differing (and potentially conflicting) needs for an ePortfolio which works for them. The complexity of choosing an ePortfolio is well documented, and the guide from the RSC North West shows the choices include questions of whether the portfolio is for assessment, reflection, presentation (or not pigeon-holed as one type at all - debate here), access, ownership, hosting, Open Source or Commercial tools, security, accessibility and usability... no easy answers here!
Jafari's The "sticky" e-portfolio system: tackling challenges and identifying attributes (2004) seems to focus on ePortfolios as being large, costly, architecturally complex, institutionally provided (or even imposed), systems, which must interoperate with existing LMS, require a robust integrated technology architecture.
In contrast, in a post for the Official Google Docs Blog on Electronic Portfolios in GoogleApps, Helen Barrett shared a link to a high school student's portfolio, created using Google Sites. This allows the user to tell a story about their work, include a reflective narrative, link to all sorts of supporting evidence, in a very user-friendly looking site. No institutional edicts here, and no restrictive structure of a given ePortfolio tool... this lets the student tell it their way. I like this! However, I'd have called this a web site, or a course journal or project record or something - not necessarily an ePortfolio... so this widens the definition for me, and becomes something to which I can personally relate.
Jafari's The "sticky" e-portfolio system: tackling challenges and identifying attributes (2004) seems to focus on ePortfolios as being large, costly, architecturally complex, institutionally provided (or even imposed), systems, which must interoperate with existing LMS, require a robust integrated technology architecture.
In contrast, in a post for the Official Google Docs Blog on Electronic Portfolios in GoogleApps, Helen Barrett shared a link to a high school student's portfolio, created using Google Sites. This allows the user to tell a story about their work, include a reflective narrative, link to all sorts of supporting evidence, in a very user-friendly looking site. No institutional edicts here, and no restrictive structure of a given ePortfolio tool... this lets the student tell it their way. I like this! However, I'd have called this a web site, or a course journal or project record or something - not necessarily an ePortfolio... so this widens the definition for me, and becomes something to which I can personally relate.
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Choosing my ePortfolio tool for H808
I'm trying to make some more progress towards choosing my ePortfolio tool for this course. In the first week I explored the OU's MyStuff (included with our course registration), and I also considered GoogleDocs, which I am very familiar with using for personal and collaborative working.
Since the initial flurry, and experimentation with MyStuff (which I found clunky, frustrating, and not very intuitive) I haven't done much about developing my ePortfolio. However, we're getting into the meat of some course activities now, and I'm finding I'm producing work which may need to be stored for evidence, and so I need to get on and make my ePortfolio choice. I have to admit here that I wouldn't be doing this if it weren't a course requirement... I can see the benefits of ePortfolios for students, and I would encourage them to reflect on what their work means (though I believe this could be done equally well outside of a portfolio)... I just can't see the benefit for me, now :-S But believe me I want to! I've been able to keep track of my work in previous studying through my own use of a personal wiki, paper notebooks, copies of my papers produced etc etc - it hasn't needed to be combined in an ePortfolio, and my own file structure or searching facilities allowed me to easily locate items should I need to find them. When I applied for my PhD studentship, neither my supervisor nor the department requested a portfolio (or indeed any items of previous work), and similarly when I interviewed for my current job, nor did they. In both cases it was a specific task related to the role that was required. So, they didn't want an ePortfolio...
So, this ePortfolio is just for H808 - I don't expect to use it for ongoing future career. I may be proved wrong later, but if so I can develop one then. For now, I don't need something that can 'live on' beyond this course, and so providers which will follow wherever I go are not necessary.
I do almost all my work on my home laptop. Sometimes I work during my lunch break, and sometimes my laptop is with me away from home and my internet connection (no mobile internet yet), but generally I have access to my laptop whenever I need it. So, I don't require an internet-based solution in order to access it from multiple locations. In fact, what about the times when I don't have internet? Therefore, I think I actually want a locally stored solution.
I feel slightly twitchy about an online solution, with regards to privacy. This doesn't make sense to me as I'm quite happy to have profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, and now a publicly accessible blog, etc, but for some inexplicable reason I'm not sure about this. Perhaps it's as simple as 'if i don't need it online, why put it there?'. I think part of the reason is because the ePortfolio includes reflective writing. Somehow that type of expression feels more private to me than the basic details of a piece of evidence, or at the very least I want to choose when and where to share it, like I can with this blog. Okay, okay, I know you can choose when to share your ePortfolio - I said it was nonsensical!
So, what are the choices?
The following have been discussed in the forums, and I have thoughts about at least some of them... (It should be said here that the pros and cons of all the follow (and more) deserve far greater attention than I give here - H808 students can see the comparative table created for Supplementary Activity 1.6 in the course wiki)
All of which (slightly dismissive) reflection brings me to what I think I have selected: OneNote.
