Towards the Next Revolution in Teaching and Learning

to boldly go...

I have long maintained that so-called disruptive technologies are only that for the slothful teacher who is not willing to recognise that Teaching andd Learning strategies are changing.  For those educationists who DO recognise that we must move on in terms of teaching styles, that learners my benefit from a different combination of learning styles on two different days then and only then can we move on. 

The wise teacher will recognise that mobile devices, self-paced learning, collaborative pedagogies, cloud-based systems and intelligent PLEs are but tools to assist their dreams.  I argue that the ePortfolio is the central hub that can make all of the potential changes in Teaching and Learning become effective. - And, I would suggest, within the next few years.

The paper briefly identifies some 25 aspects of Teaching and Learning which, when mixed together will combine to form an explosive mixture that is nothing short of revolutionary:

http://www.maximise-ict.co.uk/Towards_the_next_revolution_in_T&L.pdf

The Perfect Example?

Following my last post, Barbara Nicholls asked the challenging question concerning the 'Perfect ePortfolio'. Let me start by repeating my belief that an ePortfolio should be 'Lifelong, Lifewide and for Learning and Leisure'. Secondly, my observation upon studying many hundreds of ePortfolios is that they generally appear to ignore many principles of constructivism - of team working, responding to a mentor's advice, of asking for feedback. Is it that institutions are trying to bolt on new technologies onto traditional pedagogies?

Firstly, it is probably the institution that introduces the eP concept and that generally based upon one discipline or subject. BUT, as soon as the eP is controlled by a single discipline it will tend to be little more than an assessment tool and preclude all the other exciting things that a young student is capable of doing.

On the other hand, the 'learner owned' eP could contain little more than the confused renderings of a Facebook account or the directionless accounts of a 'Dear Diary' blog.

By the time that the eP becomes the showcasing pride and joy of the young graduate looking for employment, some of the earlier peer to peer classroom stuff might well be considered a bit immature and the learner may not include evidences of such nascent learning, valuable as it might well be.

And then, again, as is the case with some of my examples by older professionals, they tend to display a very polished if somewhat conservative presentation which can provoke nothing but awe and admiration.

Recognising, therefore, that the eP is invariably engineered for a single audience, we might never see the "perfect eP". However, we, as teachers, ARE interested in the learner's Life Story, of the 'multiple metamorphoses' of the eP from cradle to grave - and this is a 'big ask'.

Maturely constructed ePortfolios that include all of the above are probably impossible to find. Even if teachers in Primary schools had the right software and vision many years ago, and even if numerous institutions later the learner’s ePortfolio had survived multiple transitions with various interoperability standards it would be rare for a mature learner to display all the hidden pages of an ‘evolutionary’ ePortfolio. Unfortunately, this may be the reason why we rarely see 'long-term reflection'.

The only way to encourage learners to demonstrate this sort of ePortfolio longevity would be through the establishment of some sort of competition – but even then people might be too shy to step forward.

I think, therefore, that at any stage of a learner’s career their ePortfolio should demonstrate as many ePortfolio ‘skills’ as possible. What is evident in my selected Scoop.it examples is that no one example includes ALL the potential skills for that context. As alluded to in my opening paragraph, it may be that we will not see the 'perfect ePortfolio' until we acquire a completely new cohort of teachers capable of creating a 'whole-school' constructivist culture.

The potential total of ‘skills’ for any stage throughout lifelong and Lifewide learning would make an interesting matrix – but that might be another post!

Escaping the Stone Age

I was recently in conversation with a respected colleague, and we were bewailing the 'Stone Age' mentality of some of our teachers and how they were holding back our children's learning. Inevitably, I wanted to shout out that the ePortfolio, and eFolio in particular, was the answer to the whole problem. However, in a more reflective moment I came up with four suggestions:

1. The ePortfolio can act as an information service found by all permitted parents/ carers/ mentors/ grandparents etc. This facility should act as a structured information service, an educational 'agony aunt' and also a confidential hot-line where questions about educational practice can be properly and securely discussed.

2. It is essential therefore that schools start understanding that Personal Learning Environments are the way forward and that tools are urgently required that can enable students to move forward at their own speeds and enable the following of their interests. Eventually, I suspect, this will be a Web3.0 environment but certainly an ePortfolio will be involved.

