Implementing an e-portfolio

Implementing an e-portfolio

Gregory Doyle

Faculty of Health Sciences, UCT

Goal of e-learning

“to support class based problem-based learning (PBL)

sessions, and enhance student engagement and

promote clinical reasoning” (Otago)

“to improved access to medical education, support faculty

in their teaching, expand the pool of faculty by

connecting to partner and/or community teaching sites

and sharing of digital resources for use by students.” (Human Resources for Health)

Background

• Communication Sciences and Disorders

• Exit Level Outcomes

• Currently

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Intended Outcomes

• Embed graduate attributes

• Accommodate the user’s developmental capacities

and needs across a lifetime

• Develop digital literacies

• Increase self-awareness, engagement in reflection

and monitoring their personal development

• Smooth migration to electronic format

Challenges

Combining differing artefacts:

- Forms

- Reflections

- Reports

Ensure that e-portfolios:

Lost / Secure / Portable / Reuse

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Affordances of emerging technologies

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Reflection

Monitor

Assessment

Affordances of emerging technologies

•Individual customization

•Improvements in knowledge and understanding

•Increased self-awareness and engagement in reflection

•Enable them to immediately record written reflections

•Retrieve and collate reflections for assessment

submission

•Gain access to peers’ work

•Receive feedback

Effective Practice

• Integration with the curriculum

• Flexibility of the system which should be easy and

efficient to use

• Sufficient technical and pedagogical support

• Adding multimodal material such as podcasts, videos

and images.

Risks

• Possible negative responses to the pedagogical

challenges due to the change

• Learning any new system takes time,

• Will the nature of their reflection will change because it

is computer based

• Access to electronic (including mobile) devices for all

students to enable them to access their portfolios

• Privacy and security in terms of who has access to

what information – also Google own data!

• Backup of portfolios

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Advantages of using e-portfolios:

Process •It is valuable exercise in self-assessment through the reflection

process

•Learning takes on a new depth through the reflection process

•Students’ self-esteem and self-confidence will be enhanced as they

take control of their learning.

•Students develop their own goals for their learning.

•Assessment of their learning may become more student-centred; the

student is involved and authorized to make decisions about will be

evaluated.

•They will receive more recognition for individual learning abilities and

preferences.

•They will learn and begin to practice a process that will be used in life

long and life wide learning pursuits.

Advantages of using e-portfolios:

Product •They will have a tool for personal development.

•They will have a personal learning record.

•They may receive credit for informal and non-formal learning as well as formal

learning.

•They will have direction for career planning.

•They will have a tool for feedback from teachers and peers; feedback in the

form of comments, as opposed to marks.

•They will have a concrete way of showcasing strengths to teachers or future

employers.

•They may have needed documentation for prior learning assessment or

program credits.

•They may receive credit towards a course completion or towards graduation

•They will have an extremely portable tool to use no matter where they are in

the world.

Tool – Google Sites http://sites.google.com/a/healthedu.uct.ac.za

•Google Sites vs Mahara vs Wix

•Cloud based system

•Easily supported locally with online support

•Easily integrate other Google tools - blogs, docs,

spreadsheet and forms

•Google Apps for Education (GA4E) https://sites.google.com/site/colettecassinelli/proscons

•Templates available – set up “walk throughs”

•Continual development of utilities – Digication http://www.digication.com/google

Useful sites

• https://sites.google.com/site/eportfolioapps/online-

tutorials-sites

• http://surfingdream.com/video-tutorials/google-sites-

for-eportfolio/google-sites-for-eportfolio.html

• https://sites.google.com/site/resourcecentereportfolio/h

ow-to-use-google-sites

• https://sites.google.com/site/eportfolioapps/online-

tutorials-sites/sites-how-to

Way forward

• “Install” GA4E

• Set up 2 pilots, 3rd and 4th quarters 2013

• Faculty workshop

• Extend Google Sites in 2014

• Pilot Mahara in 2014

Evaluation

“The evaluation of e-learning should include a peer-

review process and an assessment of outcomes such

as learner satisfaction, content usability, and

demonstration of learning” (Otago)