George Bradford's List: Electronic Portfolios - Pedagogy, Activities, Resources

Abstract: This lead article for the special issue of the Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology explores directions for research and development on electronic portfolios, which are digital containers capable of storing visual and auditory content; software for which may also be designed to support a variety of pedagogical processes and assessment purposes. The paper is organized around several key questions: What are the types and characteristics of electronic portfolios? What are the outcomes and processes that electronic portfolios support for their creators? What are the contexts in which EPs are most effective and worthwhile? Who are electronic portfolio users/viewers and how do we provide appropriate professional development to encourage correct adoption and widespread and sustained use? What do we know and need to know about technical and administrative issues? What is evidence of electronic portfolio success? How do we move forward with funding and infrastructure?

This paper will outline a practical model of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration which further addresses the convergent need for an applied approach to different types of learning in the digital age. The model will be discussed in terms of the connection between two related notions: (a) that the most effective learning with ICT tools or media takes place as some variation of a basic 'activity-reflection' cycle; and (b) that a hypermedia portfolio provides an effective framework for connecting both higher-order and 'competency' modes of the learning process with assessment in both the formative and summative senses. The activity-reflection e-portfolio is conceived as a useful model of student learning and assignment work which might be adapted for various subjects and contexts in different ways. However, its greater significance is that it represents a strategy for ICT integration in education which further promotes active learning in terms of interactive, student-centred, and innovative approaches-in contrast to residual transmission or industrial -age views of learning as basically a process of information delivery and skill acquisition.

Google scholar list from search terms "activit", "e-portfolio", "use", and "education"

Abstract
The purpose of this workshop is two-fold: (i) to share with the workshop participants the basic concept of what e-Portfolio is from the viewpoints of students as well as their guardians, professors, and the school boards. Here the dissemination of e-Portfolio in education is the key. While introducing various aspects of this powerful educational tool, showcases are given so that the participants familiarize themselves with what e-Portfolio can do in education. (ii) to discuss the potential of e-Portfolio as the drive to cause a paradigm shift in the entire education ranging from K-12 through the graduate school.

Paper 1:E-Portfolios: A Viable Capstone Activity for Graduate Programs Abstract: A pilot study was conducted to explore the use of e-portfolios as an alternative to the standard written and oral comprehensive examination process used in the Master of Distance Education (MDE) program at Athabasca University, as well as the initial stages of the subsequent program-wide implementation. Students in the final year of the MDE program were invited to participate in the pilot study, and ultimately six students completed their program using the e-portfolio alternative. A competency-based approach was used where students reflected on their skills and knowledge in selected areas and included artifacts as evidence of their learning. Artifacts included course assignments, web sites, instructional materials, learning objects, postings in CMC discussions, and other formal, informal, and work-based experiences and products. Me2U social software was used as the platform. Once their e-portfolios were complete, students engaged in a discussion with two faculty members to examine the student’s growth in skills and knowledge as well as their ability to engage in reflective practice. All aspects of the pilot study were conducted online. Responses from students and faculty participating in the pilot study were highly positive resulting in the e-portfolio alternative being offered on a program-wide basis. Currently, students at various points in the MDE program are opting to use e-portfolios. As a capstone activity for the MDE program, the e-portfolio has proven to be a reasonable alternative, and potentially an improvement, to the current competency examination process with e-portfolios being cited as a more valid and meaningful assessment of student learning. Paper 2:Developing Community of Inquiry in a Mobile Learning Context Abstract: New technologies for learning are in a constant state of development and so is the manner in which they affect the relationships among learners and teachers. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) model (Garrison, Anderson, and Archer, 2000) and the FRAME model of mobile learning (Koole, 2008) both address the development of effective interaction among individuals and the technology they use to learn. The CoI model focuses on how individuals interact in online learning. The FRAME model addresses learning using mobile devices, highlighting the interaction of device characteristics with individual attributes and group social processes. In this presentation, we examine how communities of inquiry can develop via the use of mobile technology. We will present an enhanced framework for mobile learning based on mapping of the relationship between these two models. We will then explore its application in a real life learning context where mobile devices were used in nursing practice education (Kenny, Park, Van Neste-Kenny, Burton, P.A. & Meiers, 2008). Paper 3: Connecting at the Point of Care: Indirect Supervision in Nursing Practice Education Abstract: Nursing education practice refers to the placement of nursing students in "authentic" nursing practice situations, in hospitals, long term care, clinics, home care, community nursing etc. In these settings students are supervised directly by faculty members, or indirectly through preceptors, field guides, or members of a "collaborative learning unit". In indirect supervision, the instructor (faculty) is not present "in real time", but relates to students by coaching the students before the clinical placement, interacting with the unit representatives and students during scheduled meetings throughout the student.

Abstract
According to Barab et al. (20043. Barab , S. A. , MaKinster , J. G. and Scheckler , R. 2004 . “ Designing system dualities: characterizing an online professional development ” . In Designing for virtual communities in the service of learning , Edited by: Barab , S. A. , Kling , R. and Gray , J. H. 53 – 90 . Cambridge : Cambridge University Press .

