Effective Practice with ePortfolios

The above presentation, recently produced by JISC RSC Scotland South & West is an excellently crafted document which clearly articulates present thinking and concerns relating to ePortfolios. Click here to see for yourself.

However, yet again, this author appears to believe that the whole content delivery system, learning management and assessment, CPD and showcasing can all be crammed into what is essentially a private and learner-owned tool. As I tried to make clear, several years ago, (Who's Hijacking My ePortfolio - best read in Full Screen mode) institutions have their own individual agendas and appear to expect the ePortfolio to do all the conventional tasks of a VLE but without the expense! Admittedly, some VLEs are expensive as are assessment tools, plagiarism checkers etc.

As regular readers will know, one of my pervading mantras is "Let the VLE do what it does best and leave the ePortfolio to do what it can best do."

But, again, let me say, a good presentation which is worthy of further discussion.

Inspired by Technology, Driven by Pedagogy

The recently published book/paper by OECD ‘Inspired by Technology, Driven by Pedagogy’ may not say anything significantly new for those who have been involved in education and innovation for more than a few years. But it is a document well worth studying. I was saying that ‘Innovation must be curriculum driven’ some 40 years ago – and ever since.

http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?sf1=identifiers&st1=9789264094789

However, it’s not what you say, but how you say it. This document pulls together wide-ranging research and well-argued thinking which together presents a very powerful case of which the UK government in particular should take note.

Space here does not allow me to quote all the impact statements or questions but let the following suffice:

“do governments (be they at national, regional or local level) have a systemic approach to technology-based school innovations?’ (p.18)

As one who has been involved with both innovation in schools and Total Quality Management for many years, I was pulled up suddenly by this question as I fear that the only answer at all levels is “No!”

Now that Becta in the UK is steadily dissolving due to Government cuts, I wonder if there will be any organisation ready, willing and able to develop an advisory paper on whole-school innovation? I am not sure that the ICT-Mark properly addresses whole-school innovation, and even if it can, is it realistic to expect that what one school sees as innovation and another sees as irrelevant can be merged into one policy? Is it possible to develop a regional or national approach to ‘a systemic approach to technology-based school innovations?’

The book raises many questions including teacher-training and the place of Web2.0 technologies. If this very articulate book were to fall into the hands of headteachers or even District or Local Authority advisors I just wonder what might happen. Perhaps my oft-quoted observation, “everyone did that which was right in his own eyes” has some poignancy here. Is there a place in UK education for firm advice as to how we should approach innovation particularly in relation to ICT?

Or is it that some countries have a very different educational regime to the UK? Writing a chapter for another book I was recently pulled up suddenly by a comment, ‘I am unclear as to the relationship between ePortfolios and the school regulatory bodies in the UK...’ My gut reaction was ‘What regulatory bodies?’

The Blind Leading the Blind?

As an avid e-Portfolio watcher I spend hours every day reading students' e-Portfolios and academic articles, from the most naive to the extremely erudite. However, what was exciting some four years ago has made me become increasingly frustrated as I repeatedly read the same sort of academic papers describing small-scale 'Pilots' which never seem to get anywhere. Similarly, students from all around the world write of their requirements to explore, investigate or design e-Portfolios as an ICT competency excercise imposed upon them by their tutors.

This set me thinking: Why is it that apparently intelligent people, tutors or faculty in particular, appear to lack any reasonable knowledge of the full functionality or benefits of using an e-Portfolio system?

After some 20 years of e-Portfolio thinking it seems strange that so many school leaders have no working familiarity with the tool. If students can benefit so much from e-Portfolios, what confidence can they have in faculty who don't use them. What sort of duplicity is it that says, 'You must do this, but I don't.'

Perhaps one might ask, 'Who blindfolded you?' Is it the institution that says this would cost too much to implement? Is it faculty who say we haven't got the time? Is it educators who have not adopted Web2.0 thinking? Have staff been confused by misleading advocacy? Or is it an hierarchy that intend maintaining the status quo?

Perhaps nearer the truth is the fact that many students can see through the weaknesses of a profession that relies on orthodoxy rather than exploring a brave and exciting new world of Teaching & Learning?

As I have said in several other places, 'Without a vision the people perish!' No where is this more true than in the world of e-Portfolios. Let us therefore stop all 'Pilots' and get involved in implementing whole-school policies for e-Portfolios, NOW!

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

Becta Schools Update - Sept 2009

For the sake of those who do not receive the Becta newsletter I have copied the following (with permission). Although the word e-Portfolio is not mentioned anywhere in the article I feel that so many of the initiatives mentioned here would benefit from e-Portfolio connectivity. I quote Niel McLean, Executive Director, Schools and Families:

"In this edition I’d like to draw your attention to the idea of Learner Entitlement. We are making good progress towards developing a technology-confident education system. One of the key challenges we have to address is improved teaching with technology and promoting a technology-related learner entitlement. Delivering such an offer requires schools and teachers to consider how they are going to develop their teaching through technology, and what this might mean for their learners. Working with subject and phase experts from the field, Becta has produced guidance on the importance of providing learners with opportunities to use ICT tools to support their learning in all subjects. This will assist teachers in improving the ways in which they and their learners use technology.

