Why isn't there more E-Portfolio Development in K-12 schools?

I received an email today from a graduate student who wants to study the implementation of e-portfolios in the transition of special education students from high school to college or to work. She attended the Council for Exceptional Children International Conference this Spring in Washington, D.C., and learned in a pre-session class that currently there are few school districts who are actually using the ePortfolio process. In the limited research she located only 2 school districts who are actually using this, and 3 states/coalitions who are in the process of initiating the process within their states. Through her contacts with CEC's Division on Career Development and Transition (DCDT), they indicated that no one is using this process. Why? My response to her:

I could articulate my "hunches" based on my prior REFLECT Initiative research in high schools. Several years ago, I did a Google Scholar literature review on K-12 portfolios (paper or electronic) most of it from the 90s. My observations: since No Child Left Behind passed in 2001, the use of portfolios--paper or electronic--has declined dramatically in K-12 schools in the U.S., based on the research that has NOT been published. Here are some of my educated guesses for the many reasons:

• Time - There is a perception that it takes a lot of time to implement e-portfolios. Teachers are overwhelmed with teaching, "test prep" and other school reform issues, and portfolios don't have as high a priority as other learning strategies.
• Access to the Internet - There aren't enough computers or other digital devices (and a high speed LAN/WAN) required to access the Internet for web-based portfolios. I worked with one rural school district with limited Internet access, but had a 1:1 laptop program in their secondary schools. They had problems with consistent software, and strategies for storing portfolios on local servers. A lot of these problems could be solved with a cloud-based solution, if they had good high speed Internet access. I think these problems will be solved soon, especially with a "Bring Your Own Devices" approach. You might check out my last blog entry.
• Knowledge of and experience with portfolio learning - A lot of teachers do not have experience with using portfolios, or have their own e-portfolios (developed using tools appropriate for K-12 students), so there is not a knowledge base or personal experience to draw upon.
• Teacher Technology Competency - Even with enough access to technology, unless teachers are willing to learn along with their students, there is often a reluctance to teach with unfamiliar tools. And the average teacher won't let students use technologies they don't know how to manage... and a lot of schools block many of the social networks that I think students use on a daily basis in portfolio-like ways (collecting digital evidence in image, audio, video, text; sharing accomplishments, etc.)
• Fear of CIPA and COPPA and concerns about student privacy. Perhaps that is because most of the students are under 18.
• Confusing/Conflicting Purposes - There are a variety of purposes for implementing e-portfolios: learning/reflection/process, employment/showcase/career development, assessment/accountability, transition. Sometimes there is a confusion in WHY e-portfolios are being implemented. See this cartoon.
• Underlying philosophy of learning - While portfolios initially came out of a constructivist model of learning,  there are some educational institutions that do not endorse that theoretical approach,  emphasizing a more behaviorist paradigm (my evidence: our national obsession with standardized testing, especially when used for high stakes accountability)
• Lack of trust in teacher judgement of students' self-assessment.
• Vocabulary (a portfolio by any other name is...) - students are creating websites that resemble showcase portfolios, or are regularly writing in blogs that resemble reflective journals... but these activities are not recognized as components of portfolio learning.
• Too much emphasis on product (presentation/showcase of learning outcomes) and not enough on process (facilitating conversations about learning).

I find that, for the most part, learning e-portfolios are a classroom-by-classroom phenomenon; assessment e-portfolios are a district or state implementation, but often lack student engagement; employment/showcase e-portfolios are often created by tech-savvy students, often using social networks. One exception is the Navigation 101 program in Washington state: "a life skills and planning program for students in grades 6 through 12. It aims to help students make clear, careful, and creative plans for life beyond high school." The program includes a portfolio, but it is usually a 3-ring binder.

All that being said, I believe a portfolio can be a powerful tool for metacognition, building a positive digital footprint, establishing a conversation about learning, as well as showcasing achievements, planning for a preferred future, exploring purpose and passions. As I said in a recent blog entry, "If we want student engagement, I believe e-portfolios should be stories of deep learning, not checklists of competencies."

Are there other barriers to the implementation of e-portfolios in K-12 schools? Are there strategies that we can use to overcome these barriers?

A Device for Every Learner!

On Wednesday, Google announced Chromebook, a laptop computer that will be available to order on June 15, 2011; Price: $28-$33/month for businesses, $20-$23/month for education. I think the price is a little high for education, when looking at a device for every child, but very affordable for mobile labs or for individual families for a 3-year lease that includes all upgrades, maintenance, hardware refresh, and 100 MB 3G access per month. ReadWriteWeb provided an interesting cost analysis of the Chromebook in education. Combine the use of the Chromebook hardware with all of the Google Apps, and the barriers to e-portfolios are coming down. I wonder if my next purchase is a Chromebook ($20x36 months = $720) or one of the Android tablets coming out this summer (for around $500)?

But there are other options for giving each student internet access 24/7, at school and home. In addition to 1:1 laptop programs, there are other mobile devices that are being used in schools. For example, Canby (OR) and Escondido (CA) School Districts provide iPod/iPod Touch devices and/or iPads for student learning.  More schools are starting to explore student owned devices; according to eSchool News, 'Bring Your Own Device' is Catching on in schools.

Ed-tech access is an issue, but students' personal devices are an attractive option to a growing number of districts.

I am doing e-portfolio research this year on the variety of student-owned-or-loaned mobile devices that increase access to creative tools and the web, both from home and school. In addition to "capturing the moment" in image, video, audio and text formats, creating a digital story can be a powerful way to add reflection to a portfolio. The tools are becoming very creative and inexpensive on an iOS device (per my own experience last Christmas break with my iPod Touch); last weekend, the Center of Digital Storytelling sponsored the Blink Mobile Media Challenge:

The idea is to choose a moment to capture images/events, and then write and record a narration, and edit the movie on your mobile device.

Editing Google Apps from iOS devices is still not as easy as with Google's own ChromeOS, but there are many apps that can be used to support various components of e-portfolio development. I will be exploring specific iOS apps for supporting certain aspects of e-portfolio development at a preconference workshop at this summer's ISTE Conference. Maybe by the end of June, there will be more information about  emerging Google Chrome and Android devices.

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Tweets from @dorothyjburt in NZ:
- We are trialling 6 - without the Telco plan - using our own wifi. Lotsa fun
- Weekend story from an @ptengland 6yr old "In the weekend I went to the park and played on the Firefox" Thx SallyV for sharing :)

Generic Tools Requirement for E-Portfolio Development

What are the best tools for e-portfolio development? My answer is always, "It depends!" But I have some requirements. Here is my recent response to a university about the generic tools I think are needed to address the portfolio development process:

• online space for students to store their work that is either initially owned by the student, accessible after graduation or can be easily transferred to a student-owned space any time (individual documents must be accessible by URL) - Digital Archive
• online reflective journal (blog) where students can keep a contemporaneous learning record, with the ability to contribute evidence in audio, video, images and text from mobile devices or computers (individual blog entries need to be "tagged" or assigned classifications for ease of retrieval) - Electronic Documentation of Learning
• an online system to aggregate and present evidence (artifacts and rationale) of achieving "gen-ed" student outcomes plus requirements of specific majors - Showcase/Presentation Portfolio
• a data management system to collect and aggregate faculty evaluation data of students' summative portfolios - Assessment Management System

I also have other requirements: whatever tools are used should allow students' "Choice and Voice" in portfolio development with an emphasis on expression rather than structure. I prefer systems that students can maintain for a lifetime (either by adopting an open Web 2.0 system, or initial learner ownership of their own online personal web space).

