salzburg june08

Wolsingham School and Community College 1

John Pallister

Wolsingham School and Community College - UK

4th EduMedia Conference - Salzburg June 2008

An ePortfolio – what’s in it for me?


Not me – but my learners!

• Me • A young teacher (important to

validate information!), and learner

• ICT background

• enthusiast for ePortfolios +

• normally a 5 slides per minute man, text based slides, no multimedia to engage my audience! - 60 slides to go!


Working in:

A School and Community College • 11 -18+

• 800 students • (130 in Year 12/13)

• Development work with:– Key Skills;– Employability skills;– ePortfolios - 2003/4+.


We also have hills! and learners


More about our learners in a few slides time


What we have done:

• Developed a multimedia ePortfolio based on a multimedia authoring package;

• Created a learning environment where all Year 7,8, 9,10 and 12 have ePortfolios (550 students);

• Supported students as they compiled and used presentational ePortfolios in interview and review situations;

• Encouraged students to reflect on their progress and record their reflections in their ePortfolios;

• We still have hills to climb! – integrating the process into everyday practice in all subjects;

• Contributed to the MOSEP project.


ePortfolio background and drivers

• Rapidly developing Information and Communications technologies – converging technologies– pervasive and invasive technologies– enabling communications and supporting

collaboration and social networking

• National aspirations – to harness the technology – to provide a Personal learning environment – FOR ALL learners


A Personal Learning Environment?

• where learners take more control of their own learning and, by taking more responsibility for the management of their own learning, become more independent learners;

• where learners set their own learning goals, manage their learning and communicate with others;

• that provides learners with access to information sources and a common interface for communication and collaboration;

• that encourages the learner to practice and reflect;

• that is centred around the interests of the learner, their learning needs and provides the learner with opportunities to learn by ‘doing’;

• that will enable learners to develop plans in terms of their competencies, skills and progression routes;

• Any where any time learning - + lifelong learning;

• Helps learners to find things! - evidence

• Different way of learning - that gives greater value to the individual as a learner and moves the focus away from what is being taught towards what is being learnt.

BUT learning has always been a personal thing – economics has, before ICT, meant that it was often packaged up as a group activity – can ICT+ put the personal bit back into learning?


A PLE - an ePortfolio + a bit!

many different definitions for ePortfolios - common elements:

• digital evidence owned by a learner; • structured and stored in some way that enables the evidence to found presented

or shared with others [teachers, parents, peers, potential employers/HE/Training providers];

• evidence being stored is likely to include:– plans– achievements – Learning experiences– Aspirations– reflections and thinking

A portfolio of digital evidence owned and managed by the learner?

- That supports reflective learning


The ePortfolio Process requires learners to:

• Recognise that something needs to be learnt;

• Plan how they might do it;• Do what they planned to do;• Record the evidence of what has

been done, learnt or achieved;• Review and reflect on what has been

done, learnt or achieved;• Record these reflections.


Plan what youneed to do

Check and share your plan

DO IT!

Record evidence of whatyou have done or learnt

Share and presentevidence

Select and linkevidence

ePortfolio

Review and reflect on what you have done

the ePortfolio ProcessRecognise that something needs to be done or learnt

Wolsingham School and Community College

Prepare/update plans

Recognise the Need to ……

Plans, targets, aspirations

Share with ..Review

Collect/Prepare evidence

Learning activities

Achievements •Formal quals•Non-accredited•Formative assessments

reflections

Collect/Prepare evidence

Share with ..

Present/Share with ..

Share with ..

Review

Review

Structure

Customise

evidence

refle

ction

Communication and

working with others

creativity

Taking

responsib

il

ity

Carry out Plans


Our learners

Digital natives born into the internet age, learners who have not experienced a world without the internet;

Learners surviving in a digital culture;

• Learners will always ask: • what is in it for me? • why should I bother?


