Final Paper Electronic Portfolios: A Primer

Among the emerging new media utilized in educational settings are electronic portfolios. While portfolios of various types have been used for quite some time in education, specifically K-12 public education, to document student learning, electronic portfolios emerged in the mid-1990’s (Lorenzo and Ittelson, 2005, p.3) as a widespread method of documenting and assessing student learning in higher education. Additionally, electronic portfolios have rapidly gained recognition, acceptance, and popularity as viable tools for both students, educators, and educational institutions. For the purposes of this paper, emphasis will be placed on electronic portfolios for student learning.

What is an electronic portfolio?

According to Dr. Helen Barrett (2000), recently retired University of Alaska professor of education and a leading authority on electronic portfolios in educational settings, an electronic portfolio is not merely a collection of randomly selected examples of student work in digital form. It is a “…purposeful collection of student work that illustrates efforts, progress, and achievement in one or more areas over time”. (Create Your Own Electronic Portfolio)

Bob Banks (2004) of Tribal Technology defines an electronic portfolio or e-portfolio as “… an electronic format for learners to record their work, their achievements and their goals, to reflect on their learning, and to share and be supported in this. It enables learners to represent the information in different formats and to take the information with them as they move between institutions” (p.3)

Electronic portfolios differ from traditional portfolios in that portfolio artifacts are collected and stored in electronic format and are, therefore, easily accessible and transportable and can have vast versatility. They can consist of text, graphics, or multimedia elements stored electronically on a server, website, CD-ROM, or DVD. They can range in complexity and makeup from simple folders containing portfolio artifacts to highly customizable, software created or web-based portfolios consisting of interactive, multi-media artifacts. Regardless of the complexity or nature of the electronic portfolios, they all contain artifacts of a student's work and effort over time.

How are electronic portfolios used?

There are numerous purposes for electronic portfolios. Dr. Helen Barrett (2001) has identified three (3) general purposes: learning (formative or developmental), assessment (summative), or employment (marketing or showcase).

Learning electronic portfolios illustrate the development and progress of a student’s skills over time. They are considered dynamic and ongoing and include portfolio artifacts, student reflection and self-assessment, and instructor feedback or assessment.

Assessment electronic portfolios are generally used to demonstrate student achievement or proficiency and utilize course or program learning outcomes to measure or assess achievement.

Employment or showcase electronic portfolios generally display a student’s best work and highlight the quality of the student’s work. These portfolios can be shown to prospective employers to enhance employment opportunities or can be shown to educational institutions if students choose to pursue advanced degrees.

Many electronic portfolios are “hybrids” of the three types listed above. (e-Portfolio Basics: Types of e-portfolios)

What is customarily included in an electronic portfolio?

Electronic portfolios can contain a variety of artifacts. Some electronic portfolios are created with very specific, instructor designated criteria while others are more student learning centered and allow students to make decisions about artifact selection. Still others have a combination of required and optional artifacts. While many theories exist as to what methods for creating electronic portfolios are most effective, the constructivist theory supports the role of learner as central and is perhaps most effective for learning portfolios since the learner collects artifacts from actual learning experiences. Regardless of approach, learning electronic portfolios must have purpose, whether derived from the learner (preferable) or the instructor, to have real meaning and for authentic learning and assessment to take place.

Papers, videos of oral presentations, scanned images, interactive media, resume artifacts, academic transcripts, community service project information, audio clips of speeches, internship or co-op experience descriptions, artistic or creative artifacts in the form of sound files, videos, or images, actual samples of student work, animations, etc. are among the many artifacts that can be included in electronic portfolios.

According to Barrett (2001), effective learning electronic portfolios include reflection. Reflection gives the student an opportunity to contemplate and describe the significance of an artifact and how it relates to a specific learning outcome or standard. This “self-assessment” makes for a richer learning experience for the student. She goes on to say that without reflection, the electronic portfolio is nothing more than a digital scrapbook thereby underscoring the importance of reflection as part of the electronic portfolio process.

Reflection is what allows us to learn from our experiences: it is an assessment of where we have been and where we want to go next.

~ Kenneth Wolf

What is the process for portfolio development?

There are numerous processes for the development of learning electronic portfolios. An electronic portfolio used for assessment purposes may include rubrics, peer reviews, and instructor assessments as part of the development process. A showcase electronic portfolio may include artifacts demonstrating a professional competencies or skills. Figure 1 provides a simple model for the process for developing a learning electronic portfolio.

Figure 1: Process for Developing a Learning E-portfolio
Source: Electronic Portfolios as Digital Stories of Deep Learning http://electronicportfolios.org/digistory/epstory.html

What software is available for electronic portfolio development?

