"Electronic Porfolios...Bridging the Digital Divide" 20071 Electronic Portfolios in Teaching & Learning: Bridging the Digital Divide. The Association of

"Electronic Porfolios...Bridging the Digital Divide" 2007 1

Electronic Portfolios in Teaching & Learning: Bridging the Digital Divide.

The Association of American Colleges and Universities Conference,

2007


Overview:

Introduction and history of portfolios;

Types of portfolios;

Definitions of the digital divide & its impact;

Advantages of e-Portfolios in learners’ career development & job searches.


Back to the Future:

For more than a hundred years much complaint has been made of the

unmethodical way in which Universities are conducted, but it is only within the last thirty that any serious attempt has been

made to find remedies for this state of things.

And with what result?

Universities remain exactly as they were!


History -

Portfolio Use in Academe - post-WWII: growth in adult student population. 1960s-1970s: programs for adult students. 1970s: prior learning assessment by portfolio. Late 1980s: portfolios to assess current learning; limited

use in classroom. Late 1990s and 2000s: portfolios used in classrooms at

all levels. 2000s: electronic portfolios. (disc, CD, online)


Types of Portfolios: The Prior Learning Portfolio;

The Comprehensive Record Portfolio;

The Credential Portfolio;

The Developmental Portfolio;

The Capstone Portfolio;

The Learning Contract Portfolio.


Rationale for Portfolio Assessment: (adapted from the work of Morris Keeton)

Efficiency for the learner;

Effectiveness in teaching/leading;

Esteem building;

Employability.


The Digital Divide – a 21st Century Perspective: What is the Digital Divide?

Who (or what) is divided?

Why should we be concerned?

What is the impact?

Why should colleges & universities

be involved?


Traditional Portfolios:

Unfortunately, the portfolio approach, especially the petition variation, almost always is implemented in such a way that new written material is the primary type of evidence submitted for evaluation. We should not let that happen. But we have to work hard to avoid it. (Strange, 1997)


The Myth of Learner Competency – not simply a question of access: What skills do learners (& facilitatorss) need to function

effectively in a digital world? What is a useful definition of information literacy? How can colleges help learners acquire the skills they

need? How can we assess & monitor the effectiveness of our

programs?

(Oblinger & Hawkins, 2006)


Successfully Completed Internet Tasks: People in their 50s took more than twice as long to

complete a set of tasks as those in their 20s (19.1 minutes vs. 8.2 minutes)

Those with no college degree took almost half as long as those with a college diploma (10.4 minutes vs. 18.4 minutes)

Those who spent more time per week using the Internet performed better (less than one hour Internet use – 18.9 minutes vs. 12.7 minutes for those who used the web for seven hours or more)

(Hargittai, 2002)


Digital Divide, in the Traditional Sense, Still Exists ! Blacks still lag behind whites & Hispanics in going online,

but they are starting to access the Internet at slightly higher rates. The digital divide is still evident: Almost one-quarter of blacks (24%) now get news online at least weekly, compared to 33% of whites.

(Pew Research Center, 2002)


Second-Level Digital Divide: Technology is widely available – ipods, cell phones,

PDAs, wireless PCs, etc.

However, many college learners don’t know how to use the technology effectively.

Differences in skill levels

remain visible.


Electronic Portfolios:

Definition:The integration of information technology to develop, organize & communicate a multi-media presentation for documenting achievement of knowledge & skill competencies.


Benefits for Learners Developing e-Portfolios: Experience with the Internet & use of multimedia objects.

Ability to easily update.

Understanding of digital deception.

Storage.

Portfolios are easy to share &

publish on the web


Technology & the Global Economy: Thomas Friedman points out in The World is Flat that

new technology is not necessarily the answer, but only when new technologies are integrated with new ways of working does the full impact on productivity occur.


Multimedia Objects: Audio Files;

Video Clips;

Internet Web Page;

Graphics;

Hyperlinks;

Text.


Advantages: Flexibility;

Authentic Demonstrations;

Storage;

Communication;

Accessibility;

Multimedia.


Disadvantages:

Need a minimal level of technical Skills;

Equipment Needs;

Assessment Procedures;

Format Incompatibilities.


e-Portfolios: Career development. Many college students network through

MySpace or text messaging via cell phones.

Incorrect to assume all learners have the same proficiency in computer literacy or access to computers.

“Digital divide” is narrowing

regarding access to the hardware (computers)


e-Portfolios: Career development II - Colleges & universities are challenged to keep pace with:

the hardware; Software; computer literacy—both learners & facilitators; access to public computer labs; computer support & repair; integration of the technological

advances into the curriculum.


e-Portfolios: Career development III - Important to make decisions to pursue

funding— to allocate funding for these

components—hardware, software, support & training.

Those colleges & universities that provide learners with the technological tools & skills give them a strong start entering the workplace with necessary skills & proficiencies for employment.


e-Portfolios: Career development IV - In “Are They Really Ready to Work?”

A report by The Conference Board, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Corporate Voice for Working Families, & Society for Human Resource Management:

Stated that among skills critical for success in the 21st century workforce are: Written communication; Information Technology Application; Lifelong learning/Self-Direction; Professionalism.


e-Portfolios: Career development V - An area aided by technology is the development of

electronic portfolios (e-portfolios) by learners using the colleges’ resources.

By using the technology, learners are able to: compile video clips; present sample of class projects & documents; scan images of projects into the portfolio; Show examples of written work.

