Using ePortfolios to Improve Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

Debra Dunlap Runshe

Instructional Development SpecialistUniversity Information Technology Services - Learning Technologies

Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis

Webinar Objectives

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:• describe a variety of purposes for electronic portfolios• explain the process of “folio” thinking.• articulate why reflection is important to deep learning.• understand how to use ePortfolios for assessment

purposes.• access resources that will help them begin to use

ePortfolios to improve teaching and learning.

How are ePortfolios Used?

What is an ePortfolio?“A digitized collection of artifacts, including demonstrations, resources, and accomplishments that represent an individual, group, or institution.”

(Reese & Levy, 2009)

“Created by the three principal activities of collection, selection, and reflection, student portfolios can be succinctly defined as collections of work selected from a larger archive of work, upon which the student has reflected. Portfolios can be created in many different contexts, serve various purposes, and speak to multiple audiences.”

(Yancey, 2001)

Balancing the Two Faces

(Barrett, H. 2010)

Learning or Reflection

Focused on process, students:•learn to self assess through the reflection process.•increase their depth of knowledge through the reflection process.•take control of their own learning leading to greater self-confidence.•develop life long learning skills.

… a series of events, the journey

(Barrett, H. 2010)

Showcase or Accountability

Focused on product, students:•have a tool for personal development.•create a personal learning record.•develop a direction for career planning.•showcase their strengths and accomplishments.

… the outcomes/results, the destination

(Barrett, H. 2010)

Student Development• Personal development plan;

academic/career planning • Personal academic web site

(take ownership of learning)• Capstone (integrate learning

in expanded range of media; through reflection, articulate learning and accomplishments)

• Resume-building

First Year Experience

FSU Career Portfolio Template

Professional Presentation

• Layout• Color choice• Text readability• Text alignment• Copyright and accessibility

RESOURCE FOR E-PORTFOLIO DESIGNThompson, P. (2011). The web design for professional portfolios series.[Video files]. http://www.youtube.com/user/PennyAtMSU?blend=21&ob=5

What Makes Good Web Design?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHpyES6Jbx0/

Reflective Portfolio

What is reflection?• Metacognition• Re-processing ideas to support understanding• Questioning assumptions• Seeing in multiple contexts• Self-examination• Integration• Self-assessment

Forms of Reflection• Account/analysis of a process• Analysis of an experience• Analysis that connects a series

of experiences • Analysis of an artifact• Analysis that connects a series

of artifacts• Review of progress• Goal-setting• Synthesis

Preparing for Reflection• Evaluation of sample reflections• Written and oral peer review of rough drafts• Final reflection• Importance of:

• Thoughtful, appropriate prompts• The “right” amount of reflection to assign

A Taxonomy of Reflection

Value of Reflection

1. Reflection helps students make knowledge by articulating connections

2. Reflection introduces students to new kinds of self-assessment that they carry into the rest of their lives

3. Reflection helps develop habits of reflective practice

4. Reflection supports deeper engagement in learning

5. Reflection provides evidence of learning not available by other means

Some Issues To Consider• How can we teach

students to reflect?• What kinds of

scaffolding/support do students need at different levels and in different contexts?

• When and how often should students reflect?

• How can we assess reflection?

Growth and Development

“Folio” Thinking

“’Folio’ thinking enables students to become aware of, document, and track their learning and develop an integrated, coherent picture of their personal learning experiences from both inside and outside of the classroom."

~Helen Chen

Integrative Learning“Portfolios are inherently integrative, being composed of heterogeneous artifacts, the connections between which are explored through reflection”

(D. Cambridge, 2009)

“As students go through the process of collection, selection, and reflection, they show the ability to identify the larger design that informs their college experience”

(T.S. Edwards & C. Burnham, 2009)

ePortfolios for Accountability• Catalyst for more deliberate

integration of general education and disciplinary outcomes into curricula

• Supports guided learning experiences

• Develop authentic evidence for documenting and assessing student attainment of general education and/or discipline-specific outcomes

• Aggregate assessment data for improvement and accountability

Advantages for Assessment

“Documenting learning in this way places the focus on actual achievements that are viewed directly, rather than on proxies of achievement like cumulative GPAs or test scores that are only indirect indicators of learning. The focus is also on what students can do with their knowledge and skills and not simply on whether knowledge has been acquired.”

(Huba & Freed, 2000)

Implementation Issues• How will the portfolio be designed

to fulfill the institution’s or department’s purposes?

• How will the portfolio be integrated into program curricula? What changes will this require?

• Who will read and evaluate student portfolios? When?

• What are the infrastructure needs? What resources are needed?

• What faculty development is needed? What skills will students need to develop?

