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Discussion: reflection: e-Portfolio thinking
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kranova |
reflection: e-Portfolio thinking
Jul 31 2009, 5:13 PM EDT
| Post edited: Aug 3 2009, 12:13 PM EDT
The best evidence I have found that illustrates the value of reflection, particularly in e-Portfolio thinking can be viewed in the student portfolios from the Washington State University e-Portfolio contest in 2007 http://ctlt.wsu.edu/eportgallery and again in 2008 http://ctlt.wsu.edu/contest07/gallery One of the reasons why we were able to get such rich evidence-based reflection is because of our rubric http://ctlt.wsu.edu/contest07/rubric In addition, since these contests, our work has evolved. See this blog post on harvesting feedback http://wsuctlt.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/test-drive-the-harvesting-gradebook/ and a recent workshop where Terry L. Rhodes and others were participants for the TLT Group http://mysite.wsu.edu/personal/jaymej/tlt I think you'll find these examples not only intriguing, but catalytic. 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you?
Keyword tags:
e-Portfolio
e-Portfolio rubric
evidence-based learning
reflection
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trentbatson |
1. RE: reflection: e-Portfolio thinking
Aug 16 2009, 3:28 AM EDT
Ashley: I've looked through the URLs and at the rubric, etc.: could you explain how this all works? Where do you see the best evidence for the value of reflection? and why is that so? I'm trying to make sense of the process and would like to understand it better.Best,Trent 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
Foliospaces |
2. RE: reflection: e-Portfolio thinking
Nov 19 2009, 9:17 PM EST
Hi all, I have been working in the ePortfolio space for about a year now, and probably what keeps me really interested is there is so much to explore. The Washington State portfolios are a great starting point. Yes they are essentially showcase portfolios, or because of the competition, they could even be called assessment portfolios. I have come to the conclusion that there is no right or wrong portfolio, but rather the uses are many and varied. There are however a few themes that are emerging, such as how does lifelong learning fit with a portfolio model? Lifelong learning and reflection go hand in hand, as does story telling. So in my quest for (ePortfolio) meaning, I have drawn a lot of inspiration from story telling, and more recently digital story telling and digital media literacy. So things like the rubric Kranova has shared are important as well.As an academic we are always drawn back to assessment as much as I would like not to be, but this is an essential part of ePortfolios (in Higher Ed at least). This year I have started working with students who in turn mentor their teachers. This has been pretty exciting. I worked with a group of final year nursing students who were placed in remote and rural locations. The placements were fairly confrounting and the nurses used their portfolios both to communicate with each other, share experiences, reflect on their experiences and to produce reports (for assessment). They have all said they will keep their portfolios to document their professional practice (which is now compulsory for nursing registration in Australia). I am also working with a group of international hospitality students who use their portfolios for recording evidence of achievement. An example is a video of meals they produced in the workplace. One of the wost exciting things I learnt this year was about my own practice. Student reflection really shows the strategic learners up.... and my poorly designed assessment. 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
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kranova |
3. RE: reflection: e-Portfolio thinking
Nov 25 2009, 4:10 PM EST
This is a belated response to Trent:Trent - Big questions! For now, I'm going to send you to a couple of links that highlight what I consider evidence for the value of reflection - and to illustrate that there are many types of reflection - with different focii/purposes. Sections of Carlie's portfolio (link follows) show how she uses the theoretical framework she is learning about in her women's studies class to analyze her own journals written when she was teen - this resulted in some powerful reflection: https://my.wsu.edu/portal/page?_pageid=177,298591&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL Kelley's reflection reflects her quest to integrate life, learning, and work. See too her link to how she revised her portfolio based on feedback - another kind of reflection. https://my.wsu.edu/portal/page?_pageid=177,298588&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL Lisa used reflection to really examine her growth as a learner in her discipline (engineering) over four years. She practiced another kind of reflection to identify mistakes made and what she learned from them: https://my.wsu.edu/portal/page?_pageid=177,298592&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL Do you find this valuable? |
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MikkaMac |
4. RE: reflection: e-Portfolio thinking
Jan 1 2010, 11:16 AM EST
Apologies if I am missing something, but having looked at http://ctlt.wsu.edu/contest07/gallery I am a little underwhelmed by the concept of ePortfolios. Looking at the winning examples, an ePortfolio seems to be made up of a meagre number of interconnected, basic formatted web pages with unexceptional text. Please correct me by pointing to other examples - given the glowing reports I had read about ePortfolios, I am genuinely confused. Thanks.
