2009 Day 2 9:15 - 10:15 Andre Seguin, University of Ottawa: E-Portfolio
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Revision as of 07:11, 15 August 2009 by 99.240.139.204 (Talk)
André Seguin – “University of Ottawa Experience with E-Portfolio”
- Portfolio is not new concept, it was used in business, but it is in infantile stage of using it in education
- E-portfolio is a collection of artifacts online; can be for individuals or institutions (Lorenzo & Ittleson, 2005)
- Main functions of e-portfolios: learning, reflection, documentation, evaluation
- E-portfolios need to be integrated with the course – it needs to be point of the assessment process; otherwise students would not make portfolios
Up-to-date educational concepts:
- School as information highway
- Teachers as information guides
- Customized online materials
- Customized interactive learning
- Schools are not any more a “warehouses of information”
- There is a shift in learning – from linear to hypermedia learning and from instruction to discovery
- Some examples of e-portfolios: occupational therapy portfolio; co-op programs; e-portfolio for microteaching
- Important question is the ownership of e-portfolio; who owns it;?what happens when group of students make portfolio? What should we do when students want to publish their marked papers with professor’s comments, but professors do not want the same?
- E-portfolio at Ottawa University came as part of strategic plan – ‘focus on learning driven by excellence”
- It started in 2006 with the Occupational Therapy program
- The tool chosen was iwebfolio for several reasons: it was cheap, hosting was provided, and there was support for students and professors
Challenges for e-portfolios at Ottawa University:
- hosting aspect – everything hosted in the States, which was questionable because of FIPPA regulations;
- It was difficult to find products that support both English and French (Ottawa U is bilingual institution)
Other e-portfolio projects at Ottawa U:
- Co-op program (iwebfolio)
- Experiential learning (Sakai)
- Second language program (Blackboard)
- Nutrition program
- Individual professors and courses (iwebfolio, Blackboard)
Challenges
- creating a culture (reflective, student-centered) that will support e-portfolios
- official stamping (how much value/certification can be provided to e-portfolio; is it the same as official transcript)
- ownership
- post graduation – Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia want to use e-portfolios for K-12, which means that the prospective students may want to submit e-portfolios for the admission; how can institutions adjust to that? What if their high schools use different e-portfolio technologies, which are not supported by universities?
Technical challenges
- bilingual applications are difficult to find
- compatibility
- Personal preferences
- Funding for servers, hosting, training
A survey asked professors why they do not use e-portfolios:
- 93% not informed about the tool
- 14% tool is not valuable
- 13% time constraints
- 12% costs
Main obstacles
- information overload
- FIPPA copyright issues
- adoption factors
- Lack of standards – frequent changes in professional associations/industry
What tools other institutions use for e-portfolios?U of Toronto – through Blackboard; Carleton – Wordpress, Western – *Desire2Learn and 2 homegrown portfolios;