The issue of ownership is critical. Of the four items above, only the last one needs to belong to the higher education institution. If we are committed to student lifelong learning, e-portfolio development strategies can be powerful tools for self-directed learning, self-knowledge and self-management, but only if we introduce the process appropriately, and support student ownership, both technically and psychologically. I guess that is why many students are engaged in their social networks,  where the technological activities are similar to e-portfolio development, but are not the purpose or motivation. Learner-centered web-based tools exist to support the portfolio process... and many undergraduates are tech-savvy, at least in social networking skills. How can institutions build on these skills and intrinsic motivation as e-portfolios are implemented?

In the short time I was at Hostos Community College in New York City, after my presentation to faculty, I met with a small group of students. Rather than doing a formal presentation about e-portfolios, I led an informal discussion about their current uses of technology, the differences between social networking and e-portfolio development, and the potential for building an online digital identity that they could use to explore their passions and create their preferred futures. When I left, a lot of the students were intrigued and excited. If we want student engagement, I believe e-portfolios should be stories of deep learning, not checklists of competencies.

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My older blog entries about selecting e-portfolio tools:
2010: Another question about "best" portfolio tools in higher ed
2010: Which Portfolio Tool?
2009: Motivation and Selecting an ePortfolio System

Presentations in Bothell & New York

Last week, I make a presentation at the first University of Washington Bothell Teaching/Learning Symposium. Presentation in Slideshare: UW Bothell Apr2011 - Slidecast version in Vimeo.

That afternoon, I flew to New York City, and the next day I made a presentation at Hostos Community College, for their EdTech 2011 Showcase. After the presentation, I had a great informal meeting with students, a more formal discussion with faculty, and a meeting with administrators, all about their implementation of ePortfolios. It was a very stimulating day! Presentation in Slideshare: Hostos Apr11

Online Courses under Development

I am working on the following course outlines to be available in the Fall Quarter 2011:

1. Overview of Student-Centered Electronic Portfolios  (generic, no specific tools, an overview of the different purposes/tools, with an emphasis on collection, reflection, and direction/goal-setting) - 1 credit - 3 weeks with six lessons or 6 weeks with six lessons (20 hours) - 3-week version of course offered twice a quarter
2. Implementing Electronic Portfolios in K-12 Education with Google Apps (Docs, Sites, Blogger, YouTube, Picasa, Digication, Teacher Dashboard) - 3 credits - 10 weeks, 20 lessons (60 hours) Prerequisite: Overview class
3. Classroom-Based Research on Implementing Electronic Portfolios in K-12 Education - 1-3 variable credit - 10 weeks (may be repeated twice?) (20-60 hours) Prerequisite: Implementing class - This class is meant to support teachers the rest of the school year.
4. Adding Voice to E-Portfolios with Digital Narratives - 1 credit - 3 weeks, six lessons or 6 weeks, six lessons (20 hours) (with a focus on reflection in e-portfolios through multimedia)

I want to pilot the Overview course (#1) before the ISTE conference in June, and offer it officially by September 1. At the same time, I want to get started on designing the Implementation class (#2). I will work on the other two in the fall. As of tonight, 100 people have filled out my online form indicating interest in the course... in 8 days. I guess there is some interest!

Evolution of Electronic Portfolios

I was recently asked for information on the evolution of electronic  portfolios. My response:
There are several levels that could be addressed: the context, the technology and the pedagogy. In the 90s, much of the development and implementation of e-portfolios was in K-12 schools. That stopped in 2001 (thanks to NCLB?), and the emphasis was in higher education. I am hoping to bring e-portfolios back to K-12 through an online community of practice. In Europe, there is an emphasis on health care, workplace and community portfolios, documented at EIFEL's conferences since 2003. With the emergence of social networking, which one could argue involves portfolio-like activities, the electronic portfolio has become more personal and universal.

The technology began on desktop computers in the early 90s, published on CD-Recordable discs in the late 90s, on the Web with customized systems (or web authoring tools) in early 2000s, Web 2.0 in the late 2000s, and now mobile devices combined with Web 2.0.

The pedagogy began as formative assessment in the 90s, summative assessment in higher ed in the 2000s, and individual learning/digital identity development in 2010s (at least that is what I am focusing on). The current wisdom (thanks to Julie Hughes) is for e-portfolios to be more of a conversation than a presentation.

The evolution depends on which lens you are using to view electronic portfolios. Anyone write up a more formal history of this evolution?

Google Apps announcement

I just received this message from one of my GoogleApps domains:

Google Apps accounts are undergoing an improvement, allowing you to give users access to over 60 additional applications from Google. We encourage you to transition your organization’s accounts on your own schedule now.

There are several advantages to transitioning on your own schedule:
Make the change on your own timeline
Have time to try the new infrastructure with a subset of your accounts first
Use automated mailing lists and email templates to pre-notify your users
Get access to over 60 additional applications from Google right away

Finally! I am excited to try out the new improvements. It's been a year since they announced these changes were coming. "This change will let users access many new services such as Blogger, Reader, Google Voice and calling-in-Gmail (US only), Picasa Web Albums, AdWords and iGoogle from their Google Apps accounts."

A Worldwide E-Portfolios-in-K-12 Community of Practice?

I am working on a plan to develop a worldwide community of practice to support the design and implementation of electronic portfolio processes in K-12 schools. The primary audience for this Community of Practice (COP) will be K-12 teachers and Technology Coordinators, providing the following professional development through online course content. The initial courses would focus on  GoogleApps/Digication/Teacher Dashboard and a few other Web 2.0-based tools and mobile devices. The COP will be formally announced at ISTE 2011 and the first online course will begin in August 2011. Here is a preliminary outline of the activities that could be supported by this Community of Practice.