Through the e-portfolio learners demonstrate their skills & competencies to a prospective employer.


e-Portfolios: Career development VI - E-portfolios provide:

solid, demonstrable evidence of learners’ knowledge, skills & aptitudes to enter the workforce.

the documentation & evidence of educational outcomes helpful for learners’ prospective job searches.

flexibility to present any type of material.

http://www.kzoo.edu/pfolio/example/foley/


e-Portfolios: Career development VII - Through the e-portfolio, students use the hardware &

software they are comfortable with from the classroom settings to establish their place in the competitive network for jobs. Learners’ work over time is housed in one area. Can be added to & refined over the course of the

learners’ attendance at the college or university. By having access to the colleges’ technology, learners

do not have to have a computer at home for development of an e-portfolio.

Use of the colleges’ resources provides a narrowing of the digital divide for students.


e-Portfolios: Career development VIII - Facilitators & advisors can provide learners

with feedback for improvement of writing or of project development.

The best work of learners can be highlighted in the e-portfolio.

Learners can house their e-portfolios via a link on the colleges’ web sites—gives greater credibility to the submission of the learners’ work to future employers.


e-Portfolios: Career development IX - After degree completion, students can update their e-

portfolios regularly: through use of pubic access computers in libraries; return to the campus to use the resources of the

college or university; use free access computers at state employment

agencies. The students’ work is housed within the college’s

computer system and can be refined overtime by the alumni—from anywhere in the world that has public access computers.


What can be done in higher education to narrow the digital divide? generate publicity with testimonials of college graduates

who have used e-portfolios to obtain their jobs. inform business leaders that we are preparing learners

who are technologically competent for the workforce. encourage legislators & business leaders to visit the

campuses to see how the technology makes a difference in the education of learners


e-Portfolios: Career development X - In using the e-portfolio as one method to narrow the

digital divide, it is important to keep: state legislators; board members; business advisory members; foundation leaders; & faculty. informed about:

the importance of providing computer access for learners; updating software & hardware; providing computer support as factors to narrow the digital divide for

learners.


Types of Portfolios:(Dagavarian, 2006) The Prior Learning Portfolio: documentation that shows

evidence of experientially-acquired, prior learning that usually is assessed by faculty for the award of college credit; electronic version may include digitized evidence of knowledge & skills;

The Comprehensive Record Portfolio: the portfolio as a comprehensive academic record containing grade reports, narrative assessments by faculty, degree program plans, statements of prior learning and other items not necessarily generated by the student; electronic forms save space & paper;

The Credential Portfolio: a credential for employability, the documentation of the learner’s transferable skills plus an assessment of his/her competence in these skills; used to obtain a position of employment, advance in a career or change careers; as an accompaniment to a resume, a CD can enhance a job search;


Types of Portfolios II: The Developmental Portfolio: evidence of current learning in a

structured, educational setting; a collection of evidence of a developmental learning experience that shows progress and the acquisition of knowledge as a process; electronically, this can reinforce the learning experience itself, e.g., seeing images of the learner’s earlier work will show a progression from beginning to end to see more clearly how student performance in the subject matter improved;

The Capstone Portfolio: a collection of the learner’s best work; a representation of the learner’s strongest work over the duration of a course; electronically, can be a showcase containing artwork, performance, scientific demonstrations, etc.

The Learning Contract Portfolio: a learning contract, an elaboration of previously-learned knowledge upon which to build a syllabus for the proposed acquisition of new learning; similar to a proposal for independent study; usually contains anticipated learning outcomes, means of achieving these outcomes (the work the student is expected to do), the outcomes measures and the method(s) of evaluation; electronically, a work in progress.


Rationale for Portfolio Assessment:(adapted from the work of Morris Keeton) Efficiency for the learner: comprehensive portfolio prevents duplicating

study of what student already knows, saving time and effort. Effectiveness in teaching: individualized assessment clearly shows

faculty what student has learned; helps faculty select appropriate learning tasks and assign work for which the student is ready; avoids use of faculty time to go over what the learner already knows.

Allows each learner to thrive at his/her own best pace. Esteem building: formal recognition of rigorously assessed learning

boosts self-confidence & self-esteem; enhances learner’s commitment to learning & achieving other forms of educational success.

Employability: the use of portfolios in classroom can provide basis for portfolio of employment credentials in job seeking


Additional resources for your review

regarding e-portfolioshttp://electronicportfolios.com/ALI/samples.html

This site provides a comprehensive listing and linking to portfolios in higher education—higher ed. & professional examples—portfolios of

learners, faculty & teacher education. Also provides links to templates for development of e-Portfolios.

http://helenbarrett.com/portfolios.html#conf

This site has conference articles from Helen Barrett, a leader in the field of e-Portfolios in education.


Additional resources Helping Students of Color Bridge the Digital Divide

By Jonathan Gramling http://ita.wisc.edu/bridge.htm

The Myth about Student Competency By Diana G. Oblinger and Brian L. Hawkins

http://www.educause.edu/apps/er/erm06/erm0627.asp Second-Level Digital Divide: Differences in People’s Online

SkillsBy Eszter Hargittai

http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_4/hargittai/index.html Are They Really Ready to Work?

The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human

Resource Managementhttp://21stcenturyskills.org/documents/FINAL_REPORT_PDF9-29-

06.pdf


Additional resources

Father Guido Sarducci’s 5-Minute University mms://videosrv6.cs.washington.edu/general/5minuteU.wmv

The Digital Convergence: Extending the Portfolio ModelBy Gary Greenberg

http://www.educause.edu/apps/er/erm04/erm0441.asp Electronic Portfolios Need Standards to Thrive

By Paul Treuer and Jill D. Jensonhttp://www1.umn.edu/tel/img/assets/6063/TreuerArticle.pdf

The Power of the PortfolioBy Matt Villano

http://campustechnology.com/article.asp?id=19135

Documents

"Electronic Porfolios...Bridging the Digital Divide" 20071 Electronic Portfolios in Teaching & Learning: Bridging the Digital Divide. The Association of