Characteristics of our learners :

• experience or are presented with fast moving streams of information that are often visual

• spend a large proportion of their day watching, manipulating or taking information from a screen, or creating and combining information on a screen (TV, Game or Computer)

• have to make sense out of ‘raw’ information, coming from a rapidly expanding global resource, that has not been selected, edited or packaged up for them by teachers, newspapers or textbook editors. – it is from Blogs, Forums, Wikis, Voice over Internet etc

• gain frequent rewards for their efforts in computer games and enjoy the competitive challenge provided by the game and on-line or local competitors

• interact, socially, using the internet, and develop online social identities

• are often confused about what ‘learning’ is, what it is that they are expected to do, and what it is that they expect their teachers to do for them – once they have satisfied the shared learning objective they will often stop and not explore further;

• Often find it difficult to focus in depth on any one idea, because of the ‘noise’ or distractions provided by the volume of information sources available to them


learners expect to have on-demand access to

information and want to:

• Access, watch and work with visual information – rather than text based information; • obtain instant results from their searches expecting random access by following hyperlinks; • play games or use a game-style interface and enjoy the rewards given; • network with others, and use ICT to communicate with them (people they know?) ;

• use fashionable tools and technology including social software and handheld technology;

• work on their own terms, using tools and technology when and how they think fit;• skip from task to task, emulating their experience of fast and furious games and their lifestyle – consistent with their short attention span;


learners, learning with technology and with technology around them

• The environment that our learners operate in has changed as have their experiences;

• Their expectations have changed; • Do they:

– learn in different ways? – reflect more on their learning? – Become more independent enquirers? – Become more creative thinkers? – Organise themselves better, take more personal responsibility and become better self-

managers? - PLTs ref

Important questions for another session

• they do bring different things to learning and have different expectations than previous generations;

• They do behave differently in this environment and learn some technology specific skills;

• everything else is just learning? • What is in the ePortfolio process for the learner?


From the learner’s viewpoint

• I want to:– Be creative– Explore– Experiment– Own my learning– Control my learning– Time to think about what I want to learn– Learn at my own pace following my interests– Recognise my informal learning, what I learn out of school– Learn when and where I want to – My teacher to spend more time talking with me– Use Creative tools for learning– Communicate with others maintaining networks for

learning between teachers, between learners


I want...

• To easily record plans and thoughts• To easily use multimedia technology, e.g. Camera phones• To enjoy using camera phone, iPod and social software• To use it to store evidence of personal activities• To have a structure provided• To easily search the evidence• Something to Help recollection of discussions between my teacher and I• To be able to access web-based portfolios from home• Access control• Something that allows reflection• Something that creates a digital record/story• Options of how to link evidence relative to previous evidence• Something that allows teachers to easily assess work I have done• Something that helps preparation for interviews/review meetings• A record of my work that I enjoy showing to my parents and teachers• To practice and develop my ICT skills• To enjoy the sharing process• To customise my work• Something that I am proud of• To be able to work on my portfolio wherever I am


From the learners viewpoint

A set of ‘Success criteria’, developed collaboratively through http://groups.google.co.uk/group/eportfolios-and-plts?hl=en

When, from the learners point of view, will we know that the ePortfolio process has been successfully integrated into everyday practice.

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/eportfolios-and-plts?hl=en

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/eportfolios-and-plts?hl=en


learners will say:


• by working on my ePortfolio I have had to think about what information about myself that I should should put into the public domain, what I just want to share with my teachers and what I want to keep private for myself;

• I find that I can easily record my plans, my thoughts about my learning, my development and my achievements;

• I can use my ePortfolio to store evidence of my Personal Learning and Thinking Skills; • I can use my ePortfolio to store evidence of what I can do outside of school and of things that I have

achieved, but have not got a certificate for; • My ePortfolio has made me more interested in my work; • My ePortfolio gives me enough space to store all the stuff I want; • It provides me with a structure that I can use to store multimedia evidence - audio, video and

photographic formats, in addition to written evidence; • It makes it easy for me to search for my evidence, and lets me present it in an interesting format;• I think that other people will understand me better when they can see how I think and reflect on what I

have done, learnt or achieved; • It has provided me with a digital record/story that shows how I have developed, like a timeline of my

studies; • Using my ePortfolio helped me to prepare for interview/review meetings; • I can keep my ePortfolio when I move on to college/university or get a job;. • My ePortfolio impressed the potential employers that I showed it to, as it helped them recognise the

positive attitude that I have towards my work, helping me to stand out from the competition; • I believe that my ePortfolio helped me when I was searching for a job, as my employers were

impressed by the depth and breadth of my work; • When I wanted to start my own business, my ePortfolio helped me show to funding organsiations that I

have the right attitude and skills and it helped me get their initial backing and help; • It shows me at my best.

