If I was to do a word association test on eportfolios the first word that I would think of is confusion. Almost every substantive article I have read on eportfolios starts out with the author(s) defining what they mean by eportfolios. I have had to do this myself and can relate to this need. Eportfolios mean so many different things to people. And so it continues… a great article appeared the other day on the Campus Technology website entitled “The Portfolio Enigma in a Time of Ephemera”. The article starts out describing just how confusing the eportfolio landscape is and then quickly moves into the problem area of assessment and how that is adding to the confusion.
The author (Trent Batson) then quite nicely defines eportfolio as a learning approach rather than a technology. I think there is quite a lot of merit in this statement, at least in terms of many types of eportfolios. For me, eportfolios generally consist of a number of technology services that are combined in some way to support and demonstrate aspects of learning. My main interest in eportfolios is how they can be used to support and enhance lifelong learning. In this sense, I am especially interested in how eportfolio services can support those of us who are not part of any formal educational organisation. To some extent this alters how assessment is viewed (assessment takes on a different perspective at least). However, although I have thought for some time that ‘eportfolio for all’ would be a good thing (am desperately trying to find out how successful various regional implementations actually have been), I am struggling with how to maximise the benefits obtainable from the idea.
If eportfolio is a process, or approach, any sort of regional ‘eportfolio for all’ will face some significant challenges. Firstly, getting it noticed at all is challenging enough, then creating a compelling enough message to be seen as something useful would be an interesting challenge in itself. Finally, how do you ensure that the ‘eportfolio process’ is well understood by all. The service will have to be extremely well designed, simple and intuitive to use.
The article then goes on to an interesting discussion on the temporal value of eportfolio artefacts and challenges how we construct knowledge and then how to manage it over time. Interesting views if you are considering eportfolios of your own.
technorati tags: elearning, eportfolio
5 Comments
Exactly!
This is what I have been arguing for some two years, now. It appears to me that for a considerable time, various institutions have been developing their own ideas of what an e-Portfolio might be and have all been declaring this as ‘the truth’ to their neophytes. They, in turn, have gone away either in enthusiasm or disillusionment and have developed or attempted to develop even more divergent perceptions of what an e-Portfolio might be.
As Trent underlines, few institutions appear to have moved with the times in terms of educational psychology, that learning is a lifelong continuum, that learners come in all educational shapes, sizes and abilities, that true learning is not about the regurgitation of facts, and that the vast majority of our pupulation is presently excluded from learning opportunities.
Many institutions, on the one hand, have developed their own e-Portfolio packages, invariably as content delivery systems or tools for summative assessment, and on the other hand those with a good technical understanding have developed their own ‘clouds in the sky’. The bottom line is that this still only reinforces the exclusion of the vast majority of potential learners.
At a time of national economic crises around the world it seems most strange that governments, having identified the need for retraining and upskilling their workforces, have not put more effort into supporting a lifelong, lifewide e-Portfolio solution that can be easily accessed by those who need it most.
In the paper I produced some two years ago my conclusion was:
The e-Portfolio must not be hijacked - not by Industry, nor Higher Education, nor adult Training Institutions, nor by the QCA, nor any VLE supplier but, more importantly, not by domineering factions within the education system who may have a limited view of its real potential. The e-Portfolio is a dynamic, evolving and personal tool for everyone and for every aspect of their studies, career development or leisure use, which
should be available to all - from ‘5-95’ - by right. How it is used will vary according to school policies, learning styles, digital competencies and age. Suffice it to say that the above list of features should make the e-Portfolio accessible to all whatever their age, aptitude, ability, accessibility or attitude.
Full article can be seen at:
http://www.maximise-ict.co.uk/Hijacking.pdf
Best Wishes,
Ray T
P: http://www.raytolley1.xfolioworld.com
B: http://www.efoliointheuk.blogspot.com/
W: http://www.maximise-ict.co.uk/eFolio-01/htm
Hi Ray,
Thank you for your comments - I really appreciate them. For me, your statement “At a time of national economic crises around the world it seems most strange that governments, having identified the need for retraining and upskilling their workforces, have not put more effort into supporting a lifelong, lifewide e-Portfolio solution that can be easily accessed by those who need it most.” really hits home. This is a point that I have been trying to make for some time and the challenge put to me has been ‘where is the evidence that supports this notion?’ - and this is turning out to be quite a challenge. I haven’t had much success getting any response from regional implementations and some of the trials where information is published, have been very limited in size.
I have just read your article that you linked to and so much of it just makes sense to me. There are some great ideas in there. My background on eportfolios was from a portability/interoperability perspective (as they relate to lifelong, lifewide services) and still is the other major challenge for me in this area.
Cheers,
Jerry
Jerry,
How I agree with your comments about portability. I don’t wish to hijack this thread, but we could go on more about these things on my blog at
efoliointheuk.blogspot.com
or my e-mail at rjt@maximise-ict.co.uk
Hi Ray,
I’ll take a look.
Cheers.
Great post, Jerry. I think the idea of the e-portfolio as a learning technology is absolutely spot on: each manifestation then can meet the particular learning need.
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[…] Great post from Serge Ravet on the EIfEL team blog. After recently commenting on the confusion I feel in this area it’s nice to see an expert in the field posting on the subject. Some really interesting ideas are expressed in the post. As mentioned in previous posts I am exploring the notion that everyone (that wants one) should have an eportfolio and the article seems to suggest that perhaps I should be thinking of that in terms of an ‘e-self’ or digital identity. I think I understand the concept being put forward here and it is an interesting one. The problem I think with this is that it is really difficult to come up with a term that is not value-laden with other meanings. […]
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