Running head: THE INTEGRATION OF E-PORTFOLIOS

Final Project: The Integration of E-Portfolios in High School Online Courses Johanne Brochu University of British Columbia ETEC 532: Technology in the Arts and Humanities Classroom Submitted to Dr. Alex De Cosson August 4th, 2012

Word Count: 2,484

FINAL PROJECT

The Integration of E-Portfolios in High School Online Courses Because of all the changes in education over the last few decades, it is essential that educators begin using pedagogy and technology not only to transform the way teaching is designed and delivered but also to enhance learning in the classroom (Bates & Sangr, 2011). With a desire to innovate teaching, educators are working on transforming students learning environments by progressively integrating new technologies, one of these being the development of e-portfolios in the classroom. This project aims to explain how digital technology integration is happening in online learning, how the incorporation of e-portfolios arises, its challenges and barriers and how these can be addressed to enhance student learning. The Online Context Since my work context is online, outsiders may believe that we are using the most innovative technology, but the reality is different. The Ministry of Education in Ontario from which our organizational culture depends is expecting that our grouping of 18 online teachers collaborate with administration and staff members of the twelve French School Boards reaching more than 90 high schools. In order to develop the best practices possible for innovating and integrating new technology our group studies the strategies used by other institutions, including Florida Virtual School. Therefore, the integration of technology is a priority for all, but some local schools with which we are collaborating are still facing challenges that only a real change of culture will reverse and that may take some time to occur. Presently, the online courses we are offering include the use of e-tools, such as basic discussion forums, student content as interactive activities, individual blogs, and more, but these are intended to be used mostly individually. The emphasis is not necessarily on collaboration, as

FINAL PROJECT it is promoted in Palloff and Pratts (2005) book, which is 'essential' in todays modern 21st century learning environments (Churches, 2009). Indeed, the reality is that students are often

working alone with the material, as not much material is created for students to interact with each other in Desire to Learn (D2L), our Learning Management System (LMS). Clearly, this type of interaction would be a unique opportunity for my students to communicate with other French speaking students living in different areas of Ontario. Interestingly, as part of Blooms Digital Taxonomy, Churches (2009) emphasizes that technology is just a medium used to "achieve, recall, understanding, application, analysis, evaluation and creativity" (p. 3). As a result, educators have to step up and improve the method in which students, known as "digital natives" (Prensky, 2010), are using digital technologies so learning environments can improve. There are shifts educators and students must make in their comprehension of what learning is and how it should happen. Increasingly, educators are playing the role of facilitators and students are becoming more independent and are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning. Therefore, summative and process-based e-portfolios will be integrated in my context during the next term as a tool for assessment, which is one way of using them discussed by Mason, Pegler and Weller (2004). Students will be required to include a collection of links, notes, texts, pictures, graphics, videos, as well as all the work they have done during the development of assignments and multimedia projects. The collection of artifacts will be part of the students learning process and assess as part of a comprehensive package of their term work. Each activity will be designed to help students reflect on their work while their creation/production is "in-progress" (Mason et al., 2004, p. 718) allowing them to strengthen their critical thinking skills at resolving problem-based issues.

FINAL PROJECT Clearly, the e-portfolios should include the steps and thinking utilized by students to create their final production. In addition, students should be expected to collaborate with peers for feedback and their interactions will aid in improving their learning according to the wider educational learning goals (Buzetto-More & Alade, 2008). These learning 'objects' and the students reflection on comments from peers and teachers will also help students reflect on their personal growth (Mason et al., 2004). It creates "a deeper picture of the learner than just the finished products of the artifacts themselves" (Kimball, 2005, p. 437). With that said, I firmly believe that it is important not to overwhelm students with too many learning activities and integration of new technologies (Zhao & Frank, 2008). This integration should not add to the existing course material but transform the way it is delivered

and used by students. The online courses we offer are already intense with content and activities, and further demands would be overwhelming for students. Major changes in course designs need to ensure they do not discourage students from completing course requirements, so careful integration of e-portfolios is necessary. In order to ensure the effectiveness of e-portfolios use and to suit the diverse student learning styles, students will be offered a choice of activities using a variety of web 2.0 tools (DiBiase, 2002). Students must be encouraged to explore a variety of tools; otherwise, they will focus on tools they are comfortable with such as PowerPoint, instead of exploring more nonlinear tools like Prezi. Clearly, educators must also guide and support students when using technology (DiBiase, 2002; Buzzetto-More & Alade, 2008). Moreover, they must ensure students become empowered in their abilities when working with the new e-tools (Blair & Godsall, 2006) and should encourage them to take "responsibility for their own learning" (Palloff & Pratt, 2001, p. 2). Challenges and Barriers to Change in the Use of Technology