Supporting my personal development and progression


Developing personal communication skills

• I find it easier to capture multimedia evidence using digital devices than it is to write down what I have planned, done or achieved;

• It has helped me to become a better writer, and to get my ideas across to others by using varying forms of media;

• I find it helps me to remember and explain what I have done when I have to talk to my teacher or other students;

• My ePortfolio has helped us to give feedback on each other's work;

• My ePortfolio is good for showing my progress to other people;

• My ePortfolio helps me to be confident;• My ePortfolio gives me new ways of presenting my work

using technology;• My ePortfolio helps me to show people what I'm really good

at.


Collaborating and Working with others

• It means that my teachers and mentors take more interset in me as an individual and I feel comfortable knowing that they are following my progress, offering advice, support and guidance when they think I need it;

• I find it easy to access my web-based portfolio at home and can let the people I have allowed see the evidence that I decide that I want them to see;

• Collaboration is a good thing. I can think about the opinions others have about my work and then build upon their ideas to improve my own work;

• I find it useful to store my portfolio evidence that my teachers need to assess in my ePortfolio;

• I have enjoyed sharing evidence of what I have done, achieved, or created with others;

• My ePortfolio is good to do things with other students; • My ePortfolio tells me about what my friends are learning; • It is my digital theatre - where the audience is by invitation only.


Enjoyment and creativity

• I enjoy using my camera phone, iPod, computer and social software to help me to develop my ePortfolio;

• My ePortfolio helps me to be creative; • I enjoyed showing my ePortfolio to my parents and tutor

during my review meeting and they were pleased with what I had produced;

• I have enjoyed customising and working on the organisation of my ePortfolio as it helps people who look at it to get to know something about me, my character and style;

• I am proud of my ePortfolio because it is something that I feel that I own;

• It provided me with an opportunity and a reason to experiment with, and to be creative with multmedia tools;

• At home, my parents take more notice of my schoolwork through my ePortfolio.


Supporting my learning

• By thinking about or reflecting on what I have learnt, what I have found difficult, what I have done well, I think that I understand a little more about myself and what I can do, and by thinking about my abilities, experiences, qualities and skills I can see how I have progressed and what I have achieved, so I can plan what I need to do to improve;

• When I have new evidence to store in my ePortfolio I have to look at the evidence that I already have in it and decide where my new evidence should be stored and how it should be linked in, which helps me understand a little more about myself and how I have learnt and developed;

• I think that my teacher now spends more time talking to me about my learning, achievements and planning which has helped me and made me think more about what I have done and what I should do;

• I need only store a piece of evidence once but I can use it for different purposes and subject based assessments;

• My ePortfolio helps me think more about my own learning;• My ePortfolio makes me take more care with my work;• My ePortfolio helps me be better organised in my work;• My ePortfolio has helped me understand my work better;• My ePortfolio has made me pleased with my progress;• My ePortfolio has helped me to learn;• My ePortfolio forced me to do things that teachers would have done for me.


Skills Development

• My ePortfolio helps me to plan how to improve; • My ePortfolio helps me judge whether I have

improved over time;• When I reflect upon my work, I can decide which

items are still relevant or no longer needed;• By working on my ePortfolio, I have practised and

developed ICT and multimedia skills which I can now use in other subject areas too;

• I can work on my ePortfolio when and wherever I want to;

• I find the ePortfolio tools easy and intuitive use, as I did not need a lot of help or teaching before I found that I could use it.


The ePortfolio – an appropriate tool for a 21st Century Learner?

Can you ignore it?

Might it go away?


Your challenge

• Tools and technology will change

• Life-long, life-wide hosting, inter-operability and anywhere, anytime access are important challenges

• But if the ePortfolio process has value why not use it now, harnessing the available technologies?

• Time to move from ‘talking the talk’ to ‘walking the walk’ stage


The end – or perhaps the beginning!


A few extras – just in case!


Why might we want learners to follow the process?

Might it:

• Encourage learners to take an active part in their own learning? – encourage reflection, planning and dialogue about learning?

• Support the move towards Personalised learning? - placing the learner at the centre of the learning process

• Motivate and engage the learner?

• Raise learner self esteem?