• Clarify a Vision for implementing electronic portfolios with students in your classroom
• Using GoogleApps for Education domain with support from local school or district ITS
• Identify different tools available to implement electronic portfolios for both teachers and students
• Support a pilot study with students to test out the different free electronic portfolio tools, based on Internet connectivity (Digication, Google Sites, etc.) and mobile devices or 1-1 laptops
• Provide professional development in electronic portfolio development knowledge and skills, using either face-to-face or online strategies, to be able to:

• Capture & store evidence in a variety of multimedia formats and Web 2.0/mobile tools
• Reflect on Learning - “reflection = the heart and soul of a portfolio”
• Give & receive feedback as part of formative Assessment FOR Learning
• Plan & set goals as a lifelong learning strategy
• Collaborate using Web 2.0 tools
• Present showcase portfolio to an audience
• Evaluate portfolios used for summative Assessment OF Learning

• Share strategies for using reflection to support student learning, both “capturing the moment” during the learning process and retrospectively as a culminating activity
• Develop a long range plan for implementing electronic portfolios in classroom/school/district
• Determine success criteria for electronic portfolio implementation
• Support classroom-based research on the implementation of electronic portfolios in K-12 classrooms through community of practice and guidance on gathering data, publishing results
• Provide a Certificate of Excellence in E-Portfolio Practice to teachers upon publication of classroom-based research after two years of implementation
• Graduate-level credit available at an additional fee. Professional Development Clock Hours also available with nominal assessment fee (based on individual district/state requirements).

These are the initial ideas. This COP could provide a great opportunity for collaboration among graduate students who want to study K-12 Electronic Portfolio Development for a Masters or Doctoral degree through their selected graduate programs. I have served as an external examiner on multiple dissertations and theses that are focused on electronic portfolios, with another one planned for July in the U.K.

There would be three levels of support in this Community of Practice:

• Self-paced: a website with course content and readings, which will be free, but no communication with instructor or other participants
• Collaborative: a collaborative space for dialogue and feedback throughout the year, which will require a one-time membership fee
• Credit: participants in the collaborative space may earn university credit for full participation in the courses, for an additional credit fee (I am working on finding the right university to offer graduate credit for these online courses)

I posted a form online to collect indications of interest, and have received more than 70 responses in five days, although some of the respondents are from higher education. I plan to keep the form up until the ISTE Conference in June.  In a later post, I will elaborate on the online courses that will be offered and a tentative schedule. Feedback is welcome.

Online Course in 2011-12 School Year for K-12 schools

I am thinking of offering an online class on E-Portfolios in K-12 Schools throughout the next school year. It would provide an opportunity to guide schools through a year-long process of implementation with GoogleApps/Digication/Teacher Dashboard and maybe also with mobile devices. The plan is to primarily use a private Google Group and Google Site to facilitate the course, with live events available through Skype, Elluminate, or Adobe Connect. I am gathering information now with a form:
http://electronicportfolios.org/web2class.html

The "Hook" at Pt. England School

I'm in New Zealand visiting Pt. England School in Auckland, where they are implementing Google Apps and Blogger and where they worked with hapara.com to develop a brand new Google add-on called Teacher Dashboard, a tool that provides a lot of support for a teacher managing a classroom full of student GoogleDocs accounts (and soon Google Sites and Blogger). On Tuesday night after school, I participated in a meeting of the school's "hackers": a group from the larger Auckland community who have gathered together (over food and beer) almost weekly over the last 18 months to support a systemic approach to implementing technology in the school cluster: http://www.manaiakalani.org/

This group began when the principal, Russell Burt, sent out an email: "Hackers wanted!" They have been working through all of the issues of implementation. On Tuesday night, they reworked their Design Principles: http://www.manaiakalani.org/home/design-guidelines. I was impressed with their vision for the project, and the "open source" nature of their development. This group of creative people came together to solve a problem...to take on a challenge, and the results are stunning!

There are plans to share the school's wifi throughout the entire school community, mostly on light poles (keep in mind, this is one of the poorest neighborhoods in Auckland, where there are few computers and little or no Internet access in homes). Observing the systemic approach as well as the implementation of netbooks for students beginning in Year 5 (9-10 year-olds) is also impressive; their parents will be paying NZ$15 a month for these netbooks which eventually will be going home with the students. The program plans to support these netbooks for only three years... they realize that the technology will be changing a lot, and the devices will need to be replaced!

I am observing classrooms where students are blogging using Blogger on a regular basis (http://www.ptengland.school.nz/index.php?family=1,451), even the Year 1 students (5 years old) have blog entries dictated to teachers in a class blog: http://pesyear1.blogspot.com/ (the students were so pleased when we commented on their posts).

If there is one thing I have learned in this school is that if you want the impressive gains that they have made in the poorest schools in Auckland (see their research report linked below), you need visionary leadership, a group of teachers that is willing to take on the challenges, but who are also well-supported with PD and equipment, and a "can-do" attitude. Every teacher has a Macbook and a netbook; in addition to the student netbooks, every classroom has at least five iMacs (of various vintages...I even saw some 10-year-old "jelly bean" iMacs in Year 1 classrooms). As you can see, this school cluster is a great example of what can be done with imagination, some extra funding, and leadership (can't emphasize it enough)! Thanks to fellow ADE Dorothy Burt and everyone at Pt. England School for making us feel so welcome!

Here is a link to their research reports: http://www.manaiakalani.org/research-1/2008---2010-report

Summary: The Project definitely provided a motivation for writing, an improvement in audience awareness and purpose and in presentation skills. Other school interventions also had an impact on literacy achievement; however the Project has provided a purpose and enthusiasm for literacy.
The students of Manaiakalani were provided with a “hook” (e-learning outcomes published in on-line spaces) which gave these decile 1 students a voice to be heard globally. Subsequently, participating in the Manaiakalani Project enhanced their literacy, engagement, oral language and presentation.
With the advent of netbooks in 2011, schools are starting on a new and innovative initiative that, with careful planning and implementation and adequate support and funding, could be the key to 21st century education in New Zealand.

EdWeek Article on Technology & Testing

Several months ago, I was interviewed by a writer for EdWeek about the role of Technology in Assessment, and the potential for using e-portfolios. Her article was published in the Technology Counts 2011 publication, which can be downloaded as PDF. Here is what she said about e-portfolios:

Examining E-Portfolios
In the meantime, some teachers are using technology tools to create performance-based student assessments, such as e-portfolios.

Helen Barrett, a former professor at the college of education at the University of Alaska Anchorage, has spent the past 20 years researching strategies and technologies for e-portfolios. Such portfolios provide a collection of student work and require students to reflect on their work and progress.

"What we want to do is help learners not only be much more aware of their own skills and competencies as they relate to standards or a rubric, but also to be able to reflect and write on that," Barrett says. "An e-portfolio should be more of a conversation about learning than a one-way presentation about learning."

Having students take ownership of their portfolios is essential to maximizing the potential of the evaluation, says Barrett.

"We need to get students intrinsically motivated about developing the portfolios," she says. "It's not the kind of routine assignment where teachers tell them what to put into it and what to write."

E-portfolios provide students an opportunity to beef up their self-assessment skills and become more familiar with different types of technology, Barrett adds. Students can embed videos and images in their e-portfolios, and they can use blogs or podcasts to reflect on their work.