3. I do hope that when schools do manage to catch up with the technology, teachers will be able to check HWKs (and for that matter classworks) on-line, provide feedback to the kids, and modify their lesson plans if necessary, BEFORE the next lesson.

4. It is an absolute MUST that schools should publish their schemes of work in Easy English over their VLEs but preferably within the ePortfolio scaffolding, so that any parent, carer or mentor can help the child to understand 'where they are, where they want to go to and by what processes they will get there'. These should be specifically and constructively written for every subject area. Schools must recognise the benefits of 'the Home-School Nexus'.

However, rather than just describing the ePortfolio as a tool to support 'good practice', another approach would be to try and identify the prefered educational outcomes - and then decide what tools could best achieve the required results. Below are two fundamental questions and my suggested responses:

Q) What do parents, governors and politicians think ought to happen more or better to create better learning?

A: Pupils should be more engaged with their learning and as a consequence would be more productive and would be more proud of the ownership of their learning. They should have access to their work 24/7 so that they can work as and when suits them.

Q) Imagine yourself saying "The use of ICT has got the pupils ?????????.......... so much more/so much better". What, as a teacher would you hope to see?

A: Children are now more able to explore safely for themselves. They know how to phrase the right questions when searching for information. They can learn things not immediately obvious from the school curriculum or exam syllabii. They communicate better with both their peers and teachers. They are more able to learn from and to provide feedback. They will not take one person's opinion as 'gospel' but will clarify/verify what they have been told. They are more aware of things happening around the world. They understand more about different cultures or mindsets. They understand that learning is not a 9-4 occupation but that learning happens all the time. They are more questioning - they will not take 'impossible' as an answer but will explore alternative solutions.

I can visualise so many scenarios where the use of a collaborative ePortfolio is the right place for all of these learning experiences - and possibly with no teacher in sight! And not only 'learning' but also reflection, internal adoption and, inevitably the pride of ownership of ones learning as seen through the showcasing of appropriate artefacts and reflections.

Student-Centered Learning: Target or Locus for Universities?

Trent Batson always writes both eloquent and very relevant articles and this is no exception. I quote but three brief paragraphs from a very challenging post:

"Student-centered learning has been largely a rhetorical distinction for decades - e.g., more group work or less group work - because, practically speaking, everything happened in the classroom. But now, student-centered learning has, as a concept, particularly in the past five years, come to encompass a vastly wider variety of choices, about how to design and plan for it.

"Now, the distinction is not just rhetorical, but a life style distinction: scarcity learning (content delivery) in the classroom or abundance learning (discovery) often out in real-world situations. In scarcity learning, the student is the target for delivery systems, while in abundance learning the student is the locus, the starting point, of learning.

"Higher education has unwittingly chosen to use the very technologies that have changed our broader economy to resist change in education. In the free market, in society, people are choosing to use technology inventively and boldly, but in the controlled market of the academy, administrators limit the technology options and proceed without imagination or courage, except in rare cases."

The points that Trent identifies have worried me for over a decade now. My son left High-School at the age of 16 with 11 good GCSE grades hoping to do even better at College. Unfortunately he found the lecturers dull and in his estimation not always competent in their subjects. The textbooks that he was supposed to work from were generally out of date (and expensive) and the coursework moronically boring. Invariably, in his Computing classes, he found himself supporting other learners rather than extending his own competencies. It was not long before he left in disgust.

My concern at that time was simple: "Why should we encourage our pupils to be bright enquiring collaborative learners if all their new learning skills were to be 'rubbished' by the colleges and universities?"

Fourteen years later it would appear that the same scenario still exists. Trent's conclusions need careful contemplation - and application, not only in HE but also in mainstream education.

Ewan MacIntosh on 'sharing'

Ewan neatly presents the argument for pupils collaborating in their learning. This is an excellent video and at less than 4 minutes expresses concisely what in my view an ePortfolio is all about.

However, before teachers new to ePortfolios start clamouring for full openness we need to think of some of the preconditions. Ewan identifies three possible sharing scenarios, ie within the whole class, within the whole school or the ultimate sharing scenario of the whole world. This might be OK for adult learners, but I would put in a plea for establishing proper safeguards.

With eFolio, of course there is a better solution, that of steadily expanding one's audience as situations demand and even allowing different audiences to see only selected items.