A few hesitations - no-one mentioned this in the course fourms, I need to be sure I can share a presentation portfolio adequately for the course requirements, and it's also new to me, so I'm slightly learning how to use it as I go along.
However, I'm finding it intuitive to use, highly flexible to organise and reorganise, it's searchable, I can store multiple media types in it and I think I can use it to make an attractive presentation. I'm already using it for my course writing and note-taking, so it's easy for me to extend it with a view to ePortfolio use.
Caveat - I still might change my mind! But I think this feels good right now... I'd be really interested to know if anyone thinks it's a good or bad idea!
Since the initial flurry, and experimentation with MyStuff (which I found clunky, frustrating, and not very intuitive) I haven't done much about developing my ePortfolio. However, we're getting into the meat of some course activities now, and I'm finding I'm producing work which may need to be stored for evidence, and so I need to get on and make my ePortfolio choice. I have to admit here that I wouldn't be doing this if it weren't a course requirement... I can see the benefits of ePortfolios for students, and I would encourage them to reflect on what their work means (though I believe this could be done equally well outside of a portfolio)... I just can't see the benefit for me, now :-S But believe me I want to! I've been able to keep track of my work in previous studying through my own use of a personal wiki, paper notebooks, copies of my papers produced etc etc - it hasn't needed to be combined in an ePortfolio, and my own file structure or searching facilities allowed me to easily locate items should I need to find them. When I applied for my PhD studentship, neither my supervisor nor the department requested a portfolio (or indeed any items of previous work), and similarly when I interviewed for my current job, nor did they. In both cases it was a specific task related to the role that was required. So, they didn't want an ePortfolio...
So, this ePortfolio is just for H808 - I don't expect to use it for ongoing future career. I may be proved wrong later, but if so I can develop one then. For now, I don't need something that can 'live on' beyond this course, and so providers which will follow wherever I go are not necessary.
I do almost all my work on my home laptop. Sometimes I work during my lunch break, and sometimes my laptop is with me away from home and my internet connection (no mobile internet yet), but generally I have access to my laptop whenever I need it. So, I don't require an internet-based solution in order to access it from multiple locations. In fact, what about the times when I don't have internet? Therefore, I think I actually want a locally stored solution.
I feel slightly twitchy about an online solution, with regards to privacy. This doesn't make sense to me as I'm quite happy to have profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, and now a publicly accessible blog, etc, but for some inexplicable reason I'm not sure about this. Perhaps it's as simple as 'if i don't need it online, why put it there?'. I think part of the reason is because the ePortfolio includes reflective writing. Somehow that type of expression feels more private to me than the basic details of a piece of evidence, or at the very least I want to choose when and where to share it, like I can with this blog. Okay, okay, I know you can choose when to share your ePortfolio - I said it was nonsensical!
So, what are the choices?
The following have been discussed in the forums, and I have thoughts about at least some of them... (It should be said here that the pros and cons of all the follow (and more) deserve far greater attention than I give here - H808 students can see the comparative table created for Supplementary Activity 1.6 in the course wiki)
| MyStuff | Free, supported by the OU. Sort of feel I ought to use it because they have obviously designed it to meet what they consider to be the purpose of an ePortfolio... But too clunky for me. The facility to easily send pages from the wiki or posts from the forum to MyStuff did almost clinch it for me, but since the upgrade of the forum we seem to have lost that functionality, and I now don't have a good reason to go with it. Requires internet access to use. |
| Mahara | A comprehensive system, also free. Initially I thought it looked to complex, but that's only to set up a server - for an account on the web site it's easy. Requires internet access to use. |
| PebblePad | Sadly not free, and therefore at my current stage, that's all the consideration it gets from me... |
| Google Docs | I'm very familiar with using this, but it's obviously not a dedicated ePortfolio. While it has great search facilities and a simple to use folder structure, I suspect I may miss the ability to give a document multiple tags. Also web based, though can sync with an offline version. |
| Dropbox | Essentially a file backup and synching facility. Not had a play with it, but understand from course colleagues that it doesn't offer any presentation tools, which may hinder its use for sharing my ePortfolio with my tutor etc |
| Wetpaint | Another web-based solution, not, I think, a dedicated ePortfolio. Feel I'd need to see it in action as an ePortfolio in order to judge |
All of which (slightly dismissive) reflection brings me to what I think I have selected: OneNote.
A few hesitations - no-one mentioned this in the course fourms, I need to be sure I can share a presentation portfolio adequately for the course requirements, and it's also new to me, so I'm slightly learning how to use it as I go along.