Mobile devices add another dimension to e-portfolios, allowing students to reflect "at the moment the learning takes place," Barrett says.

Embracing e-portfolios brings a level of authenticity to the assessment that students typically do not experience, says G. Alex Ambrose, an academic adviser at the University of Notre Dame and the founder of EdVibes, an ed-tech consulting firm.

Students can go on to use what they've gathered in e-portfolios to apply to college or use in a job interview, says Ambrose, making the portfolio meaningful beyond the school walls.

Most K-12 schools, however, have not used e-portfolios to evaluate student performance, he says, partly because of "the culture of the school from the administration to the parents. They're just not ready for the technology."

I met Alex last October when I made a presentation at a conference at Notre Dame. I disagree partly with his last statement; in my opinion, it is not just the technology that the school culture is not ready for (many students and their parents use the technologies I mentioned)... it is the portfolio pedagogy as well as the current emphasis on high-stakes testing for student (and teacher!) evaluation. I also have concerns about using e-portfolios for high-stakes evaluation... it would create an Opportunity Cost in the way we implement portfolios for accountability vs. portfolios for learning/improvement that I talked about at the 2009 Assessment Conference. I propose a balanced approach with student ownership of both the process and the product.

I talked to the author of this article again this week, where she is preparing another article just on e-portfolios.

Yola as free online portfolio tool

As part of the online course I am teaching for New England College, I am experimenting with free online web development tools. Yola is another one of the tools supported by Salt Lake City Community College. This is the 39th tool that I have used to re-create my electronic portfolio. The process moved fairly smoothly. The tool allowed me to reconstruct my portfolio in less than two hours, copying the information from my Weebly portfolio where I had the URLs on the page (and the links). All of my other artifacts are web links.

The real advantage of Yola is the many different tools, gadgets and widgets available: Flickr Gallery, Flickr Search, SmugMug Gallery, YouTube Video, File, MP3 Player as well as custom HTML and password-protected pages. A custom domain name can be purchased for $29.95 a year. The Pro (paid) version includes a custom domain name and other design features (for $99/year... a little pricey). I created a Table of Contents on the upper left side of the page (the Navigation, with links to each section on the site, which automatically shows on each page. I am impressed with this tool). I was able to create this hyperlinked set of web pages, with no knowledge of HTML.

This program would work well for a presentation portfolio, and Yola would work well if the goal is a learning portfolio, with interactivity and feedback through the blog. Each blog entry can have comments added (using a 3rd party program) and can have categories in addition to tags (like WordPress), and any page can be hidden in navigation menu.  The whole site can be password-protected. Of the two tools, I like the free version of Yola better. I don't know how the premium versions compare.

Weebly as free online portfolio tool

I will be teaching an online course for New England College on Portfolios in Professional Writing, and I revisited my Online Portfolio Adventure, recreating my portfolio in Weebly. This is one of the tools recommended and supported by Salt Lake Community College. Weebly is the 38th tool that I have used to re-create my electronic portfolio. The process moved fairly smoothly; I lost new pages several times, and there wasn't an obvious "save" button (the tool saves automatically). Weebly allowed me to reconstruct my portfolio in less than two hours, copying the information from my Google Sites portfolio where I had the URLs on the page (and the links). All of my other artifacts are web links. Placing images wherever I wanted on a page was more complex, compared to Google Sites.

The real advantage of Weebly is the many different tools, gadgets and widgets available: Photo Gallery, Slideshow, File, Flash, Google Maps and YouTube Video as well as custom HTML. The Pro (paid) version has an Audio Player, Video upload, embedded documents, and password-protected pages. I created a Table of Contents on the upper left side of the page (the Navigation, with links to each section on the site, which automatically shows on each page), although there were no sub-pages for site organization. I am impressed with this tool. I was able to create this hyperlinked set of web pages, with no knowledge of HTML, although it helped when I had to use Custom HTML to add Embed codes for videos from my YouTube, Blip.tv, and Google Video accounts.

This program would work very well for a presentation portfolio, and would also work well if the goal is a learning portfolio, with interactivity and feedback through the blog. Each blog entry can have comments added with moderation, and any page can be hidden in navigation menu for privacy purposes. Weebly has an Education version, where a teacher can manage a group of student accounts. The Premium account cost ($39.95) plus the cost of a domain name ($33.95/year for two years) makes it much more expensive than GoogleApps.

Through the process of recreating this portfolio, I also updated my Google Sites portfolio, which is really my favorite version to date. I think my 2006 Apple iWeb portfolio is the most attractive, but very difficult to update, so it is frozen in time, with lots of broken links!

NCCE Workshop and Presentation

Here are my slides for my hands-on workshop this morning (Creating ePortfolios using GoogleApps) and presentation this afternoon (GoogleApps ePortfolios) held in Portland at the Northwest Council for Computer Education (NCCE). I was disappointed that they scheduled my workshop during the same time as the keynote address by Dr. Yong Zhao, which took place during the latter part of my workshop time. I noticed that about half of the participants left my workshop after the break... I hope it wasn't a reflection on the workshop, but the last half was mostly hands-on time)! If I had not been leading the workshop, I probably would have left as well! I heard the keynote was very good.

NCCE workshop11

View more presentations from Helen Barrett

NCCE mar11

View more presentations from Helen Barrett

Selected tweets with #NCCE2011 hash tag:

• Creating another Google Site with Dr. Helen Barrett at the NCCE Conference 
• PORTFOLIO: ePortfolios with GoogleApps, http://sites.google.com/site/eportfolioapps/
• PORTFOLIO: GoogleDocs - Create a Document to describe our own portfolio
• PORTFOLIO: Level 1 Workspace: Collection of Artifacts in the Cloud
• PORTFOLIO: 3 steps in setting up an efolio: 1. Storage in GoogleDocs, 2. Reflect in Google Blogger, 3. Presentation GoogleSites
• 10 Ways Technology Supports 21st Century Learners in Being Self Directed, http://tinyurl.com/6dldns8
• PORTFOLIOS: GoogleApps for Education is awesome. It's free. Can take up to 6 weeks to get it set up, though
• PORTFOLIOS: Great Article! Keeping it real. Ideas for Schools, Educators, and Students, http://tinyurl.com/68x95cc
• PORTFOLIO: Balancing the two faces of ePortfolios, http://electronicportfolios.org/balance/index.html <-- VERY COOL GRAPHIC :)
• PORTFOLIO is both process and product
• PORTFOLIOS: students need to reflect in multiple formats, not just print.
• Helen Barrett shared two stories: 1. Students burned upon graduation 2. Student offered a $50 reward for her lost portfolio Hmmm
• Power and Portfolios: Best Practices for High School Classrooms, http://tinyurl.com/4eyloe6 GREAT BOOK!
• The more structured the portfolio the less ownership students have
• ePortfolios help the learner find their voice
• ePortolios should be more about talking not telling. A CONVERSATION OR DIALOG!
• Helen Barrett at TED Talks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckcSegrwjkA
• Dr. Barrett... hyperlinking leads students to a deeper understanding 
• Using The Renzulli Learning System to Support Differentiated Instruction, http://tinyurl.com/4wjpfh4
• KNOW THYSELF this was carved at the temple at Delphi
• PORTFOLIO: Is it a structured assessment portfolio? a learning portfolio? etc. Decisions need to be made FIRST!
• Ask the question what the purpose of the portfolio. There are many purposes. Ask, 'who owns the portfolio?' Who keeps it?
• Portfolio 3.0: http://www.scribd.com/doc/34463843/ePortfolio-3-0
• ePortfolio in 21st Century: Introduction to e-Portfolios from JISC's Lis... http://slidesha.re/bvkzBz
• ePortfolio Definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_portfolio
• Is this the first Portfolio? Leonardo da Vinci: http://www.foliosociety.com/book/NOL/notebooks-leonardo-da-vinci
• Portfolio: One Word, Many Meanings - definition depends context
• Simon Sinek Profile: http://www.ted.com/speakers/simon_sinek.html
• Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action, http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html
• Helen Barrett quote: "Reflection is the heart and soul of ePortfolios not the technology"
• Another good eportfolio resource http://goo.gl/kxuu 
• Check out this SlideShare presentation : Aaeebl slc feb11 http://slidesha.re/hEUf8Z
• Oregon is the first state to adopt GoogleApps for all k-12 schools.
• Dr. Barrett is THE expert of portfolios - so lucky to have her presenting at #ncce2011
• Helen Barrett's slideshow: http://www.slideshare.net/eportfolios
• Morning Session: HA73 - Create ePortfolios using Google Apps, http://tinyurl.com/4p6svuo

I am impressed with some tweeters who add value to my presentation, adding additional links and information! Thanks!

Keynote at AAEEBL Western Regional Conference

AAEEBL SLC Feb11

View more presentations from Helen Barrett

Here are the slides for my presentation on Monday, February 28, at the AAEEBL Western Regional Conference, held at Westminster College in Salt Lake City. I really liked their theme: A Life of Learning: EPortfolios for Education and Beyond. Of course, I captured some of the #11waaeebl tweets (these are less than half of the tweets... a prolific group of tweeters!):

• #eportfolios How can we use the tools students have in their pockets to capture the moment? - Helen Barrett
• Barrett capture and storing evidence: mobile phones to capture
• Barrett Balancing two faces diagram is here: http://bit.ly/hZYuo4
• Barrett video on mobile technology http://youtu.be/6mCkbrYKQyI
• Barrett suggests Pink's "Drive" to identify intrinsic motivations for reflective learning in ePortfolios. http://is.gd/XBMux3
• Barrett advantage of mobile is ability to capture the moment with technology-blog, mobile phone, etc.
• Barrett create environment that allows people to find their voice, explore their purpose through choice
• Barrett Pink's studies on intrinsic motivation choice and voice makes difference on dev. his website: http://bit.ly/R5gzD
• Barrett-eportfolios should be less about talking; should be more about conversation rather than presentation
• Digital Dossier project [video] illustrates centrality to our identity. http://is.gd/0jURHD
• Barrett "we don't learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience." quote of Dewey
• #eportfolios -- Helen Barrett says that it is reflection that makes all the difference -- A dialog about learning is key!
• portfolios are tied closely to the ideas of Kolb's experiential learning model (expanded by other theorists).
• Barrett referred to JISC model http://bit.ly/BJYKz
• Barrett social networking is a significant part of upcoming generations' lives
• #eportfolios Listening to Helen Barrett talk about "Is there a portfolio in your pocket?" Great conference!
• Barrett Social networking: connect (friending), listen (reading), respond, commenting) share (linking)
• digital dossier video http://www.teach42.com/2009/02/19/your-digital-dossier/ (here it is with comments from @teach42)
• Digital Dossier -for more go to harvard center that compiles a lot of information http://bit.ly/gdsE9f
• RT @idaj: Barrett's reference to 5 reasons your online life has replaced your resume is at http://bit.ly/gQq3Gh
• Digital Dossier: photos of kids which are uploaded to flickr, FB, email, multimedia messages, with info
• Barrett noted that there's a high school in Canada ? who are developing their Digital Dossier
• Barrett says a signficant number of toddlers already have a presence on the internet--wow!
• Barret's reference to 5 reasons article-the article is at http://bit.ly/gQq3Gh
• Barrett article from Forbes: 5 reasons why your online presence will replace your resume in 10 years
• Barrett quotes drucker: success in knowledge economy comes to those who know themselves-"
• Barrett: in sum, eportfolios as a way for all to get better sense of who they are
• Slides for Helen Barrett's keynote, "Is the future of ePortfolios in your pocket"? http://is.gd/DSYarL
• Barrett-summarizing b. Cambridge ePortf: support deep learning, reflection development, integrative, self directive and lifelong
• 4 pilars-- portfolio as mirror (self-awareness) portfolio as map (self-direction), meta cognition, and self-monitoring.
• Barrett self-monitoring-responsibility to construct meaning; be reflective and think critically, reflective journals in eport.
• #11waaeebl Barrett- meta learning-awareness of learning and different approach, deep vs. surface learning; help learners recognize success
• Barrett-self-management as goal of eportfolio provide a map, e.g. set goals for future learning
• Barrett self-awareness focuses on understanding prior knowledge; eportfolio can be a mirror
• portfolios can provide a sense of ownership, but also support reflection for lifelong learning
• Barrett discussed diagram of lifelong learning with 4 pillars, self awareness, self monitoring, self management, meta learning
• Barrett because ownership engenders feelings of pride & sense of accomplishment
• Barrett-purpose for portfolios: overarching purpose is to create a sense of personal ownership over one's accomplishments...
• Barrett-eportfolio support many diff processes; celebrate learning, personal planning, transition to courses, emplym, assessment
• Barrett social networking (e.g.FB & Twitter), used to collaborate, facilitate employment, etc.
• Barrett ePortfolios have been used almost 2 decades now for variety of purposes
• Barrett: portfolio: concept, philosophy, process, etc. DiVinci was one of the first keepers of a portfolio
• Barrett said the DaVinci was the first keep of the portfolio historically
• Barrett- when we use the word portfolio, be sure to use an adjective in front, e.g. learning portfolio
• Barrett prtfolio has differnet meanings-some as concept, philosophy, process, pedagogy, product, tool
• Barrett today's theme, among other things, is mobile technology and some social networks

I was impressed with the breakout sessions that I attended during the day. I found out that Salt Lake Community College provided support for students to create their portfolios in one of three different online tools: weebly.com, wordpress.com, yola.com.  They created tutorials for students in each of the sites: Weebly, WordPress, Yola. Very impressive! I also heard from University of Washington Bothell Campus who are using Google Sites.