Typical Guided Portfolio Workflow• Student uploads artifacts, fills out forms and/or writes

a reflection • Student requests and receives formative feedback

from assigned or student-selected reviewers • Student submits for evaluation• Evaluator rates and comments on work

Sakai OSP Frameworks

Matrix Outline Wizard

Matrix Cell = Wizard = 1 Portfolio Activity

Documenting Growth Over Time

Secondary Education Matrix

Summative Assessment of Learning

Transition to Teaching Wizard

Integrative LearningEnglish Capstone Matrix

Rubric for Reflective Thinking

Rubrics and ePortfolios

Rubrics have been identified as the ideal means for portfolio assessment

(Buzzetto-More & Alade, 2006)

Rubrics are also particularly useful in assessing complex and subjective skills

(Dodge & Pickette, 2001)

Advantages of Rubrics• Makes expectations clear• Prepares students to use detailed feedback• Encourages critical thinking• Facilitates communications with others• Helps students self-assess

eTOOLS FOR RUBRIC CONSTRUCTIONRubistar http://rubistar.4teachers.org iRubric http://www.rcampus.com/indexrubric.cfm

Intellectual and Practical Skills• Inquiry and analysis• Critical thinking • Creative thinking • Written communication • Oral communication • Reading • Quantitative literacy • Information literacy • Teamwork • Problem solving

AAC&U’s VALUE Rubrics

Learning Outcomes for the development of VALUE Rubrics

Personal and Social Responsibility Civic knowledge and engagement-local

and global Intercultural knowledge and

competence Ethical reasoning Foundations and skills for lifelong

learning

Integrative and Applied Learning Integrative and applied learning

(Retrieved from www.aacu.org/value/metarubrics.cfm October 23, 2010

Choosing ePortfolio Software• Identify primary and secondary purposes• Who are your users and stakeholders?• What is the value proposition for each?• What are their needs and expectations?• Focus on functional needs (what they need to do), not

technical (how they need/want to do it)• Create a needs matrix and prioritize (must have, should

have, nice to have) and use it to evaluate solutions

PUT THE USERS NEEDS FIRST!

Ward, L., 2011

Software Options

BUY: commercial packagesTaskStream, LiveText, Chalk&Wire, etc.

BORROW: open/community sourceOSP, Mahara, Elgg

BUILD: develop a custom applicationCareer Portfolio (Florida State University)STEPS for Assessment (CSU Chico State)

ADAPT: use and combine generic tools Google sites, Blogs, Wikis, survey software

Ward, L., 2011

BUY: Commercial SoftwarePros Cons

Rapid development; mature High costs for licensing and maintenance

Feature Rich Complex

Multipurpose Duplication of other campus applications and services (CMS/ LMS, admissions, advisement, etc.)

Documentation and support (including system integration services)

Works out of the box Can’t easily modify/customize

Some offer vendor and local hosting options

Some hosted by vendor only

Ward, L., 2011

TaskStream

Ward, L., 2011

PebblePad

Ward, L., 2011

BORROW: Open/Community SourcePros Cons

No licensing costs May require investments in developers, tech writers, user support, etc.

Code can be modified Documentation and testing may not be as thorough

Opportunities to participate in product direction and development

Fewer features and functions than commercial products

Emphasis on interoperability and open standards

No guarantees or service level agreements

Dependence on community for support and continued development/ maintenance of product

Ward, L., 2011

Mahara

Ward, L., 2011

Sakai Open Source Portfolio

Ward, L., 2011

BUILD: Develop Custom Application

Pros Cons

Better fit with institutional or programmatic needs and processes

Development and deployment costs are difficult to predict

Implement a completely new vision or approach

Longer time to deployment

Control over future development and rate of change

Complete dependence on internal expertise

Ward, L., 2011

FSU Career Portfolio

Ward, L., 2011

Chico State STEPS for Assessment

Ward, L., 2011

ADAPT: Generic Web Authoringor Web 2.0 Tools

Pros Cons

Free or very low-cost (Google sites, hosted blogs or wikis)

No support for assessment processes or reporting

Gives portfolio owner creative control

Uncertain future of hosted services

Available to students after graduation

Ward, L., 2011

Blogfolios (Penn State)

Ward, L., 2011

Google Sites

Ward, L., 2011

Wikifolios

Ward, L., 2011

ePortfolio GalleriesBowling Green State University:

http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/studentsuccess/page31296.htmlClemson University:

http://www.clemson.edu/academics/programs/eportfolio/IUPUI Personal Development Plan: http://pdp.uc.iupui.edu/Home.aspx/LaGuardia Community College ePortfolio:

http://www.eportfolio.lagcc.cuny.edu/ Portland State University:

http://sites.google.com/site/eportfolioresources/Home/ePortfolio-Showcase

San Francisco State University:http://eportfolio.sfsu.edu/University of Michigan: http://mportfolio.umich.edu/index.htmlVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: http://eportfolio.vt.edu/

ePortfolio Associations

AAEEBL: http://www.aaeebl.org/EPAC: http://eportfolioca.org/EIfEL: http://www.eife-l.org/

ePortfolio Research Projects

Making Connections: http://www.laguardia.edu/connections/Inter/National Coalitions for Electronic Portfolio Research: http://ncepr.org/