Children need to be taught about what I call 'Digital Responsibility'. Firstly this involves understanding how to ensure that personal information is not given gratuitously to strangers. But secondly, information posted on one's ePortfolio should be legitimately presented and not defamatory of any third person or their works. And thirdly, and most importantly, if legal action is not to be incurred, that sources should always be properly quoted.

Even recognising the above, I feel that there is still firstly a place for teaching about Digital Responsibility, including some form of contractual AUP and secondly, an obligation for schools to have in place an appropriate level of filtering and monitoring which will vary from school to school.

And lastly, parents should be seen to have a clear understanding of what their offspring are up to, at school, at home and elsewhere when not directly supervised. A recent post on 'The Declaration of Digital Citizenship' makes interesting reading.

Multimedia and ePortfolios

I have just read an excellent article by Barbara Schroeder extolling the virtues of using multimedia in the classroom. But why the empasis on the 'Classroom'? Why not everywhere? Why not at home? Why not on a long car journey or on the bus to school? And certainly why not in their ePortfolios?

Many of the features of Multiple Intelligences, motivation, collaboration and peer-review etc hinted at in her post I have previously attempted to address in this blog. As I have said elsewhere, "If a picture is worth a thousand words, what value can we put on a video!" - Or for that matter any other graphical or aural media?

Thank you, Barbara, and GGfL for an excellent promotion of all that is so educationally apposite about using multimedia in ePortfolios as well as the classroom.

Building Communities and Networks

I am very grateful to Jeff Utecht for releasing as a free copy, his book 'REACH - Building Communities and Networks for Professional Development'. The book is easy to read and is an excellent introduction to what the 'C' in ICT is all about. I would think that the book could easily be used as a pre-reader for a staff development day or series of workshops. My only wish was that this book could have been available some ten years ago!

Although the word 'e-Portfolio' is strangely not mentioned in the book, the whole mind-set that Utecht describes is that of the e-Portfolio user. It is not surprising, therefore, that he has written another book, 'Blogs as Web-Based Portfolios'.

Developing a Networked School Community

A guide to realising the vision – edited by Mal Lee and Glen Finger.

This book is a first in its class and should be found on the headteacher’s desk of every school. Its well-paced and easy read style presents a profound array of research in its twenty chapters from around the world. The authors argue for the application of ‘flat world’ thinking to all areas of teaching and learning. The extensive bibliography substantiates the combined wisdom and experience of a host of authors.

At 355 pages the book demands serious responses from its readers. Schools will never be the same again. Pedagogies must change, infrastructures and digital tools will inevitably change. Communities will emerge or be strengthened in ways never previously imagined.

Although digital technologies in industry, commerce and the home have become increasingly outward looking it is generally the case that where schools have become increasingly digital they are still slow to engage with the wider world. One quotation from the book must suffice:

“Notwithstanding, across the developed world education authorities, schools, and indeed national governments that have moved to a quite different digital operational mode, have begun to remove the traditional school walls and disturb the traditional conception of timetabled formal lessons, and use the opportunities provided by the networked technology to move into a third distinct phase of schooling, which is strongly networked and collaborative in nature and is starting to involve the students’ homes more fully in teaching and learning.”

Here, yet again, is a perfect example of where eFolio can provide that safe interface between the world, the school and the home. Anyone reading 'Developing a Networked School Community' must see the value of the e-Portfolio as the perfect Lifelong and Lifewide solution.

Contacts:

Australian Council for Educational Research
19 Prospect Hill Rd, Camberwell VIC 3124
t: 03 9277 5447
f: 03 9277 5499
e: sales@acer.edu.au

w: http://www.acerpress.com.au/

UK & Europe:

The Eurospan Group
3 Henrietta Street
Covent Garden
London WC2E 8LU
T: 020 7240 0856
F: 020 7379 0609

W: http://www.eurospan.co.uk/

e-Safety and eFolio

Mainstream schools in particular have a duty of care towards minors. To this end, advice, clear teaching and Acceptable Use Contracts are not always sufficient. In a previous life-form it was my responsibility to ensure an e-safe working environment which included all of the above. However, it was, for the children, the fear of being found out, with date-stamped hard-copy, that really won through.