"In future editions we will be updating you on some of our other major areas of work, including improving parental engagement through online reporting. Take a look at our new case study videos on this theme, starting with South Dartmoor Community College.

"You can access further information on each item featured below on our website. Please contact us with any suggestions or comments you'd like to make. Do feel free to share this newsletter with colleagues who may also be interested in what Becta is doing.

Niel McLean, Executive Director, Schools and Families"

News and features
You can always catch up with our latest news by visiting the Schools website.

The Home Access Programme
For those interested in the progress of this important programme see the PowerPoint.

Learner entitlement to ICT
Pupils should be given opportunities to apply and develop their ICT capability through the use of ICT tools to support their learning in all subjects. Which are the areas of the curriculum that can be truly enriched and enhanced through the use of technology? Becta, in partnership with Teachernet, have published a series of entitlement documents written by subject and phase experts to guide teachers on making the most of ICT in these areas.

Self-review framework: Share your views
With over 16,000 schools now using the self-review framework we know it is well used. But how useful is it to you? We are conducting an evaluation of the effectiveness and usefulness of the self-review framework and want to hear your views. The questionnaire will be available until 16 October 2009. There will also be the opportunity to take part in more in-depth interviews with our researchers in due course.

A guide to the use of e-learning for Diploma delivery
Are you part of a 14-19 consortia? If so our new guide will help you to build e-learning in to the design, provision, management and implementation of the new Diplomas. As well as providing strategic advice and practical support, the guide contains real examples of how e-learning is being used to support Diploma delivery.

Professional development for teachers
Regular, timely and appropriate staff training in the use of technology is essential if it is to be embedded within curriculum delivery and support services. The professional development area of the Schools site has been updated with new resources that can help your staff get the most from technology.

Visit us on YouTube
Our new Becta YouTube channel offers video material covering a wide range of topics on the use of technology in education. The aim of the channel is to share knowledge, advice and personal experiences of learners, leaders and teaching professionals to a wider audience.

Upcoming events
Becta runs and attends many events throughout the year. These are regularly added to the events section of the Schools website.

Handheld Learning Conference
5 October to 7 October 2009, London
Becta is pleased to support this conference, which this year has a theme of 'Creativity, Innovation, Inclusion and Transformation'. There will be opportunities to demonstrate, debate and explore how mobile technologies can be deployed to enable transformational improvements in learning across schools, home, further education, training and business.

NB. All of the above originally posted on the Becta Newsletter September 2009.

Economies of Scale?

Congratulations are in order to the NZ Ministry of Education for their brave decision to provide an impressive Software Agreement for the next three years. Click to see announcement.

Cynics may suggest that in providing something 'for free' it creates a lock-in which is hard to resist. Of course, as the statement says, "Schools will still be free to use any product they wish to. A number of schools are using open source software or browser based alternatives and they will continue to have this choice." But, as the graphic attempts to illustrate, 'Who wouldn't chase after free software?'

The whole point for e-Portfolio watchers, as I referred to before, see post - 'A Common Approach?, is that I am impressed with Local Authorities, Districts, States or even whole countries that see the benefits of the economies of scale and are willing to take up the challenge.

Again, some will be aware of the far-sighted vision of those in Minnesota who established a State-wide free e-Portfolio facility for all residents. This has proved without doubt that, without the 'holy grail' of perfect interoperability, eFolio is the best solution for portability or transition that anyone has thought possible.

In the UK, despite all our impressive programmes for 'Home Access' and a 'Digital Britain' the Government's present approach to e-Portfolios is particularly tardy. Yes, individual schools are developing their own in-house e-Portfolios and we have some good work going on in the careers service, 'Connexions'. However, what with 35 or so VLE suppliers offering various attempts at e-Portfolio solutions and a few commercial free-standing systems, it would appear that 'everybody does that which is right in their own eyes.'

The point of this post, therefore, is to ask if UK readers in particular agree with my proposition that whole-school or Local Authority-wide provisions of an e-Portfolio system such as eFolio, which is both Lifelong and Lifewide, is the logical solution. Economy of scale is essential at the present time. I just wonder when our mandarins will wake up to this fact!

Institutional Documentation?

My reading of the Summer edition of the eFolioWorld newsletter set me thinking.

Some years ago I studied for the Diploma in Total Quality Management (TQM) and with special reference to the place of the Investors In People award to schools. At that time I was also awarded a certificate as an Internal Quality Auditor and became a member of the Chartered Quality Institute. I say this, not because of any wish to 'blow my own trumpet' but rather to indicate some real passion and understanding of the subject of Quality Assurance in schools and colleges.