In Summary: Uses of ePortfolios• Support/document academic and professional

development• Increase student engagement and achievement• Help students become more intentional, integrative

learners• Support reflective practice• Support curricular development• Support authentic assessment for improvement and

accountability• Support academic and career advising

Implications for Learners and Teachers• Learning-centered vs. teaching-

centered• Supports active learning

pedagogies aimed at promoting deeper learning

• Supports integrative, reflective learning

• Supports formative and summative assessment

• Students thrive when faculty collaborate to develop intentional, coherent curricula

1.For students• Track and document own growth and development• Integrate and apply learning• Develop capacities for reflection and metacognition• Increase engagement in learning

2.For faculty• Track development of abilities over time• Enable assessment of broader set of abilities and skills• Provide richer, more contextualized information to guide

curriculum/program development and improvement

3.For programs and institutions• Support academic and career advising• Enable authentic and psychometrically rigorous assessment for

admissions, improvement and effectiveness, accreditation

Why Use ePortfolios?

Questions?

Thank You for Your Participation!

Debra Dunlap Runshe, Instructional Development SpecialistUniversity Information Technology Services – Learning Technologies

Indiana University-Purdue University IndianapolisInformation Technology and Communications Complex (IT 342H)535 West Michigan Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202

Phone: 317-278-0589  Email: drunshe@iupui.edu

ALTEC at University of Kansas. RubiStar. Web site: http://rubistar.4teachers.org

Association for Authentic, Experiential, and Evidence-Based Learning. Web site: http://www.aaeebl.org/

Association of American Colleges and Universities. (2009, Winter). Peer review: Emerging trends and key debates in undergraduate education, 11 (1).

Association of American Colleges & Universities: VALUE Project. Web site: http://www.aacu.org/value/

Banta, T. W. & S. J. Hamilton. (2007). Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis: General education case study. In M. J. Bresciani (Ed.). Assessing student learning in general education: Good practice case studies. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Banta, T.W. (Ed.). (2003). Portfolio assessment: Uses, cases, scoring, and impact. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Resources

Barrett, H. (2010.) Balancing the Two Faces of ePortfolios. Educação, Formação & Tecnologias, 3(1), 6-14. [Online], Available online: http://eft.educom.pt

Barrett, H. Web site: http://electronicportfolios.org

Buzzetto-More, N. A., & Alade, A. J. (2006) Best practices in e-assessment. Journal of Information Technology Education. 5:251-269.

Cambridge, B., Cambridge, D. & Yancey, K. (Eds.). (2009). Electronic portfolios 2.0: Emergent research on implementation and impact. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

Cambridge, B. L., Kahn, S. ,Tompkins, D. P. & Yancey, K. B. (Eds.). (2001). Electronic portfolios: Emerging practices in student, faculty, and institutional learning. Washington, DC: American Association for Higher Education.

Resources

Cambridge, D. (2010). E-portfolios for lifelong learning and assessment. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Dodge, B., & Pickett, N. (2001). Rubrics for web lessons. Retrieved 10/23/2010 from http://webquest.sdsu.edu/rubrics/weblessons.htm

Lorenzo, G, & Ittelson, J. (2005b, October). Demonstrating and assessing student learning with eportfolios. EduCause Learning Initiative Paper 3: 2005.

Reazon System, Inc. iRubric. Web site: http://www.rcampus.com/indexrubric.cfm

Reese, M., and R. Levy (2009). Assessing the future: E-portfolio trends, uses, and options in higher education. (Research Bulletin, Issue 4). EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ecar

Resources

Reeves, T. C. (2000). Alternative assessment approaches for online Learning environments in higher education. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 23, 101-111.

Stevens, D. D. & Levi, A. J. (2005). Introduction to rubrics. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Thompson, P. (2011). The web design for professional portfolios series. [Video files]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/user/PennyAtMSU?blend=21&ob=5.

Yancey, K. B. (2001). Digitized Student Portfolios. In Electronic portfolios: emerging practices in student, faculty, and institutional learning (pp. 15-30). Washington, D.C: American Association for Higher Education.

. Zubizaretta, J. (2009). The learning portfolio: Reflective practice for improving student learning (2nd ed.). Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company, Inc.

Resources