This is now a feature of our eFolio system that any suspect child or reported incident can easily be checked out. Again, regular alphabetic or random trawls can also ensure that reasonable on-line behaviour is occurring.

I do not think that where an e-safe system with published rules and sanctions is in place there should be any problem. After all, the institution's system is there for work and, like any exercise book, the ePortfolio, although deemed to be owned by the student, is still open to view by any teacher, parents and mentors or even the Headteacher or a Schools' Inspector!

Increasingly, students of any age can use their own systems for collaboration or investigation and can reserve any 'non-school' activities for systems external to the institution. So much so that some children have objected to their school's use of FaceBook as an intrusion upon their private lives.

Facilitation and e-Portfolios

I recently attended a BILD seminar on Facilitation. It was a good day with a range of speakers, plenty of practical activities and time for networking with a wide variety of 'top people'.

I had not anticipated how clearly the aspects of Facilitation equated to some of the functions of an e-Portfolio. The photograph of Dr Carl Rogers - 'The Godfather of Facilitation Theory' was subtitled, 'The person-centred approach' - and this said it all for me.

The paper presented by Graeme l’Anson particularly excited me and, with his permission, I list some of the points that he made which equate with e-Portfolio thinking:

Facilitation Theory:

This theory emphasises the learner’s involvement in the learning process, and de-emphasises the trainer’s involvement.
It says that you are there to facilitate a learning process, not to teach.

It recognises:
•a belief that human beings have a natural eagerness to learn,
•there is some resistance to, and unpleasant consequences of, giving up what is currently held to be true,
•the most significant learning involves changing one's concept of oneself.

Benefits to the User of Facilitation:

•Better learning
•People more motivated to improve themselves
•More open to new ideas and change
•People learn to problem solve
•More effective meetings

Three telling quotations:

“A training course is not something you do TO people or even FOR people, but WITH people”

Dave Meier - The Centre for Accelerated Learning

“You cannot teach a man anything. You can only help him discover it within himself”

Anon

“My main job was developing talent. I was a gardener providing water and other nourishment to our top 750 people.”

Jack Welch (ret CEO of GE)

Some have argued that 'The Sage on the Stage' is dead and that 'The Guide by the Side' is the way forward in education. I would argue that there is still a place for both. The performer, the challenger, the provider of rare bits of knowledge or information that interest or provoke discussion or even argument still has a place in education. But so to does 'the Guide by the Side' who provides that 'still small voice' of reason and reassurance'. Whether asked for or not the mentor, counsellor, supervisor, peers and parents all have a place to add to one's learning and self-esteem.

So, my challenge in this post is aimed at all teachers, support staff and technicians, that they should reflect upon Graeme l’Anson's points as above and consider how the e-Portfolio can best be that 'Facilitator' of learning.

Second Generation ePortfolios?

For some time now I have been getting increasingly frustrated by the large number of mainly HE institutions who are continuing to promulgate e-Portfolio theory and practice which is increasingly looking some ten years out of date. I have therefore coined the hardly original acronym of 2G eP, pleading for a second generation approach to e-Portfolios, starting afresh from first principles rather than basing ideas on outmoded thinking.

Despite all the intelligence, wisdom and experience of our noble institutions it would appear that educationists are still saying, 'Here is a tool, what can we do with it?' rather than teachers saying to the developers, 'This is what we want to do, get on and give us what we want.' Quite frankly, eFolio can provide all the facilities that an e-Portfolio should deliver but, for now, let's just explore what we do really require.

Part 2

Perhaps the most immediate requirement is for some clarity. There is presently far too much confusion about the separate functions of a VLE and an e-Portfolio. Course management, and information about assessment criteria are surely the responsibility of the institution. Where helpful to the student one might accept that a copy of assessment criteria could be held within the e-Portfolio but with a good VLE that is hardly necessary. Otherwise, the e-Portfolio should be seen as learner-owned, separate to the VLE and the implications of this need to be fully explored.

The argument has been made that the e-Portfolio is inevitably institutionally based as it is designed to meet the needs of a particular course and even a function within that course. This again is 'tool thinking' rather than 'user-thinking' or 'meeting the variety of needs of each individual'. I raise these issues in my document, first published some two years ago: 'Who's hijacking our e-Portfolios?' To sum up a seven-page article in one sentence: e-Portfolio thinking should not be defined by conventional capabilities but by modern teaching and learning theory. In this regard, a better understanding of collaboration, of peer review and the general benefits of web2.0 will begin to influence the way staff manage formative assessments and the general monitoring of student progress.