In a panel on Transitions from K-12 to Higher Education:Eportfolios and Admissions, one of the college admissions director mentioned that an electronic portfolio could show that a student could perform the 3 C's: Create, Collaborate, Communicate.

In the panel on Transitions from Higher Education to Work: Eportfolios and Employment, there are employers present who had interesting comments about using eportfolios in job applications and hiring:

• the differences between academic portfolios and showcase/career portfolios... and differences between disciplines; 
• the importance of professional/career portfolios; 
• involve career services in convincing students of the value of building a portfolio; 
• helping students learn how to present themselves; 
• helping students make the connection between academics and careers; 
• smart kids bringing iPads into interviews to showcase specific achievements!

This was a very interactive conference (especially the panels and table discussions on the second day). Westminster College did a great job of putting together this conference.

Passion, Self-Directed Learning and Total Talent Portfolios

10 Ways Technology Supports 21st Century Learners in Being Self Directed by Lisa Nielsen
New York educator and super-blogger Lisa Nielsen posted a very interesting blog post on the Technology & Learning Advisor Blog. As Lisa introduced her post, "Life in the 21st century provides a whole-new world of opportunities for self-directed, passion-driven, personalized learning." Here is a summary of her ten points. (I provided the details on one of the items, for obvious reasons!)

1. Personal Learning Networks
2. Tweet to Connect with Experts
3. Skype an Expert
4. Free Online Educational Resources
5. Online Learning
6. Authentic Publishing
7. Use YouTube and iTunes to Learn Anything
8. Passion (or talent) Profiles
9. Develop Authentic Learning Portfolios When done write [sp] ePortfolios can be a powerful tool that not only helps remind students of all their accomplishments, but it also enables them to share these with the world.  In the 21st century, creating an ePortfolio is free and easy.  Student simply select a container (blog, wiki, website, Google site), decide how they’d like to organize it, and then post their work.  I strongly advise against using any paid for portfolio site.  It is important that students have ownership of their own work and that it can travel with them wherever they are.  When it comes to ePortfolios, Helen Barrett is the go-to person.  To learn more, visit her blog http://blog.helenbarrett.org where she shares fantastic ideas.  
10. Empower Students to Assess and Learn Themselves 

I also loved her earlier blog post: Preparing Students for Success by Helping Them Discover and Develop Their Passions where she says:

The Total Talent Portfolio focuses on student strengths and "high-end learning" behaviors. Although the teacher serves as a guide in the portfolio review process, the ultimate goal of the Total Talent Portfolio is to create autonomy in students by turning control for the management of the portfolio over to them. Students visit their portfolios often updating the selection of items to be included, maintaining and regularly updating the portfolio, and setting personal goals by making decisions about items that they would like to include in the portfolio. Teachers use the Total Talent Portfolio as a means to differentiate instruction and effectively group students. The students love having a Total Talent Portfolio because they know it’s their personal roadmap to making their dreams come true, whatever they are.

The students use their Total Talent Portfolios to help them pursue engaging activities in areas of deep personal interest. When discovering and exploring passions is the objective few teachers find their student have short attention spans. In fact quite the opposite. These students know what it’s like to be in a flow (the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity.) and how to do so for real purposes.

Dr. Renzulli's article, linked from this blog post, clearly articulates "A Plan for Identifying and Developing Gifts and Talents." I love it! THAT's what a learning portfolio should be all about!

ITSC Conference Reflections

I spent three days in Portland at the ITSC 2011 Conference. They built an app, which linked to a mobile-friendly website. I don't normally go to a conference where I am not presenting, but I was fascinated by the program. I enjoyed the following sessions/workshops:

• Canby SDs iPod touch & iPad 1:1 Classroom Implementations - I plan to visit this district, where every 3rd grader in the district gets an iPod Touch. They have shown some dramatic increases in literacy and math scores of students in classrooms using these tools. Notable links: Main wiki on iPod use, Using iTunes as a Digital Portfolio. I was especially impressed with the story Joe Morelock told about how students post goals for the week with Corkulous - a cork board app ($4.99). A student creates a collection of cork boards, building small portfolio on device. Students set weekly goals in one color, show accomplishments in another color.
• Rethink, Relearn: What it means to think, learn and design curriculum with Dr. Roger Schank. I attended this conference because he was one of the keynote speakers and I have his book, Tell me a Story. I enjoyed the opportunity to work with Jackie Gerstein and another educator from Oregon, where we explored a lot of ideas around how students can find their purpose and passions. We entitled our GoogleDoc, "Everyone has a story" and we compiled a lot of resources on daily reflection, goal setting and how do we help students find their “spark?” A spark is something that gives your life meaning and purpose. It's an interest, a passion, or a gift. What do you bring to the world that is good, beautiful, and useful?  It was a very exciting morning.
• This looks interesting with Alec Couros and Dean Shareski - Lots of new apps and websites: Tagxedo.com, Instapaper, safeshare.tv, fur.ly, ujam.com, pen.io, min.us/
• Beyond Search with Lucy Gray - Learned lots of new ways to search Google. I especially liked www.sweetsearch.com which is powered by Yolink. Google Search Lessons,  Lucy's slides in Slideshare
• Mobile Learning in Your School with Ira David Socol (he helped his son create todaysmeet.com)- This was a good opportunity to learn from other educators about why and how to use mobile phones in education: let students choose their own device (SODs -- Student-Owned Devices). Start with calendar, use mobile organization of the day. I learned how to email reminders from Google Calendar. Other links we explored: polleverywhere.com, www.mobilestudy.org. We explored Dragon & Vlingo (voice to text) which doesn't work well with children's voices. He talked about MITS Freedom Stick (4 GB flash-based Freedom Drive-- some use MP3 player) which contains mobile versions of Windows open source software. Build mobile websites: site.mobi/, ubik.com/. Use mobile devices to make sense of things - map where you are, upload to Flickr - Flickr on your Mobile (How to Access Flickr Through Your Cell Phone) Read more: How to Access Flickr Through Your Cell Phone | eHow.com
  It is all about power for unempowered people.
• Closing Keynote: Cognitive Processes that Underlie Learning with Roger Schank. I intend to get his book when it comes out next fall: Learning 2.0 from Teachers College Press. I took voluminous notes in Evernote. Some of the key ideas:
• We learn from experience - which experiences affect memory? (memory is dynamic)
• Case-based reasoning - how it relates to me
• Learning is the abandonment of old scripts
  change by experience - what makes experience memorable: emotional reactions, satisfaction goals, surprises, deep involvement in developing a solution, catastrophic failure.
• Education must be defined as guided practice (death of "you will need it later")
• Education must be about helping students achieve truly held long term goals [reinforcing the need for student goal-setting]
• Education should be designed in order to match student goals with societal needs - start with a well-defined goal (one that the student wants to achieve)
• Education must focus on the non-conscious mind. If you have a motivated learner, you can teach then anything.
• Education should enable the satisfaction of curiosity
• Many ideas on how to change teaching: art of teaching is art of assisted discovery
• John Adams' purpose of education: learn how to live and how to make a living... and it should be fun!
• Provide an education allowing students real choices. The real goal should be getting students to think for themselves.
• Curriculum should be organized around Cognitive Processes: modeling (constructing a model of the world), judgment, prediction, causation, diagnosis, evaluation, experimentation, negotiation, describing, influencing, teamwork, planning.
He make me think deeply, and reinforced my passion for storytelling in learning. The research-based concepts he raised would revolutionize education, if he could get leaders to listen to his ideas. His Story-Centered Curriculum article provides a glimpse of what is possible; also his White Paper (PDF). His keynote was a great ending to the conference.