• Support progression and provide opportunities for learners to develop a 'presentational' or self-marketing portfolio?

• Provide somewhere for learners to store evidence to support assessment processes?


engagement – the climate

I have access to the tools and technology I need

I know how to – in my learning

I know how to - technically

I know why I need one

School - You need one

Employers - You need one

Universities - You need one

Parents - You need one

Government Policy – You need one

I will commit my time

I want/need one

Not valuable

Too complicated

Will not enjoy

Have not got the time

do I really need one

learner


The ePortfolio Process, Tools and Learning

•Transition•Employment•Training

E-Me

Technology + Tools

Learning


The How:

How to use the available tools and technology

How to structure, store and access the ePortfolio

How to support life-long learning and progression

How to engage the learners How to train teachers to support learners who are using

ePortfolio processes


Students… (1)

• Are prepared to take ownership of their multimedia ePortfolios

• Are enjoying working with multimedia ePortfolios, particularly the creative opportunity that they provide

• Are prepared to give up their time to work on their ePortfolios during lunchtimes, after school and at home

• Were engaged and very proud of their ePortfolio and eager to discuss it, and their achievements with anyone and everyone


Students… (2)

• Develop the ability to record their reflections and then, following the discussions that sharing their reflections prompted, revise their plans.

• Develop the ICT/multimedia skills that they need to compile and maintain a multimedia ePortfolio;

• Have to decide where/how to link in new evidence, so they have to focus on the ‘bigger picture’ of their learning and achievements. Context and relevance gets a useful boost.


A Teacher’s View (1)

• enjoyed sharing the excitement and satisfaction with students who had used their ePortfolios as support in a formal interview situation.

• listened to teachers recount and report their positive experiences of the value of using ePortfolio in student-Tutor-Parent meetings.

• The same teachers reported the positive feedback, from parents who were impressed with both the content and potential of their son/daughter’s ePortfolio.

• Most parents also commented, positively, about their son/daughter’s ICT skills that the ePortfolio had allowed them to demonstrate in the meeting.


A Teacher’s View (2)

• recognised the obvious enjoyment that students derive from sharing evidence, with others, of what they have done or achieved.

• By talking with students about their ePortfolios, I have recognised the potential of the ePortfolio to provide opportunities for me to open up discussion with them about virtually any topic that I felt would benefit the learner.

• observed an increase in ICT/multimedia skills, with respect to using ICT as a tool for a ‘real’ job, not an assignment, task or an exercise, something that will help them.

• At the other end of the spectrum, I have watched older students develop a perception that ePortfolios meant additional work and that universities and employers do not value them.


“How my E-Me has helped me”(2006)

• “It helped me realise what I achieved/done”

• “It helped me think of things that will help me get the job I want”

• “It helped me draw everything I have done during the year together”

• “It helped me focus on my skills and qualities and what could be improved”

• “It helped me to put career plans and targets into perspective”

• “It has improved my presentation and computer skills”

• “It has helped me place all my evidence together”

• “It helped me to realise which skills I have, and those which I need to develop”

• “It helped me to analyse my year and it's events”

• “My E-me has helped me build on the skills I need for my future job role, and will help me when doing future interviews”


An ePortfolio: Never a finished product

• I was initially worried that if, when presenting their ePortfolios to visitors, a student ended up on an empty page.

• I thought that a page without evidence of their learning, progress or achievements would have no value.

• Not so, the fact that evidence had not been completed/presented generally promoted very useful discussion and reflections, after the excuses had been either explored or discounted.

• It also emphasises that a learners ePortfolio will never be a finished product.

• Life-long learning means that any medium that records learning will always be work-in-progress.


Digital natives motivated by and enjoying a multimedia

experience? OR a learning environment and

processes that really did cater for and build on the strengths of the digital natives that we are trying to ‘teach’?

a learning environment that: is appropriate to learner needs harnesses appropriate tools and technologies engages, motivates and challenges


Engaging Learners – The tools and technology

Use tools that enables them to:

• customise and take owner ship of their ePortfolio

• modify and add to the structure of their ePortfolio

• use multimedia evidence

• be creative with multimedia evidence


Engaging Learners – Whole school Policy

• Integrate the ePortfolio process into the school’s ‘way of working’

• Promote the advantages of the ePortfolio process to learners and staff + parents, employers, HE etc

• Build in time and opportunities for staff to sit down and look at the ePortfolios

• Provide a range of different audiences – audience gives value to the process

• Train teachers so that they can support learners who are using ePortfolios


Engaging Learners – The learning environment

Create a learning climate where: • Learners are provided with opportunities to reflect

and evaluate what they have planned, done, made, experienced or learnt.