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trentbatson |
5. RE: reflection: e-Portfolio thinking
Jan 2 2010, 11:32 AM EST
"Apologies if I am missing something, but having looked at http://ctlt.wsu.edu/contest07/gallery I am a little underwhelmed by the concept of ePortfolios. Looking at the winning examples, an ePortfolio seems to be made up of a meagre number of interconnected, basic formatted web pages with unexceptional text. Please correct me by pointing to other examples - given the glowing reports I had read about ePortfolios, I am genuinely confused. Thanks."Dear MikkaMac: the trick is that portfolios are best at changing thinking processes that result in students developing their metacognitive skills. It's difficult to show changes in mental processes. In fact, our Association is dedicated to a shift from educating for performance toward educating for improved thinking processes. Problem solving, research, collaboration skills, creativity. At another level, students produce portfolio presentations for different purposes. The same artifacts can be presented in different ways, just as you would a resume -- different presenations for different job opportunities. The best visualization of portfolio practices would be to see a video of active learning in class or out of class and students capturing aspects of active learning, sorting through them, editing them, commenting on them, and creating different presentations -- which could be of group work. The process is primary. Focusing on process as well as on a finished product is possible today where evidence of the process can be captured and commented on. And, we believe, a focus on process is appropriate today when employees are expected to be entrepreneurial and collaborative. Thanks for writing Trent Do you find this valuable? |
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ozrural |
6. RE: reflection: e-Portfolio thinking
Jan 4 2010, 8:04 AM EST
Hi Trent and MikkaMac,I think this is a really important conversation. As one who is also heavily committed to promoting the use of portfolios, I must admit to moments of wondering what it is all about. As a marketing lecturer one of my favourite stories has always been about the introduction of the Sony Walkman. Great product, but what was it actually used for? The story goes that electrical retailers and journalists thought the Walkman would be a failure, but Sony used young people to walk through the Ginza, offering passers by to listen to the Walkman's excellent audio quality. They then set about producing a list of 101 things you could do with a walkman!! I had a meeting a few weeks ago with a prospective marketing lecturer and mentioned ePortfolios. 'I know about them she said. They are for creating CV's'. Yes, well no as my 13 year old daughter would say. I explained that yes, an ePortfolio could be used with a CV, but it could also be used for so much more throughout a persons lifetime. Shaping, reflecting and re-purposing content as new uses arise. That said when asked for examples, I to, reach for assessment pieces completed by my students, because they are not private. In most cases such examples (to use MikkaMacs words could well be 'made up of a meagre number of interconnected, basic formatted web pages with unexceptional text'. In contrast the work that I have been doing with nursing students has been really exciting because they have kept their portfolios (and group networks) beyond graduation and they are now using them to reflect on professional practice and to share experiences, and use them for ongoing registration requirements. Recently the deregistration of private education providers in Australia may have been avoided if student proof of competence could have been demonstrated by portfolio use. A great start would be a list of '101 uses for an ePortfolio. Ian Knox Do you find this valuable? |
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Foliospaces |
7. RE: reflection: e-Portfolio thinking
Jan 4 2010, 8:10 AM EST
Sorry just realised my previous post was from my other Wetpaint ID. I don't have a split personality, just multiple interests!Regards, Ian Do you find this valuable? |
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trentbatson |
8. RE: reflection: e-Portfolio thinking
Jan 4 2010, 9:14 AM EST
Hi, Ian -- I was thinking as I was reading your post about how to show the value of lecture. Usually we watch a great performance of a great teacher. How would we picture the effectiveness of lecture? I think seeing even a poor portfolio is more evidence of learning than watching a video clip of a person lecturing. How DO you illustrate learning? Maybe all learners could have one of those brain scan displays attached to their heads and we could always be seeing which parts of their brains are lighting up -- now that's a way to picture learning, I suppose. Not being flippant, although it sounds so. Best trent Do you find this valuable? |
RayTolley |
9. RE: reflection: e-Portfolio thinking