Another challenge to take-up across all academic stages is that of the FE institutions. If HE can be seen as having a silo-mentality when it comes to e-Portfolios then FE must be considered as doubly disruptive. My paper, 'A Bridge too Far?' considers the whole situation in 6th-forms and FE colleges. It has been argued that FE has a higher percentage of older teachers and lecturers – this may be marginally true but is still no excuse for the serious lack of CPD supported in FE.

The beauty of eFolio is that different views can be presented concurrently to different audiences - and thus obviating the necessity to model one's e-Portfolio according to the needs of a particular course.

The issues of transition or portability appear to be incapable of meeting any satisfactory conclusion and thus the student is tempted to give up and accept that the e-Portfolio is owned by an institution. This inevitably means that as the learner moves on to another institution yet another different e-Portfolio tool may be required with repeated uploading of artefacts. The owner is therefore tempted not to invest any additional time or effort beyond the minimum required. Perhaps one of my main arguments about the ownership of eFolio is the very fact that through the provision of templates and the facility to change 'skins' and fonts etc not only the younger learner but all learners can create an environment that expresses 'This is ME' – that the learner is proud of and wishes to retain.

If HE has troubles concerning vision, if FE has troubles relating to staff training then Mainstream Education suffers from both of these and more. As much as teachers may expect autonomy within the classroom there is still a need for central advice and direction. For the last four years BECTA has been miserably silent on the issue of e-Portfolios and has utterly failed to provide the leadership and inspiration required for a national initiative. At the same time there is a growing demand from the 'Is it free?' brigade who seem to be unaware of the failure of basic DIY e-Portfolios to meet the strict requirements of e-safe management that schools are required to maintain. It is therefore time for some serious 2G thinking.

I can do no better than to refer back to my original criteria, my 'Ten Prime Directives'. But perhaps I can address these in a different order.

'Cosmeticisation' – an ugly word but essential. Users of any age, from the youngest to the oldest, from the most able to the least able all should be able to modify the templates, style, fonts and images which make up their own chosen self-representation. Note that there is a difference between this and 'personalisation' which, for me, suggests the functionality of the software to recognise one's personal learning styles and preferred software, including such t hings as diagnostic and predictive tools.

Lifelong Learning: can only really be an option if the one e-Portfolio can use the above options to 'transmogrify' or change according to one's maturity, culture, social perspective, course of study or even one's favourite football team or current pop-group. It should be capable of changing the organisation and naming of pages and the addition, editing or removal of artefacts.

'Lifewide' has two distinct meanings. It can refer to the range of users, ie the one tool should be capable of being used by a number of different abilities within one class or group. However, it more significantly refers to the fact that any one person has a number of different personas, any one of which the learner may wish to present to a specific audience. For example, I may wish to represent myself to one group as a competent technician, to another as an HR manager and yet to a third as an environmentalist wishing to do work for a charitable organisation.

Portability is an essential function if the e-Portfolio is to have any credibility as a lifelong tool. However, most e-Portfolio solutions are institutionally based and repeatedly I have heard tales of frustration that the work a student has done in college on their e-Portfolio cannot be taken with them to their next institution or place of employment. This has often led to older students doing as little as necessary or responding with exclamations such as 'Why should I bother?' However, portability is an essential feature of 'transition' and, from my own experience, can include many movements from one school to another and on to yet another.

ePortfolio Commons

I hesitate to appear critical of an institution or individuals that are making an attempt to promote e-Portfolios. I hope that the authors of 'ePortfolio Commons' will read this post in the constructive manner intended. What first caught my eye was the challenging statement:

"Are you ready for your final semester in the college? Have you started preparation and application for a job and/or further study? How can you enhance your chance of success? Register and join our ePortfolio hands-on workshop to start creating your own ePortfolio to strategically showcase your capabilities and achievements! "

As much as I applaud the efforts of any to get students to realise the value of an e-Portfolio, I feel that the above is a very narrow and 'last century' view of the function or purpose of an e-Portfolio, possibly coloured by the references used. So, perhaps I may be allowed to say "Great! BUT!"