However, I'm finding it intuitive to use, highly flexible to organise and reorganise, it's searchable, I can store multiple media types in it and I think I can use it to make an attractive presentation. I'm already using it for my course writing and note-taking, so it's easy for me to extend it with a view to ePortfolio use.
Caveat - I still might change my mind! But I think this feels good right now... I'd be really interested to know if anyone thinks it's a good or bad idea!
Friday, 11 September 2009
ePortfolios... not sure!
I've never really tried to use an eportfolio before. We were vaguely encouraged to do a learning needs analysis when I started my PhD, and apparently we were supposed to do a personal development plan too, but it wasn't compulsory, wasn't supported by my supervisor, and wasn't followed up. I felt I knew my aims and goals and didn't need a formal discussion, though no doubt I would actually have benefited from the process.
Now I'm still unsure that I want to keep an eportfolio - or why I'd want to. I can't imagine using it in my career, but maybe that's because employers haven't caught up and don't demand to see portfolio evidence. I'd be very interested to know what employers and recruiters think of portfolios - do they really use them in graduate recruitment, do they see any value when recruiting people who are in their second, third or subsequent roles, do they actually offer the evidence they need? Maybe we'll see in some of the upcoming course reading.
I'm a bit hesitant about keeping one for my own learning development now. It seems to require a considerable effort in selecting and compiling artefacts, though perhaps this is a good thing as it leads to reflection. I can see that less motivated students might not bother if the process isn't compulsory and it just seems to add to their workload.
My other hesitation is about the portfolio's persistence. I want to keep progressing and improving. I don't want my skills and attainment records of old to be visible, out there. And once you've exported it and distributed it, it is out there, and people will hold on to it even after you've updated your portfolio and distributed new versions to other people. This is the case with much electronic data - a problem of rapid redundancy, but when the aim of putting a public profile out there is to 'sell yourself' I'm worried about it being public. Sharing within the academic environment is one thing - and it's great for collaboration, sharing with tutors and assessors etc. But I still worry about the persistence of what's there. Maybe a (partial) solution for me would be to distribute a URL which points to my current profile. That way, by not distributing a package which will become redundant, I have more control over what is seen.
However, on the flip side, what if I want my portfolio to persist, to be accessible in five years time. Will the eportfolio provider still be around, will my account still exist, will I have forgotten my login credentials? I'd still feel the need to keep a backup of my own work, and this will mean that there will have to be a way of translating the eportfolio content and structure into some standard representation (xml?, html?, Word?) that can be reused in the future.
I still feel like I'm missing something about eportfolios. Lots of people are excited about their use, and about transforming learning through the use of eportfolios, so there seems to be something I'm not getting. Lots more reading to come in the next week, so we'll see what I'll find, and hopefully I'll be more convinced and understand what I'm missing!
Now I'm still unsure that I want to keep an eportfolio - or why I'd want to. I can't imagine using it in my career, but maybe that's because employers haven't caught up and don't demand to see portfolio evidence. I'd be very interested to know what employers and recruiters think of portfolios - do they really use them in graduate recruitment, do they see any value when recruiting people who are in their second, third or subsequent roles, do they actually offer the evidence they need? Maybe we'll see in some of the upcoming course reading.
I'm a bit hesitant about keeping one for my own learning development now. It seems to require a considerable effort in selecting and compiling artefacts, though perhaps this is a good thing as it leads to reflection. I can see that less motivated students might not bother if the process isn't compulsory and it just seems to add to their workload.
My other hesitation is about the portfolio's persistence. I want to keep progressing and improving. I don't want my skills and attainment records of old to be visible, out there. And once you've exported it and distributed it, it is out there, and people will hold on to it even after you've updated your portfolio and distributed new versions to other people. This is the case with much electronic data - a problem of rapid redundancy, but when the aim of putting a public profile out there is to 'sell yourself' I'm worried about it being public. Sharing within the academic environment is one thing - and it's great for collaboration, sharing with tutors and assessors etc. But I still worry about the persistence of what's there. Maybe a (partial) solution for me would be to distribute a URL which points to my current profile. That way, by not distributing a package which will become redundant, I have more control over what is seen.
However, on the flip side, what if I want my portfolio to persist, to be accessible in five years time. Will the eportfolio provider still be around, will my account still exist, will I have forgotten my login credentials? I'd still feel the need to keep a backup of my own work, and this will mean that there will have to be a way of translating the eportfolio content and structure into some standard representation (xml?, html?, Word?) that can be reused in the future.
I still feel like I'm missing something about eportfolios. Lots of people are excited about their use, and about transforming learning through the use of eportfolios, so there seems to be something I'm not getting. Lots more reading to come in the next week, so we'll see what I'll find, and hopefully I'll be more convinced and understand what I'm missing!
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