Use of ePortfolio to enhance student learning

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Use of ePortfolio to enhance student learning

• Hokling CHEUNG
• City University of Hong Kong
• May 11, 2009 _at_ e-Learning Forum Asia 2009
• http//www.cityu.edu.hk/edo/elearning_forum/2009/

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Language portfolio
Learning portfolio
Generic ePortfolios

• 2009-10 TDG
• ePortfolios for All A Roadmap for Success
• 3-pronged approach students, staff roadmap
• Generic ePortfolio structure
• Roadmap transition, outcomes, ideal graduate
  career preparation

• 2005-06 TDG
• pilot ? 10 ELC courses
• language portfolios
• technologies

• 2007-09 TDG
• ELC other disciplines like BCH, BST, DCO, EN,
  SA, SG and co-curricular activities
• learning portfolios
• reflection

Note There were other courses of different
departments and colleges integrating ePortfolios
into student learning and assessment activities
who were not involved in our projects.
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Course-based Wikis and Blogs Digital story More
emphasis and facilitation on feedback
Website Advanced HTML Emphasis on technologies
Wiki functions in MyExpo User centric application
Bb Basic Portfolio function Direct use of
templates Emphasis on reflection
2005-2006
2007-2009
2009-2010
Bb Personal Portfolio functions, Google Sites
Roadmap Generic ePortfolio structure Formative
and summative reflection
One-web-page (simple HTML) Digital story More
emphasis on reflection
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Coverage
Phase 1st (2006-2007) 2nd (2007-2009)
Departments English Language Centre English Language Centre Biology and Chemistry Computer Studies Public and Social Administration English and Communication Division of Building Science and Technology School of Graduate Studies
Staff 2 investigators 19 teachers 1 RA 9 investigators 9407 teachers 4 EDO staff
Students ( portfolios) 260 2333
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Should we ask students to first create an
employment portfolio?
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• The two-fold strategy
• ePortfolios Reflection

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Feedback from students
Having the experience in developing ePortfolios
and learning to reflect, many students identified
important factors or strategies that can help
them learn better.

• Most students (65) realise that preparation and
  planning like goal setting, action planning,
  knowing the course ILOs and assessment criteria,
  etc. are helpful for achieving better
  performance.

(634 students responded in Semester A B 2008-9)
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• After the portfolio development experience,
  students find their major achievements are in
  raising the awareness in different aspects of
  learning (50), increasing their ability to
  handle technical tasks (48) and enriching their
  knowledge with some new concepts and ideas (40).
• Students think that portfolio development helps
  them to learn better as they have to keep
  reflecting on the process/during the course of
  learning (50), have to organise their learning
  when going through the editorial process for the
  portfolio (43) and to record their thoughts,
  work, dialogues and interaction with others
  (38).

There are ways to learn better!
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• The positive effect on learning is related mainly
  to the practices of reflection and the process of
  portfolio making.

• Both formative and summative reflection were
  agreed to be important by about half of the
  students. 
• 56 reflection is very important during the
  process of learning. 
• 46 reflective review and summary at the end of a
  particular course or activity is important. 
• 62 students think that the process of developing
  a portfolio is useful for learning. 34 students
  think the end product of the portfolio is useful
  for learning. 

I think both the ePortfolio and reflection are
useful for learning.
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Generic Nesting Structure of ePortfolios
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Types of Portfolios

• Learning portfolios
• Employment/Career/Professional portfolios
• Assessment portfolios
• Showcase portfolios
• Personal development portfolios
• Teaching portfolios
• Training portfolios

• These different types of ePortfolios reflect
  the fact that ePortfolios are being produced and
  consumed (used) in many different processes, or
  to manage different processes.
• Serge Ravet
• http//www.eife-l.org/publications/eportfolio/docu
  mentation/positionpaper

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Generic Structure of ePortfolios
Personal particulars, biography, values
beliefs, interests and hobbies etc
PROFILE
Purpose, audience, achievements and development,
reflection and future direction
SUMMARY
SHOWCASE
Representative work evidence
Official recognition of achievement,
qualifications, contribution and participation
QUALIFICATION
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Generic Structure of ePortfolios
PROFILE
Personality ? Goal setting
Rhetorical purpose strategic use Achievements
(outcomes, competencies, attributes
standards) Reflection (Critical thinking
skills) Future direction ? life long learning
SUMMARY
Room for students (self-directed learning,
belated mastery, creativity etc) Editorial and
technical skills
SHOWCASE
QUALIFICATION
Standards and quality/ Benchmarking/Accreditation
Participation in professional communities Contribu
tion to other communities
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Nesting Structure of ePortfolios