1. The e-Portfolio should not be seen as a last minute 'rush job' but as something built up over many years, certainly starting at the begining of the college course if not before.
2. Job-hunting is possibly one of the least effective purposes for using an e-Portfolio, unless potential employers are really ICT savvy and are willing to look at and know how to navigate an e-Portfolio.
3. One of the greatest functions of an e-Portfolio is as a secure and private space for formative feedback from peers and mentors.
4. Yet another valuable function of the e-Portfolio is that of planning and drafting ideas which can be worked upon collaboratively.
5. Above all, students should be made well aware of the image that they are communicating to others and that the patois of the younger generation or a careless selection of photographs might not be received well by potential employers or university professors.
6. Care should be given to thinking out where the e-Portfolio is to be hosted, by an academic institution or 'in the Cloud'. Both solutions have their problems - which is why I have developed eFolio for UK and European students.

So yes, my feeling is 'get on with constructing your e-Portfolio as a matter of urgency'. But don't think that it is just a tool for showcasing or PDP.

Perhaps I should add that the list of categories by nations is very simple. It might have been that in the UK 10 years ago HE was using e-Portfolios mainly for showcasing and PDP but that is no longer the case. Secondly, e-Portfolios are becoming more popular in mainstream education, even in primary schools. I can give you several examples of different approaches to using eFolio.

Issues Encountered by Distance Educators

Recurring Issues Encountered by Distance Educators in Developing and Emerging Nations is the full title of a very helpful article (first pointed out by Tony Bates) from the noble body entitled, The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning.

I must commend the willingness of authors to publish these articles for open access. There is a whole range of mandatory reading with which I must certainly catch up.

The abstract to the article, The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning reads:

"This article explores a number of challenges faced by e-learning or distance educators in developing and emerging countries, provides a context for many of the challenges, and outlines some measures devised to overcome them. These educators must determine a sound rationale for employing online learning, recognize that technology is only part of the educational transformation process, address the lack of infrastructure and the cost of Internet bandwidth and equipment, counter the cultural imperialism of courseware from Western nations, deal with limited educational resources, place a greater emphasis on quality assurance systems and change negative perceptions of distance education, respond to the needs and concerns of both students and faculty, access or develop up-to-date educational resources, and consider the implementation of mobile learning. The continued growth and success of distance education in developing and emerging nations will depend on the extent to which issues covered in this article are addressed as they bear on the quality of the learning experience provided to students. "

Perhaps a further note of caution need to be defined in terms of the actual Teaching and Learning culture. Perhaps where good VLEs have not yet been established, the place of the e-Portfolio becomes even more important. And yet the very climate in the classroom may still be that of "I teach, You listen." Yes, the e-Portfolio can be a good record of a student's learning, of their competencies and interests, all of which can be part of a traditional didactic approach. However, the e-Portfolio also lends itself to collaboration and peer review which might still be beyond the experience of some teachers and lecturers.

Although 'collaboration' is mentioned several times in the paper, it is in terms of institutions' collaborative efforts related to generally economic pressures. It is therefore time that, in such organisations, teachers and lecturers re-defined their curricula in order to build upon those beneficial processes of collaboration and peer review, sharing with mentors and building upon regular formative feedback from tutors. And this, of course is where the e-Portfolio is best able to support Teaching & Learning.

On-line Learning

The above company drew my attention to some challenging statistics concerning on-line learning. Obviously, I see on-line learning as the future for all ages and strata of society. And, as I've argued previously, mainstream schools need to start thinking about how 'the school without walls' will actually support teaching and learning and to what extent the curriculum will change.

Despite the statistics being American it gives us six significant pointers for discussion and how we should be arguing for on-line provision in our own countries or localities.

Again, for readers who might not have seen some of my previous posts, the benefits of having one's own e-Portfolio cannot be over stated. eFolio meets the needs of all learners, Lifelong and Lifewide (ie whatever one's abilities).

Citrix on-line also provides some very thought-provoking papers including 'Questions senior executives ask about eLearning' and 'Five Keys to getting started with interactive on-line training' and 'How to Market Training'. Again, very thought-provoking papers to be read in the context of schools and Virtual Learning.