So, perhaps, my title could have been 'e-Portfolios - not just for students'. The fact that an e-Portfolio can equally be used for students, teachers, institutions or even whole Districts or Local Authorities needs to be understood. My 8-Page Brochure is worth looking at in this context.

Within TQM circles, one of the Prime Directives is that documentation should be easy to find and appropriate to the reader's needs. It is my belief that a well laid-out e-Portfolio is by far the best means of doing this. See the Ridgwater College site, which is no more than a collaborative e-Portfolio where others can read and respond to articles and submit new artefacts.

The point that I am making is that e-Portfolios are not just for children or students searching for their first job or even for PDP. The same tool, used by the Principal of a college or an 8 yr-old will serve their needs equally well

Engaging with Home Access

I have no brief to write about the e-Learning Foundation except my own impressions of their work over a number of years. Possibly even before Home Access was a glint in Becta's eyes, the e-Learning Foundation was delivering a much needed service to schools, families and other needy institutions.

Their low-cost lease-buy scheme has enabled many schools to deliver home access and encourage independent and collaborative learning. They have developed a clear expertise in this field and are thus able to draw the highest quality speakers to their conferences. Not only that, they have a number of very useful videos which may be extremely useful for promos at parents/governors meetings etc.

Given that Becta's Home Access Programme will enable many deprived families to gain on-line access and secondly that the more well-off communities may have adequate on-line access there is still clearly a 'shadow-land' of schools lacking equipment or families that don't have access and do not fall within the free school meals category.

As schools move towards that dreamland of 100% home access and when teachers discover that teaching and learning will change dramatically it is essential that the 'shadow-land' families are supported. This, I believe is where the e-Learning Foundation will meet a clearly identified need.

There are two aspects to this solution. Certainly as the e-Foundation has done in the past, there will be a need for for ensuring the provision of appropriate equipment either for schools or families. But secondly, and perhaps more importantly in my view, the e-Learning Foundation is in a position to co-ordinate the support of both parents and pupils in the usage of the equipment. And, yet again, I see the take-up of e-Portfolios as central to all of these activities.

If the previous conference in Leeds was anything to go by, the conference in November will provide an excellent insight into many aspects of the potential see-change in teaching and learning that is about to happen.

See their programme at: http://www.e-lf.co.uk/autumn-09/

eFolio in 4 Minutes

I recently presented at the BridgEd futurelab day in central London. BridgEd is a unique attempt to match suppliers with customers within the world of educational technology.

Apart from some really excellent keynote speakers the afternoon activity was set up to 'match' vendors with delegates. From my point of view this 'dating' approach was both new to me and very successful. We were able to have meaningful and searching conversations only cut short by the determined blowing of an old-fashioned school whistle every half hour.

Well, the point of this blog is that before lunch each of the vendors were given four minutes only (yes! 4 mins) to present their products or services to the whole audience. Wow! that demanded some concise thinking, no waffle and no time for PowerPoints! My question, therefore, is how would you present eFolio in just four minutes to a technologically alert and intelligent audience who all wanted to see real innovation? Here is my effort.

Introduction:

1. I was doing a Naace/Becta research project on the impact of VLEs on teaching and learning in schools.
2. Becta had said in 2005 that they expected that all schools would have a VLE up and running by Spring 2008 with the facility for an e-Portfolio by 2010.
3. I soon realised that almost every one of the 35 different VLE vendors claimed to provide an e-Portfolio, but none met my perception of what an e-Portfolio should be capable of doing.
4. There is obviously a serious mis-match between the understanding of educators and vendors compared to the expectations of Becta.

A simple definition:

1. An e-Portfolio is a system of representing one’s self on-line.
2. Firstly, note, it is owned by the learner and not the institution.
3. Secondly, It is both Lifelong and Lifewide.
4. Thirdly, it may be seen by a variety of different audiences.

Learner Owned:

1. In Primary schools in particular or when dealing with less able children, the system may be set up for the school using menus, templates, guidance notes and colour schemes.
2. Before long the pupils are encouraged to develop their own page organisation and colour schemes as they wish.
3. Above all, children are encouraged to take a pride in ‘This is ME!’

Lifelong & Lifewide:

1. If Lifelong, it must be free of any institution, it must be portable or capable of transition from one institution to another.
2. As the learner matures, so the e-Portfolio should be capable of changing, chameleon like, changing menus adding more complex artefacts etc.
3. If Lifewide, it must be simple to use, for the least able, and yet capable of high levels of sophistication, for even the highest PhD student.

for a Variety of Audiences:

1. With younger children it will inevitably start off that only the child and their teacher sees what is in their eFolio.
2. Soon, parents, peers and mentors will be given permissions to see the child’s eFolio.
3. The granting of permissions, selecting different ‘views’ to different audiences is an essential part of the presentation process.
4. Feedback, polls or surveys can all be safely controlled by the owner.

In conclusion:

1. eFolio meets all of the above requirements and a lot more too.
2. For the learner, it gets to the parts that other products cannot reach.