strategies for implementing eportfolios in higher education

Danube University Krems (DUK)Department for Interactive Media and Educational Technology (IMB)

The slides are licensed under a Creative Commons-license

Strategies for Implementing ePortfolios in Higher Education

Danube University Krems (DUK)Department for Interactive Media und Educational Technology (IMB)

Webinar March 2014 Peter Baumgartner 2

Outline

Starting Point: What? – The Research Question Motivation and Considerations

Results: Taxonomy, Software Evaluation &

Implementation Strategies

Methodology: How? – Theory and ProceduresConstructivism: Why a Taxonomy?


“There is Nothing So Practical as a Good

Theory”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Lewin

Kurt Lewin (1890-1947)German-American Psychologist

Pioneer of Social Psychology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Lewin



Recommendations and Guidelines for Implementing ePortfolios in Higher Education: 5 work packages(1) Development of a Taxonomy for ePortfolios

(2) Description and Analysis of an implementing Framework

(3) Description of the necessary Functionality of Software packages

(4) ePortfolios for Competency based education

(5) Education Policy and Criteria for Recognition and Acknowledgement

Peter Baumgartner, Klaus Himpsl, and Sabine Zauchner

A DUK-report under the contract of the

Austrian Federal Ministry of Science & Research(January 2007 – December 2008)

ePortfolios for Higher Education



Aftermath publications

2010 2011 2012



Public under http://www.e-portfolios.orgBase: Personal Homepage Tool Weebly

after (free) registration atwww.mahara.at

Examples of ePortfolios



• Curriculum vitae

• Certificates & Diploma

• Results of (formal and informal) Assessments

• Content of Courses and Participation of Continuing Education

• References, Recommendation, Evaluations

• Job Descriptions, Job Specifications

• Examples, „Show Cases“ (Photos, Documents, Links etc.)

• Reflections, Feedback

• Development Plans & Strategies for filling in educational gaps

Content of ePortfolios



• Working Portfolio

• Assessment Portfolios

• Application Portfolios

• Interdisciplinary Unit Portfolios

• Development Portfolios

• Hybrid Portfolios

• Learning Portfolios

• Presentation Portfolio

Many Faces of ePortfolios

• Display Portfolio

• Showcase Portfolio

• Best Practice Portfolio

• Process Portfolio

• Time Sequenced Portfolios

• Reflection Portfolios

• Status Report Portfolio

• Celebration Portfolio


Constructivism




ePortfolio is a strategy or tool displayed by any digital systemsupporting reflexive learning and practice by allowing a person (or an organisation) to collect, manage, and publish a selection of learning evidence in order to have one’s assets recognised

and accredited; to plan further learning, create one´s identity, to connect and share based on one´s own /organisational

decisions

Europortfolio definition (draft), based on EIPIL-PAN(2009) and Guàrdia (2014).

Europortfolio definition (draft)



An ePortfolio is a specific type of aContent Management System (CMS).

It works as a collection of digital artefacts,

where different types of usershave different rights of access

provided by the maintainer of the ePortfolio.

Peter Baumgartner: Eine Taxonomie für E-Portfolios. Part II of the internal report for the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science & Research, 2008

ePortfolio working definition



Product Evaluation

Michael Scriven (1991), further developed by Peter Baumgartner, Hartmut Häfele and Kornelia Maier-Häfele

Learning Management Systems(LMS)

Content Management Systems(CMS)

Qualitative Weight and Sum (QWS)

Baumgartner, P. & Bauer, R., 2010. MedidaPrix Award – An Agent for Changing Higher Education eLearning Practice. In U.-D. Ehlers & D. Schneckenberg, eds. Changing Cultures in Higher Education. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 457–469.