FINAL PROJECT The integration of e-portfolios in the humanities and, most particularly in the online context, contains some challenges and barriers to change. Hence, prior to addressing these changes, it is important to clarify the issues. This section discusses the most relevant changes to make, and how to address them in order for students to successfully use the e-tools available to them. Students and Educators Lack of Technological Skills

Foremost, it is evident that some students are uncomfortable with using new technologies because their technological skills are limited (Muilenburg & Berge, 2005). In my opinion, the integration of new e-tools should be done progressively starting in early primary school years. Hence, educators should emphasize their teaching on contextualizing technological skills students must acquire to obtain the proper competencies. As well, unequal access to technology, such as students who have challenges accessing a computer at home is another factor as to why some students are less skilled than others. School boards must ensure that all students are receiving sufficient access to technology and the support needed to progress effectively. Furthermore, educators must be empowered with the required technological skills so that their enthusiasm and confidence in using new technologies relate to their students interest and motivation. Trained educators, as they gain competency and pedagogical connections can better educate students (Blair & Godsall, 2006; Buzzetto-More & Alade, 2008). Although educators are foremost facilitators, their expertise and encouragement at promoting technology use is essential. Ultimately, nothing can work better than educators being models for students, working to ease the paths for them (Rossi, Magnoler & Giannandrea, 2008). In my context, we have discussed the possibility of providing students with specific online tutorials developed by our team of trainers perhaps jointly with educators, such as how to use the

FINAL PROJECT features to create e-portfolios in D2L. Subsequently, one on one support through synchronous communication such as by telephone, chat or adobe connect can be offered, so that students can develop the skills they need to become independent learners and let their own creativity grow (Buzzetto-More & Alade, 2008) while developing their e-portfolios. Diversity of Students Learning Style and Needs

Another challenge in online education and, more importantly, in using new technology, is the diversity of students learning style and needs. Hence, to encourage students to get involved when using technology, educators should consider their 'ease of use'; for instance, e-portfolios software for secondary students must be chosen carefully as students needs may vary. Since adaptations to pedagogic material and/or the way e-tools are used may be required, educators have to demonstrate their creativity at scaffolding and supporting adapted activities. In my context, students can better understand their expectations through group studies in which they critique a variety of e-portfolio models. Indeed, this type of adaptation will help make a differentiation between students unique learning styles to better help them succeed. Some of the challenges are the responsibility of educators who create the learning material, but others are the responsibility of the school boards, who have to ensure students complete access to software and/or open source tools that will best fit their needs. As noted by Zhao and Frank (2008),"the school district is the more immediate system with which computer uses in the school need to be compatible. If the school district provides sufficient resources to support computer uses, those uses are likely to spread more quickly." (p.816) Ultimately, students have the responsibility to connect new ideas with existing ones. This constructivist approach (Vygotsky) refers to social learning where students are interacting with each other and are learning in context. Indeed, a learning community should evolve so students