Small-Group Collaboration

I have just come across a very useful article on teaching and learning with a particular emphasis on collaboration from eSchoolNEWS. The article is well worth reading with the proviso that one can think in terms of on-line learning instead of the scenario depicted of US schools still living in the 20th Century.

Almost every single point could be translated into 21st Century Virtual Learning using a good e-Portfolio system such as eFolio. The Author, Ellie Ashford writes:

"Everyone needs to be able to collaborate in a group, because that's how things are done in the real world. No one sits alone and works by themselves any more," said Stan Silverman, director of technology-based learning systems at the New York Institute of Technology.

Some educators believe students gain a deeper understanding when they participate in group projects.

Lance Sutton, a teacher at Westview Elementary School in Goose Creek, S.C., said: "When a teacher lectures to them, they forget; when you have kids help design something, they will remember for a lifetime."

Sutton said collaboration is "a more positive way of teaching" and addresses the needs of students who learn best in different ways, such as those who are visual learners or auditory learners. He uses an interactive whiteboard and Interwrite Workspace software from eInstruction to facilitate small-group instruction with his fifth-graders."

As much as I agree with the teaching and learning style eloquently put in this extensive article, surely it is time to encourage, even at this young age, that students work on computers attached to a VLE or at least the Internet. This way all the exciting discussions, and activities, the artefacts produced etc are recorded for the teacher to assess or for the pupils to collaborate even more effectively, to reflect upon, access from home or present to an audience.

Everything Ellie Ashford says is true, but how much more effective can collaboration be through the use of e-Portfolios!

Where does Learning take place?

Adults, or certainly those in Higher Education, may be free to do their learning when and where and from whom they like. However, the same is not equally true for those younger students or even adults who need some guidance.

Bob Harrison recently quoted on a NAACE forum the following from 'The Impact of ICT in schools-a landscape review-Becta 2007' :

'While this study has looked closely at the impact of ICT on how pupils learn and how this might be enhanced....it has not addressed the impact of what they learn or where learning takes place and whether the schools of the future will be the physical entities we have today.'

Some two years later we still do not have clear answers and probably there will not ever be one set of answers which will suit everyone. However, building upon Mal Lee's graphic of the 'Home-School Nexus' (highlighted in the above diagram in blue) and looking further to Networked School Communities, I have tried to identify most of the major influences affecting any young learner. The nature of 'Virtual Learning' and how this might impact on current school practice and 'physical entities' will be explored more in my next post.

What young people learn has been the centre of discussions and the culture of a digitally aware society has begun to impact on curriculum design in most of our schools. Whether examination boards are ready to develop new ways of assessing learning is another question altogether.

How young people learn in a digital age is still not well-defined. Despite the fact that many schools may have an abundance of digital appliances, schools may still have a large proportion of teachers who believe in the "I teach, you listen" philosophy. The problem with this is that where children attend such a mixed-strategy school, it is doubtful that either system can be successful. And, again, despite a tacit recognition of the theory of Multiple Intelligences, it is often the case that lesson after lesson the children only experience one form of teaching and learning.

When and where young people learn has been the subject of much discussion and in some cases a serious indictment of our academic culture. We tend to expect children to learn only in lesson time and do not appreciate the vast amount of 'out-of-school' time which can be rich with experience and capable of much reflection and collaboration with others outside of the immediate home-school environment. Although the following graphic might raise some questions about the quality of the research relating to students in Holland, again, it raises questions about whether tapping into the power of modern media is recognised by schools as having any real merit.

from: CISCO Equipping_Every_Learner_for_21st_Century_White_Paper.pdf

The question is, do these figures represent total media usage by students in your country or is Holland different to other countries?

Minds on Fire?

This morning I came across a blog from 'Supercool School' which pointed me to the Educause document
'Minds on Fire', from last year. The document is well worth reading, even if a bit out-of-date now.

What particularly attracted me was the strapline to their recommendation, "In a rapidly changing world social learning will dominate over formal education."

'How daft', was my instant response. For ages we have recognised that more sex education is taught behind the bike sheds than in the Biology labs, that 5-year-olds are taught how to say 'please' and 'thank you' not by being told that this is the accepted norm, but by the fact that parents and grandparents informally and unconsciously teach these things by regular practice between themselves and also upon the informal correction, at the point of need, of the child.