Download: http://peter.baumgartner.name/publikationen/liste-abstracts/abstracts-2010/medidaprix-award-agent-for-higher-education/



Research Design

Michael Scriven (1991), further developed by Peter Baumgartner, Hartmut Häfele and Kornelia Maier-Häfele

Qualitative Weight and Sum (QWS)

Advantages• doesn't need a metric scale

• leaves "marks“: each step of theprocess can be retraced

• avoids the disadvantages of othermethods by combining several

procedures in a smart way

Disadvantages• a rather complex procedure

• an iterative process• no definite algorithm

• results are not necessarily clearwithout ambiguity



The method of Qualitative Weight and Sum (QWS)

Process flow

Well-proven classification

• Essential (E)• Extremely important (*)

• Very important (#)• Important (+)

• Less important (|)• Not important (0)

(numbers are avoided deliberately!)

Criteria weights

Setting up theessential criteria

Definition ofall criteria

Weighting

Deleting0-Dimensions

Groupingcriteria

Assessingevaluands

optionally pair-wise comparison

Shortlist ofrecommendable

products



Meta level categories

Portfolio processes according to the taxonomy

Five meta level categories:

(M1) Collecting, organising, selecting(M2) Reflecting, testing, verifying and

planning(M3) Representing and publishing

(M4) Administrating, implementing, adapting(M5) Usability



Selection of software products

60 products• WCET study product list

• EIfEL product list• Salzburg Research "Vorstudie“

1

• Contacting the providers• Statements to essential criteria

• Providing test accounts2 18 products

12 products• Evaluation with our checklist

• 25 experts alltogether• Detailed analysis by core team

3



12 recommendable products

Key to column "Type“

(M) E-Portfolio Management-Software

(L) LCMS/LMS with E-Portfolio functions

(I) Integrated systems

(A) Other systems like Blogs

Key to column "License“

(OS) Open Source

(P) Commercial with all-inclusive offer

(U) Commercial with licenses per user

(PU) Commercial, a combination of P and

U



Shortlist of recommendable products

recommendable

with some restrictions

recommendable

highly recommendable



A taxonomy is a systematic classification scheme

to orderthings, phenomena, processes etc.

after consistent and uniformprinciples, procedures and rules

of their inherent logic.

Peter Baumgartner: Eine Taxonomie für E-Portfolios. Part II of the internal report for the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science & Research, 2008

Taxonomy working definition



1. Integration: Isolated phenomena are bundled into groups (Taxa); they are classified.

2. Orientation: A taxonomy provides a consistent framework.

3. Information: Facilitates communication (e.g. LOM).

4. Cost reduction: Uniform description facilitates re-usability.

5. Transfer: Similarities become evident, main types are easier to learn, distinctions between types and variants are easier.

6. Innovation: (So far) unknown methods (User) und systematic frameworks (Experts) come into view.

7. Heuristics: Quest for new types (classes) are inspired (e.g. compare periodic table of the elements).

Advantages of a Taxonomy



Categories: How many and what kind of criteria should be

constructed out of the infinite pool of characteristics

(attributes)?

Operationalisation: How to confine/delimit and how to

measure the different characteristics?

Structuring: What kind of attributes are to what extend

decisive for a new category ? (new class versus

variant, version, mutation)

Granularity: Which hierarchic level has to be chosen to get

a taxonomy serving the desired practical purposes?

Troubles with Taxonomies



Validity ClaimRelations to the

World

subjective objective

social

Theory of Communicative Action



Validity Claim Relations to theWorld

subjectiveDevelopment of the

own Personality

objectiveContent, Material

social(Co-)Learne

r

Education



Validity Claim Relations to theWorld

subjectiveinteraktive media

assignments, exercisesinteraktives knowledge

objectivepresentational mediapresentationreceptive knowledge

social actioncommunicative

mediasocial

constructed knowledge

Media


Validity claimRelations to the

world

pattern ofutilisation

objectivefunctionality

of thesoftware

socialsetting(scenari

o)

ePortfolios

Webinar March 2014 25Peter Baumgartner



Summary Worksheet for distilling Categories(Example)



Summary: Types of Portfolios3 main types = reflection, development, presentation 2 Types of ownerships = personal (A), organisational (B) summative or formative = product-process distinction =

3 * 2 * 2 = 12 Types of Portfolios



Reflection portfolio



Development portfolio



Presentation portfolio



Implementation framework: At which level does the implementation take

place? Which organisation units are taking part?