To design and publish electronic portfolios, a variety of resources are available ranging from simple to sophisticated and robust, from free to costly. Electronic portfolios can be created using web authoring software such as Dreamweaver or FrontPage, blogs or wikis, or by using software specifically designed to support electronic portfolio development and maintenance. Among the software which is widely available are eportaro, FolioLive, Interfolio, Nuventive, and elgg.
While there are numerous commercial software packages for electronic portfolio development, there is a growing number of open source software.

One of the most highly recognized e-portfolio resources is The Open Source Portfolio Initiative which is “a collaborative, open-source, software development project based on the University of Minnesota Enterprise System's electronic portfolio software. The University of Minnesota (U of MN), University of Delaware, and the r-smart group, founded this collaborative to open the evolution of the U of MN ePortfolio to diverse input, rapid development, and widespread use.” (OSP Portfolios)

How do electronic portfolios benefit students/learners?

Since learning electronic portfolios emphasize student accomplishments and work rather than deficiencies, the learner benefits in many ways. Students assume ownership and control of their own learning and are, therefore, more engaged in their studies. They are given a learner-centered rather than course-centered view of learning. Since electronic portfolios are frequently shared with others (Audience selection is part of the electronic portfolio process.), students are motivated to produce high quality work. Artifact selection shows growth and progression of a student over the course of time and can help learners make connections between learning experiences. Electronic portfolios allow students to select from a variety of media to demonstrate achievement, work, and knowledge.

An additional benefit of electronic portfolios is that the process of developing a portfolio enhances higher order thinking skills and organizational skills for students. Furthermore, students realize an increased sense of learning over time, a skill that promotes lifelong learning. The introspective attribute of reflections increase learners’ understanding of the importance of insight in addition to the importance of content. Students develop a greater sense of meaning and relevance when posting reflections to their portfolio artifacts. All of these work in tandem to promote critical thinking skills, introspection, insight, and to more completely engage the learner in his/her own learning experiences.


References

Lorenzo, G. and Ittelson, J. (2005, July). An Overview of E- Portfolios. Retrieved October 28, 2005 from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3001.pdf

Barrett, H. (2000, April). Create Your Own Electronic Portfolio. Retrieved October 28, 2005 from http://electronicportfolios.com/portfolios/iste2k.html

Banks, B. (2004, June). E-Portfolios: Their Use and Benefits. Retrieved October 26, 2005 from http://www.tribaltechnology.co.uk/pdfs/papers/e-portfoliopaper.pdf

Barrett, H. (2001) Electronic Portfolios. Retrieved October 26, 2005 from http://electronicportfolios.com/portfolios/encyclopediaentry.htm

e-portfolio basics: types of e-portfolios. (n.d.). Retrieved Oct. 26, 2005, from Regis University Electronic Portfolio Project Web site: http://academic.regis.edu/LAAP/eportfolio/basics_types.htm

Barrett, H. Electronic Portfolios as Digital Stories of Deep Learning. Electronicportfolios.org. 2004. 25 Oct. 2005 http://electronicportfolios.org/digistory/epstory.html

OSP Portfolios. (n.d.). Retrieved Oct. 26, 2005, from http://www.osportfolio.org/

Thoughts on Reality

The impact of twenty-first century technologies on perceptions of reality is unquestionable. We can "travel" to places without ever leaving our homes; we can "talk" to people we've never met; we can "see" things in 3-D on a flat panel screen without the aid of 3-D glasses; we can bring people from different countries "together" in a virtual conference room without anyone leaving his/her office; we can dissect a frog or study the human body in a biology lab without blood and guts or the smell of formaldehyde. Are those experiences real? Some would say, "No." But for the participants in these experiences, they are very real indeed. Maybe these are "new realities"--no less "real" in terms of learning, communicating, interacting, listening, seeing, experiencing than face-to-face experiences.

A generation or two ago, taking a "distance learning class", i.e. correspondence class, was considered "hokey" or a less than authentic learning experience. Today, taking a distance learning class is commonplace and almost expected as part of the four year undergraduate experience. Distance learning has evolved, in part, due to new media and globalization. What is possible today was not possible yesterday.

Our perceptions of "self" (individually, collectively, nationally) have been altered over time by globalization and new media. No longer is our "world" limited to what we can physically see, feel, hear, touch, or otherwise experience. We must interact with persons from different cultures and backgrounds, some of whom we would never have encountered before globalization. Knowledge of other cultures, societies, and economies is no longer merely interesting but quite essential if we are to participate fully and successfully in an interconnected world. This may be unsettling to some because it shakes beliefs that were, heretofore, not prone to scrutiny, but it's exciting to others because the broadening of experiences is unlimited. We, in some ways, become smaller when held up to the backdrop of the entire world, but we become bigger in so many other ways...opportunities, relationships, knowledge, experiences, ideas, cultures, etc.

