Implementing the ePortfolio

1
Implementing the ePortfolio

• Benefits, challenges, answers, and how to succeed
  at implementation and institutionalization.
• Susan KahnIndiana University Purdue University
  at Indianapolis (IUPUI)
• Judith Kirkpatrick University of Hawaii,
  Kapiolani Community College
• Yves LabissierePortland State University

2
Understand the Benefits for Students

• ePortfolios
• Teach reflection, analysis, and
  integratelearning across the full educational
  experience
• Integrate knowledge and experience
• Assist with management of educational
  andprofessional records
• Provide a place to maintain a catalog of
  accomplishments over time
• Prepare for career selection and the job search
• Enhance self-esteem and confidence

3
UnderstandBenefits to faculty and administrators

• Course-level assessment for student learning
• Program-level assessment for student learning and
  accreditation
• Enhanced student-faculty relationships
• Improved advisement
• Enhanced professional development
• Streamlined contract renewal

4
Understand Benefits of ePortfolios for various
audiences

• Parentsa window into their childrens education
  by providing an opportunity to
• View learning presentations and products
• Share more directly in experiences like study
  abroad and service learning
• Employersa resume-enhancing tool that provides
  critical information about applicant skills and
  learning
• Facultycolleagues exchange information and
  feedback about research, teaching, committee
  work, and service
• Programsa means to assess programs, learning
  outcomes, and enhance the transcript

5
Anticipate Challenges for ePortfolio Use

• Limited faculty and student time and energy
• Lack of funding
• Lack of understanding of the value of ePortfolios
  in enhancing student learning
• The willingness of faculty and administrators to
  promote the ePortfolio and matrix thinking

• The need for faculty and students to develop the
  skills to use ePortfolio
• Inadequate technological resources and support
• Fear of technology
• Resistance to change
• Educating ePortfolio audiences for viewing

6
Answers to Challenges

• Time and Energy ePortfolios use the same time
  for more benefit by empowering students to
• Document their own educational and professional
  progress
• Get the feedback they want and need
• Become more self-directed in their learning
• Money Once implemented, ongoing costs are
  minimized if you adopt an open source solution
  (i.e. SAKAI or MOODLE)
• Value of Reflection Reflective analysis improves
  everyones learning through promoting higher
  level thinking

7
More answers to challenges

• Skills The software is easy the habit of
  documenting and reflecting upon ones learning is
  more difficult
• Fear of technology ePortfolio, if set up right,
  is a user-friendly technology
• Resistance to change Matrix and folio thinking
  necessitates new ways of thinking about teaching
  and learning
• Educating ePortfolio audiences encouraging
  opportunities for academic, community and family
  interface (internships, service learning, study
  abroad) helps train ePortfolio users in
  soliciting and preparing comments that can guide
  viewers feedback

8
Campus Implementation Venues Can Include

• Student Development
• Admission, Student orientation
• Advisement
• Assessment of Learning at the Course, Program and
  Professional Certification
• Institutional Assessment
• Learning Beyond the Classroom
• Study Abroad
• Co-Curricular Activities, Service or Experiential
  Learning
• Career Development

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Suggestions for Campus Activities

• Initiate conversations among faculty,
  administrators, and students about
• Benefits of ePortfolios
• Challenges to ePortfolio use
• Provide hands-on learning about ePortfolios
  through
• Faculty student orientation sessions
• Master student classes and first year seminars
• General education courses
• Advisement
• Faculty development
• Faculty contract and/or tenure documents
• Provide resources for pilots in various campus
  programs

10
Motivate Faculty

• Reward faculty for implementing ePortfolios with
• Release time
• Summer institutes or retreats
• Small grants from institutional money
• Assistance in seeking external grants
• Showcasing effective faculty portfolio use
• Encourage faculty to develop their own to learn
  and model ePortfolio use
• Demonstrate how ePortfolios can streamline
  faculty workload by
• Decreasing paper flow
• Minimizing lost assignments
• Assisting with assignment review feedback
• Improving assessment of student learning
• Enhancing benefits already present in a course
  management system

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Demonstrate to Administrators

• Emphasize the Flexibility and Possibilities
• Strengthening and streamlining the advisement
  process
• Providing students with view access to their
  student records
• Encouraging students to document and appreciate
  their
• learning in and beyond the classroom
• Developing and accessing data on learning
  assessment
• Encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration in
  curriculum development
• Developing and submitting contract/promotion and
  tenure files
• Streamlining applications for grants and awards

12
Get students to use them

• Enhancement of self-esteem by
• Becoming aware of how much how deeply one has
  learned
• Being able to demonstrate one's progress to
  faculty, peers, family, employers
• Improved learning outcomes through
• Additional scaffolding and incorporation of
  standards
• Enhanced feedback from faculty and peers
• Increased learning, creativity, and control
• Integration of learning in and outside of the
  classroom
• Recognition of learning relevance to the real
  world
• Better positioning for career choice and job
  search
• Enhancing ability to apply for a academic and
  co-curricular opportunity

13
How to Succeed

• Begin small
• With pilot groups
• Specific colleges, programs, or activities
• Cohorts of students
• By discipline
• By year or semester
• Expand as demand builds
• Incrementally by adding units, activities, or
  cohorts
• Include as many common interest groups as
  possible

14
Promoting ePortfolio Thinking

• Academia values the creation, organization, and
  refinement of knowledge
• Matrix/Folio thinking gets to the heart of these
  academic values
• Through reflective analysis and ePortfolio
  development, students define and refine their
  relationship to knowledge and develop habits that
  sustain their collection that best represents
  their academic preparation
• Folio thinking promotes deep learning through
• Organization
• Reflective analysis
• Evaluation
• Creative manipulation of information

15
ePortfolios Provide Opportunities for Curricular
Coherence

• Integrative Learning and Reflection
• Synthesis and Analysis
• Co-curricular and Extra-curricular learning
• Making sense out of the college process

16
Provide Incentive for Colleagues

• Employ value motivators, note frustration points,
  and use strategic thinking to encourage
  ePortfolios
• Demonstrate the educational value and benefits
  that can be obtained from implementing
  ePortfolios and matrix/folio thinking in the
  classroom
• Showcase faculty and students who have gained new
  enthusiasm for teaching and learning through
  ePortfolio use. It will happen.

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Example How would you document todays workshop
for your ePortfolio?

• The ePortfolio database procedure
• Fill out a form with the basics, when, where, why
• Upload accompanying notes, plans, things you
  would like to remember
• Connect your form with your notes
• Present information to colleagues, deans,
  administrators, via emailed links/announcements
  or even put the presentation as a permanent link
  on your website

18
Develop flexible policies

• Example
• The ePortfolio system is available for anyone
  affiliated with our College
• The ePortfolio system is a value-added
  opportunity for our College
• The ePortfolio system is free for users.
• This is a model. Its not the only model, but it
  works.
• Plan for people to use it over time and over
  lifelong learning.