• Learners feel comfortable sharing their reflections and revealing their own strengths and weaknesses

• Teachers value the ePortfolio process and are able to provide feedback and support to learners

• The process is valued more than just the product• Spelling mistakes etc. are accepted - Always work in progress


Engaging Learners – Make sure they know why you

want them to compile an ePortfolio

• Important that learners know why you want them to compile an ePortfolio - Watch the ‘what can an ePortfolio do for me’ Podcast


Engaging Learners – Make sure they know what it is

that they will need to do

• Make sure that they understand the ePortfolio process and how it fits in with what they already do – watch the ‘Compiling your ePortfolio’ Podcast

• Emphasis the Assessment for learning – – pupils will improve most if they understand the

aim of their learning, where they are in relation to this aim and how they can achieve the aim (or close the gap in their knowledge)

– being part of the review process empowers pupils to take action to improve their performance. http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_4338.aspx


Engaging Learners – Implementation

• Phase in the ePortfolio process from Yr 7, Yr 1 or birth!

• Make sure that you have convinced all staff of the value of the ePortfolio process


Engaging Learners – Working with them … (1)

• Find time to talk to learners and encourage them to reflect on what they have done, learnt, achieved or plan to do

• Encourage them to record their reflections and then, following the discussions that sharing their reflections prompted, revise their plans.

• Encourage learners think carefully about where/how they should link in new evidence – this

makes them focus on the ‘bigger picture’ of their learning and achievements


Engaging Learners – working with them … (2)

• highlight success and achievement, help them to recognise what they have done to ‘generate’ the success – link reflections into their ePortfolio

• encourage them to identify their strengths and what has worked well for them – build these into future plans - link reflections into their ePortfolio

• encourage them to look for opportunities to improve – what they need to do next time to improve their performance


Create a LEARNING CLIMATE:• learners have opportunities to reflect on what

they have planned, done made, experienced or learnt

• learners feel comfortable sharing their reflections• teachers value the ePortfolio process and are

able to support to learners

Update WHOLE SCHOOL POLICIES so that they:• Integrate the ePortfolio process into the school’s

‘way of working’ • Encourage departments to integrate the

ePortfolio process into their schemes of learning; • Build in time and opportunities for staff to sit

down and look at the ePortfolios• Provide a range of different audiences.

Use TOOLS and TECHNOLOGY:

• that learners want to use

• enables them to customise and take owner ship of their ePortfolio

• that lets them modify the structure of their ePortfolio

• that supports multimedia evidence

• that provide creative opportunities

Make sure that LEARNERS:

• know why you want them to compile an ePortfolio

• Understand how it fits in with what they already do

• Understand what they will need to do

• Have the ICT and multimedia skills required

Train TEACHERS so that they - can support learners who are using ePortfolios

all PARTNERS - parents, employers, HE etcunderstand and value the ePortfolio process

Towards an Action Plan

Plan an IMPLEMENTATION strategy – phased in from Yr 7 OR Yr 1

Environment:• reason for ePortfolio

• learner support inc technical

• ICT/multimedia resources

• explicit evidence requirements

• integrated into curriculum

• trained staff

• skills/competencies valued

• review/reflection embedded

• opportunities to present ePortfolio

Process - learners:

• use ICT/multimedia skills

• select and structure evidence

• use ePortfolio to review learning

• work with teachers to reflect on their learning/achievements

• take responsibility for their ePortfolio

• select and organise evidence for presentation (for a purpose)

Learning: Skills development

• reflection, action planning/target setting

• progression and career planning

• ICT/Multimedia/communication

• learning and achievements structured/recorded

• improved self-esteem and self-confidence

• creative opportunities provided

• assessment evidence compiled

ePortfolio

‘By-products’

salzburg june08

Education

learners digital

internet learners

learning needs

time learning

independent learners

lifelong learning

learning goals

reflective learning