The learning model I shared can be found in the paper, Developing a Vision for Learning in the 21st Century. Although this model was developed some 15 years or so ago it still seems to me to be just as relevant today.

Today I was looking to focus on the key issue of purpose. What is the purpose of having an ePortfolio? If this question cannot be answered then one would have to question whether it is worth the effort required in keeping an ePortfolio at all!

As I sought to share with you, I believe the ePortfolio can do so much to support learning for students. It is engaging, it is motivating, it shows the process of learning and not simply the finished product, and has as its primary focus pedagogy rather than a focus on the technology. Technology should be secondary to pedagogy.

In the presentation I was also looking to demonstrate that the technology required does not need to be complex. The simpler the processes, the easier it is in the classroom. Digital Story Telling can be a simple, yet highly effective method to tell learning stories.

So don’t to worry about not having enough technology in the school. Little is needed for students to create their own learning journals, their own ePortfolios.

Best wishes with your future developments. I wish you all well.

Hopefully there will be opportunities for a sharing of ideas leading to a greater understanding between our two countries.

For those who are seeking further information about the portfolios at Bucklands Beach Intermediate School I suggest you look in the downloads section on the left side of the page.

You will find a number of papers there. The first two explore the manner in which the school uses electronic portfolios, (ePortfolios) to assist students become confident, connected, actively involved, life long learners. There is another paper written earlier, Developing a Vision for Learning in the 21st Century which talks about the earlier developments and includes a copy of the Learning to Learn portfolio model.

Enjoy your visit!

There are many models for ePortfolios. A large number of these are simply electronic records of student achievement. In my view these ePortfolios are useful in showing achievement, and also in showing achievement against a set of standards, but do little to improve learning and little in terms of making real meaningful connections between the home and the school.

During this session I was looking to share the way in which ePortfolios at Bucklands Beach Intermediate help develop ‘confident, connected, actively involved, life-long learners.’ The intention was to show how ePortfolios can make connections in areas BES* has shown do make the greatest difference to student achievement. I invited a group of students to present with me so that they could share work from their current ePortfolios, demonstrating links from process through to finished product. They were able to provide evidence of key competency achievements and show how their ePortfolios make connections through to family/whanau.

When one looks at the BES research, Chapter 7, Creating educationally powerful connections with family, whanau, and communities, it is evident the ePortfolio can help facilitate these connections. Being web based, the ePortfolio can bring the home and the school together in a manner not possible through other strategies. It can support learning in areas research shows makes the greatest difference.

The students were able to tangibly show this through work which has devolved from their normal class programme. They could show the way in which links between the school and family/whanau are facilitated through the ePortfolio. There is nothing like Student Voice to really show what learning is about. The ePortfolio can show this so well. It can show the process of learning as well as the finished product. It is during the process where learning takes place. The product is simply an outcome of that learning.

Should you wish to read more you may find a couple of papers in the Downloads section of this site helpful. You will find that in the side bar under Categories. The first two papers relate to ePortfolios. An earlier paper, Learning to Learn in the 21st Century may also be of interest. This tracks my early work and development in this area and discusses the Learning to Learn Model developed in an effort to better explain my thinking.

If you find anything helpful it is always good to hear back. Happy reading!

*BES School Leadership and Student Outcomes: Identifying What Works and Why. Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration (BES)

Viviane Robinson, Margie Hohepa, and Claire Lloyd.
University of Auckland 2009

The 1989 reforms opened up a whole new era for schooling, providing new opportunities for communities to more readily determine their own priorities. Principals gained far more autonomy, which made the working experience more challenging yet far more interesting. It was as if for the first time real decisions could be made without having to consult a bureaucratic agency. Closer relationships were able to be built with local communities and schools were able to work with parents to better meet the needs of their local students.

Changes in funding arrangements provided the greatest new opportunities for schools with savings being made in one area used to support other areas of priority.