• A big portfolio holding smaller
  portfolios/artifacts

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Metaphors for Reflection
Use the mirror to prompt reflection about
yourself.
Look for connections and relationships.
Go deeper and analyze the details of an event,
task, or experience.
Identify relevant and best evidence to support
claims
Think about how you could have done something
better.
What choices lie ahead?
Cheung, Dean, Pickard Chan 2009
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Metaphors for Reflection
What have you achieved in this course? How
would you describe your achievement?
How do you feel till now at the last lesson of
SG8001? Try to use at least three different
adjectives to describe your feelings.
How would you describe your achievement in terms
of the course outcomes? How relevant and related
it is between what you have learnt from this
course to your duties, studies or else?
How do you know you have achieved at which level?
Is there any evidence to support your claims of
achievement? What can they be?
What capacity do you have now as a teacher?
What is/are the most remarkable thing(s) you came
across in this course?
How will you apply what you have learnt from this
course?
What aspects of yourself will need to improve or
enhance?
Is there anything you think you could have done
better? What is it?
What is the concrete action plan for that?
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Reflection mental activities
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Reflection content domains
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ePortfolio pedagogies

• Reflection
• Discovery
• Problem Solving
• Evaluation
• Learning Advancement

Learning management skills IT skills Employability
skills Generic skills Editorial
skills Presentation skills

• Objectives
• Outcomes
• Observation
• Obstacles
• Opportunities
• Opinions

• Assessment of
• Process
• Product/Performance
• Outcomes
• Competencies

Transitions Documentation Learning
management Engagement Mentoring Collaboration Acad
emic advising Career Preparation Whole Person
Development Accreditation
Self-directed learning Learning community Life
long learning
Formative reflection Summative reflection Formativ
e feedback Summative feedback
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• The two-fold strategy
• ePortfolios Reflection
• Ownership of learning
• Learning community and collaboration
• Goal setting and internalization of outcomes
• Facilitate self-assessment
• Development of critical thinking, technical,
  communication, and presentation skills

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• Some quotes from students talking about benefits
  gained from creating an ePortfolio.
• "I remember not just the goals that I want to
  achieve in this course but also my intention to
  become a marine Biologist.""Review of all my
  coursework. From others' comments and feedback, I
  can learn more. Train my web-page design skill.
  Putting my smile to everyone makes my confident.
  My classmate, friends, instructors or even
  strangers can have a platform to know me.
• "I understand more of my self and learning
  experience. I can summarize the learning material
  and my past experience. I know how to create the
  e-online-CV(Resume). I know I need to learn how
  to organize my own materials. (Resume and
  certificates).

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• "I learned to figure out problems on my own,
  problems like how to use the Dreamweaver. It
  gives me more confidence. I treated my works,
  assignments and reflections seriously, which
  makes them more valuable. The process of creating
  an eportfolio developed my patience. I got to
  know more about myself, not only the learning
  ability but also the personality"
• "I can summarize all my works and the quality of
  my works can be improved next time. I can also
  reflect myself and look what I've done in this
  year." 
• "This increase my "index" of my creative. I found
  it interesting to write down and comment what I
  learnt. It really help me to remember it and even
  more."
• "In the creation of an ePortfolio, I have learnt
  to create a simple movie in the computer that I
  have never done it before. The confidence in
  using the computer to make a movie in the
  computer is improved.""Know what is my strength
  and weakness. Clear understanding for my self.
  Better reflection. Evidence for future
  career.""Should be neat. Should be reflective.
  Show your effort.""I know the importance of
  recording my process of study and the importance
  of reflection."
• "Importance of reflection / what should be put
  and what should not be put in an ePortfolio."
• "It really made me think of what I have done and
  what I should have done. I think reflection is
  the most useful part because I feel I really
  gained something after an activity or my
  learning. Also, looking back the goals I had made
  let me know how much I have to do, what aspect I
  should put effort on."

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Benefits of Discipline Specific ePortfolio
Templates
Transitions
Ownership of Learning and Development
ePortfolios as Roadmaps Discipline Specific
ePortfolio Templates
Life long learner
CityU Ideal Graduate
Career Preparation
OBTL
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ePortfolio technologies
A lot of choices but looking forward to a perfect
one!

• Structured or free form?

Database
Free form
Wikis
Dreamweaver HTML/websites
home grown systems
Bb/LMS
pre-defined structure forms
electronic video/doc/ppt/ digital story telling
Google Sites
Blogs

• Search
• Data!
• Ownership issues
• User friendliness
• Scalability

• Personalisation
• IT skill requirement
• Time effort
• Connectivity
• Interoperability compatibility

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• Would that be the case that an ideal ePortfolio
  tool is actually a user-centric e-Learning
  system?

eP tool user-centricn eL platform
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ePortfolios Showcase

• Students work
• 2005
• 2006 or Darrys portfolio
• 2007
• 2008
• 2009
• Sample portfolios
• Veras Graduate Portfolio
• Guts Portfolio (GoogleSite)
• Guts Portfolio (Bb)
• Portfolio templates
• CTL (discipline specific ePortfolio template)
• Employment portfolio
• Sandy Wongs Language Portfolio