Thoughts on Global Eduation

According to The American Forum for Global Education, global education is "the fostering the ability to think creatively, analytically, and systematically about issues in a global context." Educators need to help students prepare for a world where issues have global implications and dimensions. Some questions that educators may ask are:

1. Knowledge: What do your students know about global issues, and how well do they know it?
2. Skills: How are your students going to learn about global issues?
3. Participation: How can students make a difference in resolving global issues?

Global eduation is much more than distance learning, study abroad opportunities, exchange programs, or international campuses. "It is also a curriculum that ensures that all of our students will be able to succeed in a world marked by interdependence, diversity and rapid change. A global education is one that provides knowledge and understanding of culture, language, geography and global perspectives. Most importantly, a global education is one that enables all students, both domestic and international, to understand the world through the eyes of others and teaches them how their actions can affect, and be affected by people throughout the world." (http://view.fdu.edu/default.aspx?id=255) Global education provides cross-cultural opportunities for its students. Students are presented with perspectives different than their own. They are taught skills that will help them become employable and successful in a global workplace and that will help them "meet the complex challenges of living in a global society." http://www.gem-ngo.org/ Global eduation does not limit instruction to issues specific to one's native homeland, but rather expands instruction to include topics and issues with global significance.

Traditional instructional delivery methods may not be sufficient and new media technologies must be used to meet the demands of global education, i.e. students in the same classroom from different parts of the world, with different world views, from different cultural and political backgrounds, with different belief/value systems, etc.

Global education, as a distinct construct from globalization, does what higher education has traditionally aimed to do: extend students' awareness of the world in which they live by opening them to the diverse heritage of human thought, action, and creativity. Global education places particular emphasis on the changes in communication and relationships among people throughout the world, highlighting such issues as human conflict, economic systems, human rights and social justice, human commonality and diversity, literatures and cultures, and the impact of the technological revolution. While it continues to depend on the traditional branches of specialist knowledge, global education seeks to weaken the boundaries between disciplines and encourages emphasis on what interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary studies can bring to the understanding and solution of human problems.” Farleigh Dickinson University's Global Learning Newsletter in an article entitled "What Is the Meaning of Global Education?" by Michael Sperling.

Globalization and Its Many Meanings

Being the left-brainers that we are, we wanted some simple operational definitions of globalization to compliment our course readings.

We found that the term globalization is a popular buzzword, but we also found that globalization, while often referred to in purely economic terms, is a "defining phenomenon of the turn of the century" (http://www.sociology.emory.edu/globalization/about.html). Globalization affects commerce, education, communication, transportation, law, culture, science, religion, society, finance, the arts and humanities, language, politics, technology, etc. Below are but a few of the definitions that we found. We'll give our own thoughts later.

The best definition that we found came from Farleigh Dickinson University's Global Learning Newsletter in an article entitled "What Is the Meaning of Global Education?" by Michael Sperling.

"Globalization's shifting and controversial parameters make it difficult to define. It is clearly a dominant force, both positively and negatively, shaping the multiple environments in which we live. Motivated by economic forces and driven by digital technologies and communications, globalization links individuals and institutions across the world with unprecedented interconnection and immediacy.” Farleigh Dickinson University's Global Learning Newsletter in an article entitled "What Is the Meaning of Global Education?" by Michael Sperling.

Definitions from Other Perspectives

From a financial and trade perspective: Globalization"refers to the increasing economic integration and interdependence of countries. Economic globalization in this century has proceeded along two main lines: trade liberalization (the increased circulation of goods) and financial liberalization (the expanded circulation of capital)." Currency Transaction Tax Glossary of Definitions

Fromthe perspective of a technology giant: Globalization is the "process of developing, manufacturing, and marketing software products that are intended for worldwide distribution. This term combines two aspects of the world: internationalization (enabling the product to be used without language or culture barriers) and localization (translating and enabling the product for a specific locale)." IBM Glossary of Unicode Terms

From the perspective of a political science professor whose area of expertise is Latin America: Globalization refers "in general to the worldwide integration of humanity and the compression of both the temporal and spatial dimensions of planetwide human interaction." It "has aggravated many of the region's most chronic problems--such as the pronounced degree of economic exploitation and social inequality that have characterized Latin America since it came under European colonial domination in the sixteenth century." Richard L. Harris, "The Global Context of Contemporary Latin American Affairs," in Capital, Power, and Inequality in Latin America, eds., Sandor Halebsky and Richard L. Harris (Boulder: Westview Press, 1995), 279, 80