I am really glad I came to this conference. There were a lot of sessions on GoogleApps that I did not attend, and I had to make a lot of choice about which sessions I should attend, but I think I chose what I needed at this time. I have new ideas to integrate into my upcoming presentations next week. I also took the opportunity to visit a teacher in Portland, who is doing exciting work using Evernote for student portfolios in grades 3-5, but I will save that reflection for a future post, especially if I decide to go back to Oregon to visit Canby School District classes.

Watson and IBM’s Deep Question Answering (QA)

Earlier last week, we watched IBM's Watson super computer beat two human contestants at Jeopardy. I actually think Watson won because it was faster at pushing the buzzer. Albeit, the performance was an impressive display of IBM’s Deep Question Answering (QA). On Thursday, IBM announced a partnership to apply this technology to medicine. The partner, Nuance Communications, Inc., also developed Dragon Dictation for iOS devices, and voice recognition for other mobile phones. Imagine "Watson-to-go" on a smart phone: speak the symptoms along with text-based data, and have Watson produce a diagnosis. As explained:

Watson's ability to analyze the meaning and context of human language, and quickly process information to find precise answers can assist decision makers, such as physicians and nurses, unlock important knowledge and facts buried within huge volumes of information, and offer answers they may not have considered to help validate their own ideas or hypotheses.

How could this technology be applied in education? Could we feed in the URL to a student's rich e-portfolio, along with the criteria we would like to assess, and could Watson give us feedback around a variety of criteria? Or would we want this capability? Would it help teachers pinpoint areas for development in written language? What about analysis of some of the 21st Century Skills, especially Inventive Thinking—Intellectual Capital: Adaptability/Managing Complexity and Self-Direction; Curiosity, Creativity and Risk-taking; Higher Order Thinking and Sound Reasoning. Is this the type of complexity that the QA technology could be designed to analyze? Or is this assessment and analysis task too difficult, even for Watson? Perhaps with the Gates Foundation's emphasis on Learning Analytics, and the upcoming Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference, February 27-March 1, 2011 in Banff, Alberta, there will be some development in this area.

Learning analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimising learning and the environments in which it occurs.

Calgary Teachers Conference

Today I presented a keynote address and a follow-up workshop on teacher portfolios at the Calgary Teachers Conference. Here are some tweets from the participants:

• That's my mom! RT @geekteacher Barrett is brilliant! @eportfolios #CCTCA #CCTCA2011
• @eportfolios Thanks for two great sessions, and our chat over lunch! I hope we stay in touch! Safe Travels! -Monti
• "I stopped following RSS feeds, and began following people!" @eportfolios (Dr.Barrett) re: #twitter #CCTC2011
• @CCTCA2011: It's a shame @marcprensky and @eportfolios were running at the same time! Don't make us choose!! :) #CCTC2011
• RT @geekteacher: I'm shocked & disappointed that so few people are attending @eportfolios keynote. #CCTC2011 / It's a small dedicated group!
• #CCTC2011 @eportfolios is presenting on different types of portfolios; showcase, mobile, presentation, expressive, blogging.
• Barrett is brilliant! @eportfolios #CCTCA #CCTCA2011
• What, so what, and now what - Q's to ask in the process of eP development. @eportfolios @CCTCA2011
• Key to learning from an ePorfolio is dialogue - need for collaboration @eportfolios @CCTCA2011
• eP's can help students explore life purpose & goals, personal & prof identity @eportfolios @CCTCA2011
• The power of a portfolio is personal! @eportfolios @CCTC
• Much to learn about how students approach their eP's - @helenbarret @eportfolios @CCTCA2011
• I'm shocked & disappointed that so few people are attending @eportfolios keynote. #CCTCA #CCTCA2011
• Looking forward to @eportfolios (Helen Barrett) keynote. #CCTCA #CCTCA2011

 It was interesting to look at the program and see the number of presentations for up to 11,000 teachers, although I'm not sure all of them were there. Reminds me of the in-services I used to do in Fairbanks in the 80s, putting on a conference for teachers who often don't get to attend big national conferences. Now I am spending an unexpected night near Calgary airport due to canceled flight home. Travel on this trip has been weird: a two hour flight, but I had to take my passport! It is also interesting to hear concerns about storing data on U.S. computers (something about Patriot Act???). I encouraged use of mobile tools and reflection, of course.

Based on feedback, I'd like to put together a resource to support scaffolding reflection in K-12 schools, especially elementary, focusing on past, present and future tense:

• Past: Looking back over a collection of work and find the themes/stories (retrospective)
• Present: Reflection in real time (capturing the moment, using a variety of tools to capture text, image, audio, video)
• Future: Goal-setting (from reviewing work, what are goals for future learning?)

I am suggesting that a group of teachers gather together virtually to brainstorm and share strategies for guiding student reflection; it was a question that came up at the end of my keynote. This process would be tool-neutral, although I am exploring how to use mobile devices to "capture the moment" or reflect in real time, which will be the focus on my ISTE workshop in Philadelphia in June.

NZ Guidelines for beginners

The Ministry of Education in New Zealand has just published its second edition of Digital Portfolios: Guidelines for beginners (PDF). This publication provides a basic overview of ePortfolios specifically for K-12 schools. In the first section of the publication, there are descriptions of the history, distinguishing features and advantages, and definitions/descriptions of a digital portfolio. It also outlines the possible contents of a portfolio, benefits and outcomes of an ePortfolio approach (with a specific discussion of reflection & blogging); Planning for success, Objectives, pedagogy, ownership & audience, important criteria; and Tools – what’s out there? The last section of the publication has responses to a questionnaire provided by 11 schools. For those K-12 schools interested in getting started with ePortfolios, this is a good resource.

The Portfolio Process in your Pocket

Here is the first draft of an article for a newsletter entitled, Is the Future of ePortfolios in Your Pocket? (It is the title of my upcoming keynote address at the Western AAEEBL Conference.) I would love some feedback on the paper, which was drawn from previous blog entries and my mPortfolios Google Site. I have been reading a lot of online articles about mobile computing in the last week. Here is a quote from Why Mobile is a Must from T.H.E. Journal:

Kids today are captivated by the personalization and socialization of online tools--the ability to build large networks of friends; share their thoughts, feelings, and goals; and communicate as they wish. Students have become so invested in mobile devices that our society has coined a new term for them--digital natives--to represent their having only known a world where all of this is possible. And not only is it possible, it's possible anytime and anywhere, via a plethora of devices and widely available cellular and WiFi networks.