FINAL PROJECT can help and support each other; it should be a place where feedback from peers and educators make the learning process an interactive one (Mason et al., 2004). Lack of Local School Teacher Support to Encourage Students to Use New Technology Furthermore, teachers in local schools who have to give support to the online students might find the new technology also difficult to understand as not much time is allowed for training in order to help students. Since many have different needs such as those students with individualized educational plans, they require close supervision. For this reason, teachers in local schools must collaborate with the online teachers so students can have the support they deserve to work on building their e-portfolios. Subsequently, collaboration should be modeled between educators as it is for students; school boards should create support committees where both groups of teachers can work together at solving issues students are facing. Students Lack of Self-Regulation to Adequately Use E-Portfolios In addition, I believe that one more challenge for educators is that many secondary students are not mature enough to use e-portfolios to develop assignments independently. If left on their own, the learning objects used might be minimal and used in superficial ways. Educators must promptly address such issues by promoting e-portfolios as creative and useful learning tools. Students should be encouraged to use them because as they develop learning tools they gain the skills they need in order to be successful in life (Prensky, 2010). Actually, the success of the learning process throughout their projects depends mostly on support and encouragement from peers and educators. Students Issues Collaborating with Peers from Distance Learning

Having these young students to collaborate with peers at a distance can occasionally be an issue. For some students, online learning can be an uncomfortable space to exchange ideas,

FINAL PROJECT especially since they do not really know their online peers. Wang (2010) demonstrates that "the collaborative construction of knowledge between students and teachers and among the students

themselves" (p. 267) is enhancing learning by providing them authentic ways of developing their expertise of practice. Accordingly, the safety issue must be ensured so students interest and motivation to participate in discussions and collaborate with peers continues to evolve throughout the course. The feedback communication process in online education has to be more explicit than in face to face situations as it is a prime asset in online learning (Baghadi, 2011). According to some studies noted by Wang (2010), this type of support can be provided not only by educators but also by peers. In addition, integrating such collaboration into the e-portfolios obliges students to think critically and to reflect on their own learning. Along with the author, it procures students with "in-depth learning" (Wang, 2010, p. 270) which is the type of learning experience we want students to benefit from. To confirm that this collaboration is happening, high school educators have to insist on participation and discussion; one way of doing this may be by grouping students with others and altering the groups every couple of weeks so at one point all students will have worked with everyone in small groups. The Educators Challenges at Appraising E-Portfolios One extra challenge I envision is the difficulty for educators to provide proper in-time feedback or even to appraise e-portfolios. Proper in-time feedback is always a concern in online education as educators are expecting their students to learn effectively; it may be challenging to guide all students as they are potentially in different places in the course material. Moreover, the representation forms of their productions may vary and even though "new technology could enhance individual

FINAL PROJECT

expression" (Goldfarb, 2002, p. 69), the diversity of probable interpretations invite to subjectivity during assessment. Therefore, it means that educators have to determine specific criteria and include them in the evaluation component to objectively evaluate students work process and production. Indeed, the criteria should include the process by which students have developed their productions, their use of critical thinking skills during the process of creation that include collaboration with peers and the educator himself. It should also include reflection on personal growth and on ways of improvement, as students should consider themselves being lifelong learners (Kimball, 2005). Best Practice at Using E-Portfolios in the Classroom Clearly, e-portfolios are facilitating knowledge acquisition, which is aligned with Lave and Wengers (1991) theory called situated learning (Wang, 2010) where social interaction is a key component of building a Community of Practice (CofP). This authentic opportunity for students to interact offers "a range of benefits, including cognitive development, opportunities for growth as independent learners, opportunities to practice newly acquired knowledge in a supportive environment with peers" (Wang, 2010, p. 267). Therefore, in order to be beneficial to students the e-portfolios environment must be well designed (Muilenburg & Berge, 2005). With that in mind, these are some guidelines to help deliver best practices using eportfolios in the online classroom: provide an organic structure divided in sections (e.g., selection, reflection and projection); include structured and voluntary activities; offer a certain diversity of e-tools; focus on a reflective practice based on peers comments; and incorporate educators encouragements during process (Rossi et al., 2008).

FINAL PROJECT Conclusion In conclusion, e-portfolios are providing a learner-centered teaching environment where

10

students can expand their potential according to their individual needs. The value of the learning process of e-portfolios makes no doubt; they can be used by educators to achieve pedagogical goals. However, as connections are made with ideas, people and communities (Anderson, 2008), it is crucial to remember that collaboration in general is imperative, most particularly between educators working together to implement the best pedagogical and technological innovations. They should also support the use of digital technologies like e-portfolios as all 'species' are expected to survive in this new educational digital environment (Zhao & Frank, 2008).