Jan 5 2010, 11:53 AM EST
Hi, Trent, Perhaps one aspect of reflection as been overlooked so far. Reflection, I would suggest is not just introspection. In response to Ozrural, an e-Portfolio is an excellent medium for encouraging others to reflect or share constructive opinions about one's work. Reflection then becomes 'reflecting about others reflections'. To capture these conversations and document them within the e-Portfolio is an excellent way of presenting evidences of one's learning pathway. BW Ray T Do you find this valuable? |
nils_peterson |
10. There is a 'there there'
Jan 5 2010, 1:51 PM EST
To look at a portfolio and see a meager number of interconnected web pages is to focus on one tree in the forest. Others have replied about the reflection and the learning that might be glimpsed in the portfolio. There is also the action and problem solving -- portfolio as workspace. To understand this better, try Googling Margo Tamez, one of the contest winners.Margo Tamez (she is lucky to have a fairly unique name) illustrates that she built her electronic reputation in many places, that is, her working ePortfolio is not in one place. Rather, it is the sum of artifacts embedded in the contexts of the communities where she was/is working. Find more of this tread including a link to a recent Campus Technology article on portfolios and the WSU contest here http://communitylearning.wordpress.com/2009/09/27/not-your-fathers-portfolio/ What is unimpressive about the contest (in my mind) is the amount of work it takes to make and maintain a Web 2.0 ePortfolio. It won't be transformative to learning until it gets qualitatively easier. Do you find this valuable? |
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trentbatson |
11. RE: There is a 'there there'
Jan 5 2010, 3:03 PM EST
Agreed, Nils. Both you and Ray pointed out how portfolios have many processes and how they can generate a conversation around the work. I suppose, getting back to Mikkamac's original question, the embedded in his or her question is a query about some kind of proof that portfolios make a difference. Doing portfolios is a lot of work for a lot of people -- it's a fundamental re-structuring of the teacher-student learning community. So, why do people do it? Perhaps that was the question.Cheers Trent Do you find this valuable? |
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RayTolley |
12. RE: There is a 'there there'
Jan 5 2010, 4:30 PM EST
Hi, Trent and NilsThere is no reason why "Doing e-Portfolios should be a lot of hard work" - for anyone, including the young, the less able, those with specific disabilities or the elderly. Yes, it is about educating the educators but above all, KISS. I expand upon these views at: http://efoliointheuk.blogspot.com/2010/01/when-is-e-portfolio-not-e-portfolio.html There is plenty of evidence about the impact of e-Portfolios on difference in grades, retention rates etc, but perhaps that is another thread? Do you find this valuable? |
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nils_peterson |
13. Tamez reframes the conversation
Jan 5 2010, 7:57 PM EST
| Post edited: Jan 5 2010, 7:59 PM EST
Tamez blogged a reply to Ray Tolley's post (the latter is linked as another comment to this post). http://indigifem.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-toy-map-universe-naah-its.htmlI note a few things: First, Tamez discovered our conversation about her when her "parallel universe 'self' intercepted my touchgraph while cruising my google alerts." Second, the short timeline. Peterson edits this blog post to add TouchGraph 1:32p EST (which would have begun triggering the Google Alert) and posts in AAEEBL discussion 1:51p EST. Tolley replies to Peterson in AAEEBL at 4:30p EST (having already posted to his blog). Tamez replies in her blog at 5:41p EST. The above is notable because of this comment she makes in the post, that I think pertains to the gap between my and Tolley's comments. "I would advise anyone who is seriously committed to the larger structural uses of E-portfolios by contemporary students-- who by the way do not view the college classroom as their most significant 'center' of knowledge and tool acquisition, (providing one is inclined to view the technology and control over the production as the domain of liberatory education)--,to examine their assumptions about knowledge and power and the political will of the Indigenous peoples." I would generalize Tamez' perspective about Indigenous Peoples in the above comment to recognize the developing world which is rapidly gaining Internet access and is positioned to learn how to self-organize and self-educate in the ways Tamez aludes. Another way to represent this conversation is about locus of control. We have a diagram comparing institutional-centric vs Community-based learning. I think Tamez is in the latter camp. https://teamsite.oue.wsu.edu/ctlt/home/Anonymous%20Access%20Documents/AACU%202009/inst%20comm%20learning%20spectrum.pdf Do you find this valuable? |