The upshot is, these digital natives now have in their hands the tools to shape their own education in once unimagined ways. They have the ability to interact with other learners at their convenience, with differences in time and place presenting no hurdle. They can research, on the spot, any topic of interest. And they can capture the moment, whether it's in a picture, a video, or a blog entry.

Another article in T.H.E. Journal focuses on the national survey Speak Up 2009, Drill Down: Mobile Devices in Education, where they quote parents:

• Parents see the use of mobile technologies in schools as a means of increasing student engagement (43 percent) and preparing students for the working world (41 percent).
• The most often-cited instructional benefit is mobile devices' ability to extend learning beyond school hours.
• Only 12 percent see no significant educational benefit to mobile devices.

The Speak Up 2009 reports are available for download, and are interesting reading. I imagine the 2010 report, when it comes out, will have even more of an emphasis on mobile learning. The latest ISTE Publication, Learning & Leading with Technology, has several articles on mobile technologies in learning: "The Whole World in Their Hands" and "There's an App for This!" It seems like there is a convergence of thinking about mobile devices in education! In a week, I will be attending the ITSC conference in Portland, where I plan to attend some interesting sessions related to these issues (and the AAEEBL conference is the following week). Stay tuned!

Upcoming trip to New Zealand

My daughter and I are going to Auckland, with a side trip to Fiji on our way home over her Spring Break (it's a good way to use all of the air miles I earned last year!). We will actually be gone two weeks, but with travel time and the last four days in Fiji, we will only be in Auckland for nine days. We will be spending a week in the Pt. England School, to see how this primary school is integrating Google Apps, Blogger, ePortfolios and Teacher Dashboard into their program. We are going to guide some students and teachers through the digital storytelling process. I am finishing up my book, and need to spend more time in direct observation of a primary school. According to their technology director:

We are an Apple school with iMovie happening all over the place.  And are rolling out our very first 1:1 on Linux  Netbooks this week.  The idea being that they use their Netbooks for all their Google apps work and jump on the iMacs to create their movies, music etc.  Unfortunately our cohort do not have access to iAnything in their homes - welcome to NZs poorest community :) Highly creative though....

I hope to make a short visit to BBI to see how they are doing as well. I spent more than a week in that school last March. This year, they are integrating iPads into their intermediate school.

Democratic Revolution in Egypt

Over the last year, I have been communicating with a graduate student who is trying to study and implement electronic portfolios in Egypt. Although I have not heard from him over the last three weeks, I have been thinking about him while watching the cable news channels. Waking up to the jubilant celebration, I decided to send him the following email:

I have been watching the television reports of the revolution in Egypt and thinking of you. I just wanted to say how impressed I am with what I am watching. You must be so proud about what is happening in your country. I don't know how involved you have been, but I wish your country great success in building a democracy.

I am convinced that self-efficacy and self-directed learning are essential to democratic principles, and in a small way, electronic portfolios can be part of that process. Understanding oneself, and showcasing achievements are important to building self esteem. I see Egypt as a country that has suddenly discovered its national self-esteem, as shown through the video news reports. It is a good metaphor for what can be achieved by individuals with electronic portfolios!

Digital media was an important part of your national revolution; it can also be part of individual transformation.

I received the following response a few hours later. The English may not be perfect, probably due to imperfect translation software, but the feelings are obvious!

Thank you for your interest about me my dear Egypt
Taste that freedom has a taste very, very, very special in the same as any human being on the face of the earth ..........
I wish Mint always be my free in everything, as America ... Freedom in education .... Freedom in religion ... Freedom in the economy .... Freedom in everything .....
And I hope to be able to exploit the historical moment of spreading the culture of the use of technology in education, individual and through e-portfolio....
Thank you once again for your interest ....... and I ask you the freedom and all of the earth

NCCE Presentations

I will be presenting at the Northwest Council for Computers in Education (NCCE) in March 2011:

• 3-hour Workshop: Create ePortfolios using GoogleApps (March 3, 2011, 8:30-11:30 AM Oregon Convention Center)
  Oregon was the first state to adopt GoogleApps for all K-12 schools. These powerful tools are ready-made for creating and maintaining electronic portfolios by teachers and students. Learn how to create  artifacts using Google Docs and Picasa, a reflective learning portfolio using Blogger, and a showcase/assessment/presentation portfolio with Google Sites.
• 1-hour Presentation: GoogleApps ePortfolios (March 3, 2011, 2:15-3:15 PM)
  Oregon was the first state to adopt GoogleApps for all K-12 schools. These powerful tools are ready-made for teachers and students to maintain electronic portfolios. Get an overview of creating artifacts using Google Docs and Picasa, a reflective learning portfolio using Blogger, and a showcase/assessment/presentation portfolio with Google Sites.

Using SMS in the e-portfolio process?

I am following an EPortfolio Conversations Google Group, where a question was raised about collecting evidence of informal learning rather than formal education. One response: "Start with SMS [on mobile phones] - its the morse code of the present generation...and it works." Here is my response:

Being a Baby Boomer, and only learning about SMS from my kids and grandkids, I need to learn more about how we can use SMS in ePortfolio development. I am doing a workshop at ISTE in Philadelphia in June entitled, "Hands-on mPortfolio Development with iOS devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)." In all cases, there is a Web 2.0 website where we will post the artifacts and reflections "in real time".

Although smart phone ownership (Android, iOS) is growing, these tools are not widely owned by teenagers. Where does a student store SMS messages online? I know my teenage granddaughter updates her Facebook page with her "feature phone" but that is not an option for most schools. I am looking for the practical applications, because I am getting inquiries from educators in the developing world, where the plain old mobile phone is the tool students have available for Electronic Documentation of Learning? In my opinion, that is the first step in building an ePortfolio: collection of artifacts (in text, images, audio, video) and reflection on experiences/artifacts (in any of those same formats).

Maybe we could learn from what Google is doing in Egypt right now: providing local telephone numbers to call; the service simply delivers a link on Twitter so you can hear the actual voice message! In the U.S., Google Voice messages can be saved as MP3, and imperfectly translated into text. (I heard of one teacher who sits in his car--his quiet recording studio--and records his reflections as a voice message in Google Voice.) What else? I am looking for a blog-like tool that can be updated by a plain mobile phone. What Web 2.0 tools, besides Facebook, are accessible from SMS? After a little research, I found instructions for posting from SMS to Blogger and WordPress, but it looks like this service is only available within the USA. I suppose Posterous would work as well, if the message comes in as an email. You can also use SMS to post to Twitter.