View all references), the ideal community of practice (CoP) is a ‘persistent, sustained social network of individuals, who share and develop an overlapping knowledge base, set of beliefs, values, history, and experiences focused on a common practice and/or mutual enterprise’ (p. 55). Thus, a CoP has a social purpose of supporting peers and colleagues by sharing knowledge and artifacts that serve authentic practice. E‐portfolios, online versions of longstanding practice in teacher education, would appear to be ideal candidates to undertake such a task. Nevertheless, the authors argue that conceptual and practical issues must be addressed before significant changes can occur. In the end, a healthy critique of the conceptual and practical aspects of supporting communities of practice online will result in more authentic, effective training of our next generation of teachers.

This paper introduces the background to the JISC work within the e-portfolio domain in the UK and presents an overview of past and current activities and the drivers for these developments. This is followed by a review of JISC's approach to drawing out the learning and implications for e-portfolio practice from this extensive collection of work and its dissemination. The analysis of twenty one recently funded projects involving the use of e-portfolios in the UK is introduced. The findings suggest that e-portfolio implementation is particularly complex in part due to the number of stakeholders involved, the contexts in which e-portfolios can be applied and the number of purposes they can have. This research suggests that there are threshold concepts related to e-portfolio implementation and that developing an understanding of effective practice is not straightforward. However a means of supporting this understanding is suggested.

Abstract: In this paper, we provide a description of a CSLP research project that looked at portfolio use within a middle school, the web-based e-portfolio software we have developed within the context of the Quebec educational system, our plans for further development of the tool, and our research plans related to the use of portfolios to support learning. Our aim is to combine research evidence on portfolio use with practical feedback from the field in an attempt to develop easy-to-use, powerful software designed to support active self-regulated student learning in schools.

Google eBook
"The E-Portfolio Paradigm: Informing, Educating, Assessing, and Managing with E-Portfolios" edited by Buzzetto-More (2010).

Downloadable PDF of book available from this site.

E-portfolios are a valuable learning and assessment tool. An e-portfolio is a digitized collection of artifacts including demonstrations, resources, and accomplishments that represent an individual, group, or institution. This collection can be comprised of text-based, graphic, or multimedia elements archived on a Web site or on other electronic media such as a CD-ROM or DVD. An e-portfolio is more than a simple collection—it can also serve as an administrative tool to manage and organize work created with different applications and to control who can see the work. E-portfolios encourage personal reflection and often involve the exchange of ideas and feedback.
Three types of e-portfolios are described in this report: student e-portfolios, teaching e-portfolios, and institutional e-portfolios. E-portfolios can support student advisement, career preparation, and credential documentation; the sharing of teaching philosophies and practices; department and program self-studies; and institutional and program accreditation processes. This report defines and categorizes e-portfolios, offers examples of higher education e-portfolio implementations, reviews e-portfolio technology, and addresses adoption issues.

Portfolios are central to the Bachelor of Science program in scientific and technical communication at one large state university in the midwestern United States. At the beginning of the program, students who want to gain admission must submit a portfolio that demonstrates both their ability to communicate in written form and an interest in the field. At the end of the program, students at some of the participating campuses (the program is offered in partnership between the main campus of the University and several of its sister campuses and other public institutions in the state) prepare an electronic portfolio that showcases their best work and that students use while searching for jobs.

Abstract: This lead article for the special issue of the Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology explores directions for research and development on electronic portfolios, which are digital containers capable of storing visual and auditory content; software for which may also be designed to support a variety of pedagogical processes and assessment purposes. The paper is organized around several key questions: What are the types and characteristics of electronic portfolios? What are the outcomes and processes that electronic portfolios support for their creators? What are the contexts in which EPs are most effective and worthwhile? Who are electronic portfolio users/viewers and how do we provide appropriate professional development to encourage correct adoption and widespread and sustained use? What do we know and need to know about technical and administrative issues? What is evidence of electronic portfolio success? How do we move forward with funding and infrastructure?

E-portfolios allow students to demonstrate competencies and reflect upon experiences, documenting academic preparation and career readiness. Creating e-portfolios enables students to enhance their learning by giving them a better understanding of their skills, as well as where and how they need to improve to meet academic and career goals. Additionally, the digital artifacts that students accumulate can be used to assess learning at the course, program, department, and institutional level. This report reviews how selected higher education institutions have implemented assessment e-portfolio systems that demonstrate and assess learning.

Abstract: This paper describes the first stages of a project focusing on the use of preservice-teacher-generated e-Portfolios as a means of documenting and assessing inquiry-based teaching and learning. The project is designed to explore ways in which preservice teacher-created e-Portfolios can be used to (1) document how inquiry lives in practice, and (2) help university instructors and practitioners in the field assess the knowledge, skills, and attributes of preservice teachers who are participating in an inquiry based teacher preparation program.

Abstract: Much of the evidence and research available on the use of e-portfolios focuses on faculty and institutional perspectives and/or consists mainly of anecdotes about how useful the e-portfolio has been to learners. While it is generally agreed that e-portfolios have great potential to engage students and promote deep learning, the research that has been conducted to date focuses very little on student perceptions of value of the e-portfolio for their learning. If students do not accept the e-portfolio as a holistic means with which to document their learning in different contexts and more importantly, agree or wish to use the e-portfolio as an integral part of their educational experience, then the potential impact the e-portfolio will have on learning will not be realised. This paper highlights four themes arising out of research that is underway within an international framework of collaboration between the University of Edinburgh, the University of British Columbia and the University of Waterloo.

Report: What is the added value for the student learning experience, of electronic portfolios (e-portfolios) as an innovative means of portfolio assessment?