Motivation, purpose and goal: For which goals are the portfolios

implemented? Which competencies should be acquired?

Study and examination regulations: Is the portfolio work anchored in the

curriculum? How do students gain credit for it?

Culture of learning: What do teaching / learning processes look like? What

kind of changes result from the introduction of portfolios?

Teacher’s competencies: How are they prepared for portfolio work?

What competencies do they need? How are difficulties / resistance dealt

with?

Benefit/effort for students: Which preconditions are necessary? How do they

benefit? How are barriers overcome?

Software support: Which software is used? Who has what kind of access?

Analyses of use cases


4 Strategy modelsStudent Service(A)

Learning Tool(B)

Curriculum Integration (C)

University wide implementation

Development (competence p.)

Reflection (learning portfolio)

Assessment and showcase portf.

Reflection & development & presentation

Graz, Klagenfurt Salzburg, Vienna Eisenstadt, Krems Vienna

Visualisation of own strength, interests and competences

Reflecting the learning process, metacognition

PLE, PIM, certificates, application

(A), (B), application

Decrease of drop-out rates, informal learning

Analysis, transfer, quality control

Submissions of achievements, quality control

Increase of employability

Mahara, Taskstream

choice depends on course goals

Factline, Mahara Maraha, PebblePad




Theoretical Consequences

PROBLEM:

Taxonomy of ePortfolios: Different goals

need different type of software and

implementation strategy

Use cases: Many different aspects, each with

many dimensions

Software: Complex tool with many

functionalities, not easy to learn

SOLUTION:

Developing a Pattern Language for ePortfolios

Knowledge transfer as a collection of patterns

Baumgartner, P., 2011. Educational Scenarios with E-portfolios. In P. Sojka & M. Kvizda, eds. SCO 2011, Sharable Content Objects, 7. ročník konference o elektronické podpoře výuky. Brno, Česká republika: muni Press, pp. 3–12.

Download: http://peter.baumgartner.name/publikationen/liste-abstracts/abstracts-2011/educational-scenarios-with-e-portfolios/

“Each pattern describes a problem which occurs over and over again in our environment, and then describes the core of the solution to that problem, in such a way that you can use this solution a million times over, without ever doing it the same way twice.”

– Christopher Alexander, A Pattern Language, 1977

Pattern/Method and VariationPattern/Method as

= ModelMaster plate, template,

A variation is just a small change of the same pattern

Pattern/Method as= Situation

Structure, constellation, configuration,

Every variation forms a new pattern


Developing a Pattern Language for ePortfolios I


Developing a Pattern Language for ePortfolios II


Developing a Pattern Language for ePortfolios III


Name of Pattern to express adequately problem and solution

Picture to capture (metaphorically) the main idea of the pattern

Context: Scenario where the pattern is useful

Problem What is the main issue?

Forces: What conditions one has to observe?

Solution: What is the solution to address the problem?

Details: What are the implementation strategies?

Stumbling blocks to overcome?

Advantages: What is the surplus value of the solution?

Disadvantages: What are the negative consequences?

Examples: Case studies where the pattern is used successfully

User Role: For what type of user is the pattern useful?

Tool: What kind of technical support or tool could be helpful?

Similar pattern: Relation to other patterns

References: Where to find more information?

Description Format for ePortfolio Pattern Scenarios

Bauer, Reinhard, and Peter Baumgartner. 2012. “Showcase of Learning: Towards a Pattern Language for Working with Electronic Portfolios in Higher Education.” In , 6:1–6:30. EuroPLoP ’11. New York, NY, USA: ACM.

Download:http://peter.baumgartner.name/publikationen/liste-abstracts/abstracts-2012/showcase-of-learning/



Thank You For Your Attention!

Univ.Prof. Dr. Peter Baumgartner

http://www.donau-uni.ac.at/imb

http://www.peter.baumgartner.name

http://twitter.com/pbaumgartner

The slides are licensed under a Creative Commons-license

strategies for implementing eportfolios in higher education

Education

sum qws baumgartner

examples of eportfolios

education policy

reflexive learning

content management system

eine taxonomie fr eportfolios

selection of learning

internal report