FINAL PROJECT References Anderson, T. (2008). Toward a theory of online learning. In T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and Practice of Online Learning, Chapter 2 (pp. 45-74). Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120/ebook/02_Anderson_2008_AndersonOnline_Learning.pdf Baghadi, Z.D. (2011). Best practices in online education: Online instructors, courses, and

11

administrators. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 12(3), 109-117. Retrieved from https://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/tojde43/pdf/article_4.pdf Bates, A.W., & Sangr, A. (2011). Managing Technology in Higher Education: Strategies for Transforming Teaching & Learning. (pp. xi-129). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Blair R., & Godsall, L. (2006). One schools experience in implementing e-porfolios. Lessons Learned. Quaterly Review of Distance Education, 7(2), 145-153. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=8683cd8f -802f-4910-b4c4-0691423694f9%40sessionmgr11&vid=2&hid=19 Bonk, C.J., & Zhang, K. (2008). Empowering Online Learning: 100+ Activities for Reading, Reflecting, Displaying and Doing. (pp. 102-104). San Francisco. Jossey-Bass. Buzzetto-More, N., & Alade A. (2008). The pentagonal e-portfolio model for selecting, adopting, building, and implementing an e-porfolio. Journal of Information Technology Education, 7, 45-70. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=911338e 6-9a15-4392-94d6-bfdd725b7fc1%40sessionmgr4&vid=2&hid=19 Churches, A. (2009). Blooms Digital Taxonomy. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/techlearning/archives/2008/04/AndrewChurches.pdf

FINAL PROJECT DiBiase, D. (2002). Using e-portfolios at Pen State to enhance student learning. Status, Prospects, and Strategies. E-Education Institute at Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, 1-47. Retrieved fromhttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/files/eport_report.pdf Goldfarb, B. (2002). Students as producers. In visual pedagogy: Media cultures in and beyond the classroom (pp. 57-83). Durham: Duke University Press. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ubc/docDetail.action?docID=10198302 Kimball, M. (2005). Database e-portfolio systems: A critical appraisal. Computers and Composition, 22(4), 434-458. Retrieved from

12

http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/science/article/pii/S87554615050006 05 Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge England, New York: Cambridge University Press. Mason, R., Pegler, C., & Weller, M. (2004). E-portfolios: An assessment tool for online courses. British Journal of Educational Technology, 35(6), 717-727. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/10.1111/j.14678535.2004.00429.x/pdf Muilenburg, L.Y., & Berge, Z.L. (2005). Student barriers to online learning: A factor analytic study. Distance Education, 26(1), 29-48. Retrieved from https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/simonec/public/Motivation%20retention%20articles/Articles/ Muilenberg_StudentBarriersToOnlineLearning.pdf Palloff, R.M., & Pratt, K. (2001). Lessons from the cyberspace classroom: The realities of online teaching. 17ht Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, 1-5. Retrieved from http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference/resource_library/proceedings/01_20.pdf

FINAL PROJECT

13

Palloff, R.M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating Online: Learning Together in Community. (pp. xi-109). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Prensky, M. (2010). Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning. (pp.xiii-203). Thousand Oaks: Corwin. Rossi, P.G., Magnoler, P., & Giannandrea L. (2008). From an e-portfolio model to e-portfolio practices: some guidelines. Campus-Wide Information Systems, 25(4), 219-232. Retrieved from http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/journals.htm?articleid=1742083&s how=abstract Wang, L. (2010). Integrating communities of practice in e-portfolio assessment: Effects and experiences of mutual assessment in an online course. Internet and Higher Education, 13, 267-271. Retrieved from http://ac.els-cdn.com/S1096751610000576/1-s2.0S1096751610000576main.pdf?_tid=9cfc687a4ea847887ce6f138231bea67&acdnat=1340641388_ee98f209ec5b 8aef302689bf6f20f628 Zhao, Y., & Frank, K.A. (2008). Factors affecting technology uses in schools: An ecological perspective. American Educational Research Journal, 40(4), 807-840. Retrieved from http://blogs.ubc.ca/etec511ecology/files/2011/11/zhaofrank2003.pdf