Similarly, schools recognise that they only have an input to the child's education for some 12% to 20% of their young lives. Recently, through the Home Access Programme in the UK we are supporting the need for closer contact with parents and carers in order to reinforce good educational practice. (Use the search tool at the top right column for more on the Home Access Programme.)

Nowhere is the e-Portfolio a more practical and effective tool for supporting informal or social learning and documenting the transitory and ephemeral experiences of out-of-school learning. What I would like to see in the coming months is more examples of good practice in capturing that 'butterfly' of informal learning, particularly with younger students. - Any offers?

Informal Adult Learning

This new .ning site addresses yet another area in which an easily 'portable' e-Portfolio can meet a wide variety of needs. The thread started by Christine Lewis needs serious attention. I quote her opening challenge:

"Chapter 4 of the Learning Revolution white paper states that Local Authorities will work with others to provide five core elements to underpin a strong local offer of informal learning:

• Innovation: public funds used flexibly, complementing private and third sector investment effectively, enabling learning opportunities to thrive by building new partnerships and connections;
  
• Universal access: all adults able to shape and access the learning activities they want for personal development and fulfilment wherever they live, whatever their qualifications and income;
  
• Targeted support: those in most financial need given greatest support. In relation to taught courses, most adults should contribute in part or in full to the cost of their learning wherever it is provided, and local areas should actively use fee collection to reinvest in extending the reach of what’s on offer;
  
• Collaboration: a wide range of partners and services working in partnership, aligning funds where appropriate, to maximise the scope for offering high quality, inspiring learning opportunities, increasing choice and helping adults move from one learning opportunity to another;
  
• Promotion: the maintenance of good, up-to-date information on informal learning opportunities to be freely and openly available to local communities.

Am I the only one who believes that a good e-Portfolio is the only real solution to this present debacle? It seems that Local Authorities in particular are failing to recognise that a tool such as eFolio in the UK can meet all of the above criteria. eFolio, in particular can meet the needs of those who may not be so ICT 'savy' and yet at the same time lends itself to any level of sophistication that a learner may wish for.

If any Local Authority staff are reading this, I challenge them to come up with a solution that is more cost effective than eFolio! Or better still, come back at me at:

support@maximise-ict.co.uk

The New Literacy?

Thanks to a brief post from Leigh Blackall I read this eloquent item from Rachel McAlpine. It talks of young people enthusiastically writing away on their netbooks or laptops - and that whilst they were away on holiday! If ever there was an example of learning taking place outside of the classroom, I think that this is it!

Writing, however reflective, can still be very introspective and misses something of the point of learning as far as I understand it. Even some three hundred years ago we read of Isaac Watts putting together his great works on Logic etc by comparing the writings of two or three others and compiling a single work from the synthesis of both the other writers and his own perceptions. Perhaps, although not interactive, this could be seen as a form of collaboration?

Certainly, for today's learners, Rachel McAlpine's observations are but just the beginings of e-Portfolios as the store of fond and sometimes private memories only to be trusted by a select few. I wonder how many of Rachel's holiday writers will publish their rich gems of observation, refined by the collaboration or peer-review of others.

e-Portfolios? Let's get going!

Web2.0 & e-Portfolios

If you need a strong argument for introducing e-Portfolios into the classroom, and more importantly, into the wider experience of your students, look no further than the reality of being able to use Web2.0 tools within an e-safe environmet such as eFolio.

For some time now I have been considering the benefits of Web2.0 ever since Terry Freedman published his first book on Web2.0. His website and newsletter are well worth following. However, in thinking how things have progressed in terms of e-Portfolios over the last two years in schools, we might say 'Not a lot!' It seems to me that not only are teachers afraid of being accused of being members of a '5th column' but that technicians and Network Managers in particular are not keen to incorporate every different configuration of a very fluid Web2.0 supply. And, of course, as students mature, they will want an ever-increasing set of tools not available on their school's VLE.

What I am trying to underline is that there is a lot of progress being made in Web2.0, whether it be for 'free tools' for the Home Access netbooks or advanced tools for personal development (see my post on Chan Sook). However, I feel that these tools are not being successfully embedded within our classroom culture.

MY solution, as the title of this post implies, is that the e-Portfolio is that place where students can embed their own personal preferences of Web2.0 tools, as and when they are ready for them, without any intrusion into the 'high-security' domain of the VLE.