Boards of Trustees, the elected group of parents charged with governing schools, were able to work alongside principals for the benefit of the students.

Would principals want to change back to the system in place prior to the reforms? I think not!

The self managing model provides opportunities for decision making at the local level, in each individual school, according to the needs and priorities as seen by parents and the principal.

I know some of you attending the conference will be travelling to New Zealand later in the year to visit our schools. I trust I have the opportunity to meet up with you when you are here. Welcome to New Zealand!

Much has been written about Digital Story Telling, usually with respect to stories telling one’s family history, or stories about a holiday or other significant event. This same concept can be used to tell powerful stories about student learning. It can enable students to provide evidence of their learning and their journeys through the learning process.

It is very common for teachers to have students maintain a folio, portfolio or some other record of learning. Most often this is a record of the outcome of that learning with results, conclusions, or displays set out.

It is my contention that true learning takes place during the process of learning. The product is simply the outcome of that learning. Where we do not having access to the process students went through as they came to their conclusions or outcomes we have limited knowledge as to the true understandings they may have.

Through providing evidence of the process teachers gain a much greater understanding of each student’s growing development as a learner. Teachers can track the learning journey through hearing in the student’s own voice their thoughts, their hypotheses, their working steps, their conclusions and their reflections. Teachers can more readily determine a student’s true level of understanding through their record of process and progress providing greater insight than any test with a focus purely on the outcome results can ever provide.

Digital story telling can readily show that learning journey. A short video clip with the student providing an overview of their work and what led to their final outcomes can provide such evidence. More simply, this can be achieved through a series of 5-6 still photographs, put together into a simple slide show, with the student’s voice over providing an explanation of the different stages they have progressed through to reach their final conclusions or outcomes. The effect can be enhanced with the addition of an appropriate music sound track. The technology does not have to be complex. A computer and a digital camera can do all that is required.

Much has been written about digital story telling and a web search will bring up a vast number of sites to explore. I think the best starting point however would be to go to Helen Barrett’s site http://www.electronicportfolios.org

Helen has a whole section explaining digital story telling, a video tutorial, examples, and a list of tools that could be used.

I hope that all helps and wish you well with your digital story telling!

It is the use of an ePortfolio to show process within the learning programme where much of its value is evident. It is during the ‘process’ stage where key learning takes place.

To delegates who attended the workshop I trust you take time to read the papers in the downloads section of this site. They will enable you to understand in more detail the concepts I was seeking to get across in the limited time available. As stated, if you have any questions, I am very happy to respond. I wish you all well.

I am convinced a well structured ePortfolio can provide evidence of learning in a manner not possible in any other way. It can clearly show the process of learning. It can track the learning journey from initial brainstorming through to a completed ‘product.’ The use of simple digital story telling techniques can readily show that learning journey. This does not require complex equipment.

It is evident the use of available technologies within the regular class programme can do much to engage students in their learning. It can clearly support the development of ‘confident, connected, actively involved life-long learners.’

Feel free to download any of the papers on this site if they are helpful. I look forward to catching up again some time in the future.

During the morning session my focus will be on e-learning, with a particular emphasis on ePortfolios and how they can be used to better engage students in their learning. I will be looking at how the ePortfolio can not only provide evidence of learning but also how it can provide evidence of the learning journey.

I will be sharing examples of student goal setting and reflection and also show how, in a very simple manner, an ePortfolio can provide evidence of a student’s growing competence and understanding of the Key Competencies.

You may like to read through a couple of papers in the downloads section which will provide you with some background prior to the seminar. Check out ePortfolios-Celebrating Learning, and also
ePortfolios, a Personal Space for Learning.

I look forward to meeting up with you all.

Regards

Ian

To those at the University in Visby I apologise for having to cancel the seminar at short notice. I was very sorry not to be able to meet up with you all again. I wish you every success in your new teaching careers.  …Ian

You will find an Appendix at the end of the paper giving a list of websites where further information regarding ePortfolios can be found. …Ian