Announcement and Invitation for Participation

Introduction to ePortfolios:

K-12 Institute on Realities, Possibilities and Transitions

Monday, July 16, 2012, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
in conjunction with AAEEBL’s Annual Conference
at The Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, MA

Goal:  This Institute will launch a conversation among educators and enable participants to raise questions and examine issues about the implementation of eportfolio programs for K-12 teaching, learning and beyond.

Coordination team: The initial plans for this institute have been coordinated by Stasia Peters of Southeastern MA Regional School District, Nancy Wozniak of Stonybrook University, and Judy Batson of AAEEBL. 

Invitation: We invite interested individuals to join this initiative to provide a K-12 eportfolio institute for educators. 

Contact: Judy Williamson Batson, AAEEBL

Context:  ePortfolios are being used more and more in K-12, in higher education, in the workplace, and for life-long learning.  AAEEBL's mission is to develop learners and to transform institutions through the use of electronic portfolios.  To fully implement the use of eportfolios requires a shift in teaching and learning methodology that focuses on the learner. AAEEBL wants to include the voices of K-12 professionals in the conversation about this shift, and therefore offers a K-12 Institute for the first time at an Annual Conference. This Institute will be offered on the workshop day for the Annual Conference in July 2012, but it will be unique in that it will be the only full-day program on the agenda for that day.  It will also be unique in that K-12 professionals may register for, and attend, only the Institute without registering for the full Annual Conference if they wish. 

Preliminary Schedule

• Coffee -- 8:00-8:30
• 8:30-8:45 -- Welcome and Introduction of plenary speaker
• 8:45-10:15 -- Interactive Plenary with John Richards (Harvard and CS4ED) -- Pre-Conference Reading TBA
• 10:30 – 11:30 -- Session 1 – panel with 3 presenters and plenty of time for discussion/Q&A: Realities
• 11:45 – 12:45 -- Lunch
• 1:00–2:00 -- Session 2 – panel with 3 presenters and plenty of time for discussion/Q&A: Possibilities
• 2:15–3:15 pm -- Session 3 – panel with 3 presenters and plenty of time for discussion/Q&A: Transitions
• 3:30–4:30 pm -- Session 4 - vendor panel
• 4:30–5:00 –- Wrap-up/summation

Institute Themes

The committee has identified several preliminary panel themes in broad-brush strokes and looks forward to hearing from others interested in setting forth ideas for presentations.  We welcome additional focus questions to consider for panel presentations.  The proposed themes are:

1. Realities -- What are circumstances facing K-12 educators that prompt the use of eportfolios?  Who are the stakeholders, and what needs to be considered in addressing them?  How does an initiative get started?  What are some first steps?  This panel will offer perspectives on eportfolio start-up from the vantage point of elementary, middle and high school levels.  Panelists will share lessons-learned and make some suggestions for addressing some of the challenges and realities that face K-12 educators as they move toward eportfolio implementation.
2. Possibilities -- How did teachers and students adjust to the use of eportfolios for teaching and learning?  What does a functioning and mature eportfolio program look like?  What do some signs of success look like?  What are key elements of an eportfolio?  This panel will provide examples of established eportfolio initiatives and will indicate the signs of success they encountered using eportfolios.  They will share visions for the future and thoughts about where eportfolios are likely to lead them as they continue using them.
3. Transitions -- What is higher education looking for from K12?  How can we prepare and position students to meet those needs through the use of eportfolios? If a student is to transition to the workplace, what would potential employers like to see?  How do we develop partnerships to bridge times of transitions for students and teachers using eportfolios?  (even going from one grade level to another...)  This panel will include representatives from school-to-college and from school-to-job who will discuss ways in which eportfolios are used for transitioning from one path to another.
   

Who should attend?:  Superintendents of districts, K-12 teachers, post-secondary professors in teacher education, principals,technologists, guidance counselors.

Cost: The full-day Institute is specially priced at $200 and includes lunch.  To attend this Institute, it is not necessary to be a member of AAEEBL or to register for the full conference. 

Learning objectives:  By the end of this Institute, attendees will be able to:

• understand some various uses of eportfolios for K-12 teaching and learning
• differentiate between assessment goals and learning goals with eportfolios
• identify steps towards the implementation of eportfolios in the classroom and content areas 
• understand how eportfolios can be used for transitions into higher grades, college and workforce
• identify and analyze issues regarding use of eportfolios in K-12
• develop a collaborative network and community of practice for eportfolios in K-12
• assess possibilities for using eportfolios in K-12
• gain an overview of eportfolio technology and platforms

Vendor sponsorship opportunities: We invite Affiliate participation in this milestone event for AAEEBL.

• The last session of the day will include a panel of eportfolio vendors to address the educators about their platform and pedagogy.   We need four panelists for this portion of the program.
• It is possible to have our featured speaker’s fee sponsored.
• We invite luncheon sponsorship.
• We hope to offer scholarships for at least 10 attendees. 
  

Contact Judy Batson to sponsor a part of the Institute or to cover the entire event.

---

More to come.  Please return for additional information to be posted in the near future.

(2/22/12)