Creative Thinking

Or for the full title, 'Twelve Things You Were Not Taught in School About Creative Thinking'.  I like this article because it covers a lot of ground related to ePortfolio thinking.  Not that I think that the title is necessarily totally true. - Well, not here in the UK anyway.  For almost 50 years I and my colleagues have been teaching problem solving and product design.  Even when I moved over to ICT the same principles exist:  that of identification or discovery of a need, of suggesting a variety of solutions, some more crazy than others, until a rational proposal can be put forward and worked upon.

This should be at the heart of ePortfolio thinking:   the ownership of learning through the personal discovery and generation of solutions that others might accept.  It is about personal integrity, communication skills, work ethic, recognition of audience etc.

And, of course, where better to present such personally owned solutions than in an eFolio?

ePIC 2012, the 10th ePortfolio and Identity Conference

Should everybody have an ePortfolio? How do ePortfolios contribute to the identity construction process? How do ePortfolios support the acquisition of 21st century skills? How do ePortfolios support lifelong learning, orientation and employability? How can we make ePortfolios fully interoperable? To find the answers to these questions, and more, join us at ePIC 2012, the 10th ePortfolio and Identity Conference, 9-10-11 July 2012, at the IET, Savoy Place, London. 

ePIC 2012, London 9-10-11 July 2012, will mark the 10th anniversary of the International ePortfolio and Identity Conference. We would be delighted to celebrate this special event with you and all those who have contributed to the success of previous conferences. It would be a great honour and pleasure for us if you accepted to submit a contribution or simply join us next July in London. It will be a wonderful opportunity to meet colleagues of a truly international community to, one more time, move forward the "state of the art" in the field of ePortfolio and identity construction. EPIC 2012 will also host the second ePortfolio World Summit (after Boston in 2011).

 

If you cannot attend ePIC 2012, please keep us posted on the latest developments in your area and forward the information about ePIC 2012 to people who might be interested to join our ePortfolio and Identity Community.

You will find below the information relative to the ePIC 2012 call for contributions

 (http://www.epforum.eu/2012/).

We look forward to hearing from you and your projects!

Serge and Esther, Europortfolio
    

Significant Context

When studying theology we are always taught to look at any statement in terms of its context ie the culture, the authority of speaker, the capabilities of the listener, the topic in question etc, etc.  And no more so than in today's constructivist mode of teaching and learning.

Following on from a recent NAACE discussion on LinkedIn, I suggested the above graphic as illustrating the inter-connectedness of three primary areas of the Curricula, the Skills & Competencies and the various Motivations that energise teacher and learner alike.  It is my firm belief that not one of these three areas can be considered in isolation but that the specific context within which the learner is placed can unite the relevant portions of each.

A well-organised ePortfolio can very effectively document all of these five areas and also show their inter-relatednesses. - As an afterthough, it is my instinctive nature to expect to see all of these five areas clearly considered within a student's ePortfolio.  A balance of all five will give the reader of an ePortfolio a clear sense of a 'well-rounded' person.

New wine into old bottles?

Or is it old wine into new bottles?  Anyhow, the above graphic amused me because it illustrates the old didactic 'me in charge' approach to teaching and learning rather than the constructivist approach to learning that allows some degree of individuality of learning, at one's own best speed, using a variety of tools and learning styles.

This is Oh, so true of ePortfolios.  On my Scoop/it! site (  http://www.scoop.it/t/eportfolios-examples )  I try to display a number of real active ePortfolios, not so much as to say which is right or wrong but to raise discussion.  One comment made is that most of the examples are somewhat 'old fashioned, little more than a CV.' and this is so true.  what I am waiting to see is a new breed, or 'Second Generation ePortfolio' which demonstrates the true dynamic potential of the ePortfolio as being the best tool for collaboration, peer-review and 'interuptive feedback'.  eFolio, to my mind is the perfect tool to make this all happen.

Secondly, I have another Scoop.it! site ( http://www.scoop.it/t/eportfolios-worldwide  ) which attempts to collate some of the best apps or tools that might help this approach to learning.

An Introduction to ePortfolios

An Introduction to ePortfolios (3.25 mins)

A nice presentation focussed on preparation for the job-interview. The problem is that an ePortfolio can be used for so many other things. It would be good to see such a clear and straightforward approach being used to present on 'constructivism', feedback, peer-review etc. Another presentation could deal with using the one set of artefacts spread across different personas.  And yet another, more delicate activity, might be an illustration of how Faculty put together an Institution ePortfolio.

eFolio and the top 10 Added Values

I was recently asked, "What is the Added Value of your eFolio system?"  -  and that got me thinking.  It's not so much the saving of money, but that IS a major advantage, it is all the other extras that go to make up an effective product that does not need the "Oh, by the way, this will also cost you..."  The picture of the sliding block puzzle says it all.  There are many different issues to setting up an ePortfolio system and all of these need to be slid into place from an otherwise incoherent jumble of bits.

So here is my list of the top 10 Added Values of eFolio:

1. Pride of ownership of a unique ePortfolio
2. Institutional identity through bespoke banner
3. True low-cost Lifelong and Lifewide ownership
4. No problems of conventional portability
5. Ease of access by readers/assessors through clear menus
6. Ability to switch on/off a range of feedback tools on any page
7. Ability to integrate other web-based tools/services
8. Ability to create multiple views of "self"
9. Ability to use selected artefacts for alternative personas
10. 10 years experience of eFolio providing 24/7/365 educational support

The hierarchical structure of an ePortfolio

I came across a very thought provoking paper: http://www.tojned.net/pdf/tojnedv01i04-05.pdf  by Assit. Prof. Dr. Nilgün TOSUN, Trakya University, Faculty of Education, Edirne, TURKEY, head of Computer and Education Instructional Technologies Department and thesis advisor to M. Fatih BARIŞ, a teacher at Tekirdağ Technical and Vocational School, Tekirdag, TURKEY. As you can see from this diagram, the versatility of the ePortfolio can allow for divers uses of artefacts as opposed to the traditional linear way of working.

In mainstream education this could be taken even further by replicating the above graphic for every subject a child might be studying.  And then the logic really comes into play.  Consider a simple essay for a Technology homework:  It could firstly be a simple description of how an artefact is constructed as part of the initial homework.  That same essay could also be used as evidence of learning strategies, research skills, referencing etc.  It could also be used as evidence of collaboration or enquiry of experts or 'other adults'. It could similarly be used as an exercise in reflection or evaluation. 

And yet again, some of these various artefacts, from different subject areas could also be used within different personas.  And so it goes on.  I am sure that readers could add a dozen different examples of the 're-purposing' of artefacts.

Admittedly, Baris' paper was written from a very academic perspective and several assumptions are made which do not necessarily apply to mainstream education.  However, I must give praise where praise is due.  Thanks again, Dr. Nilgün Tosun and Fatih!