From the perspective of a faith-based service and social justice organization: Globalization is "the term frequently used to identify a trend toward increased flow of goods, services, money, and ideas across national borders and the subsequent integration of the global economy. However, the term is also used to refer to a deliberate project led by powerful institutions, people, and countries like the United States to apply a single template of economic strategy and policy-"market fundamentalism"-to all countries and all situations." American Friends Service Committee

From the perspective of international relations: Globalization is "the increasing scope, scale and integration of interactions between and exchanges of ideas, peoples, and goods globally. It is usually discussed as a set of forces moving beyond the control of the traditional territorial national state." Lenses of Analysis: A Visual Framework for the Study of International Relations by Richard Harknett. (This is a webbook by the way.)

From the perspective of an institution of higher learning that uses web-based simulations as instructional tools: Globalization is "the process of worldwide integration of economic or political systems. Economically, globalization is driven by free trade and foreign investment. The concept of globalization can also be applied to cultural products (such as movies or music) or values (such as beliefs about human rights)." University of Maryland's Icon Project

From the perspective of a professor of international economics: Globalization is "the increasing world-wide integration of markets for goods, services and capital that attracted special attention in the late 1990's. Also used to encompass a variety of other changes that were perceived to occur at about the same time, such as an increased role for large corporations in the world economy and increased intervention into domestic policies and affairs by international institutions such as the IMF, WTO, and World Bank. Among countries outside the United States, especially developing countries, the term sometimes refers to the domination of world economic affairs and commerce by the United States." Deardorff's Glossary of International Economics

From the perspective of a banking institution: Globalization is "the generalized expansion of international economic activity which includes increased international trade, growth of international investment (foreign investment) and international migration, and increased creation of technology among countries. Globalization is the increasing world-wide integration of markets for goods, services, labor, and capital." The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis glossary

From the perspective of an international trade organization: Globalization is "the movement toward markets or policies that transcend national borders." Washington Council on International Trade

From the perspective of a social justice and environmental sustainability organization: "At the most basic level, globalization refers to the way in which commerce, information and culture are increasingly exchanged and managed on a world-wide, rather than local or national, basis. More significantly, the term refers to the intertwined pressures of free trade policies, multinational corporations, and concentrations of power in producing a global culture grounded in financial principles and goals." http://www.eco-justice.org/default.asp

From the perspective of an institution of higher education's library and research staff when categorizing library materials: Globalization is a term "used for transnational influences on culture, economics, politics, etc., especially illustrating global patterns or trends." University of California Riverside

From the perspective of book publisher on the topic of human geography: Globalization is "the increasing interconnectedness of different parts of the world through common processes of economic, environmental, political, and cultural change." http://www.prenhall.com/divisions/esm/app/knox/html/ch1/ch1terms.html

From Wikipedia: "Globalization is a term used to describe the changes in societies and the world economy that are the result of dramatically increased trade and cultural exchange. In specifically economic contexts, it refers almost exclusively to the effects of trade, particularly trade liberalization or free trade..." (Click here to read more about globalization from the Wikipedia site.)

Sources:

http://www.sociology.emory.edu/globalization/about.html
Currency Transaction Tax Glossary of Definitions
IBM Glossary of Unicode Terms
Richard L. Harris, "The Global Context of Contemporary Latin American Affairs," in Capital, Power, and Inequality in Latin America, eds., Sandor Halebsky and Richard L. Harris (Boulder: Westview Press, 1995), 279, 80
American Friends Service Committee
Lenses of Analysis: A Visual Framework for the Study of International Relations by Richard Harknett
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis glossary
University of Maryland's Icon Project
Deardorff's Glossary of International Economics
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Glossary
Washington Council on International Trade
http://www.eco-justice.org/default.asp
http://www.prenhall.com/divisions/esm/app/knox/html/ch1/ch1terms.html
Wikipedia
Farleigh Dickinson University's Global Learning Newsletter in an article entitled "What Is the Meaning of Global Education?" by Michael Sperling.

Social and Cultural Implications of the Development and Use of New Media

In researching this topic, we almost immediately concluded that new media’s impact on culture, society, commerce, learning, politics, etc. is vastly greater than we had originally thought: it’s immense. Below are just a few of the cultural and societal implications.

In M/Cyclopedia of New Media, an article entitled “Cultural and Social Implications of Personal Blogging” speaks of how women in Iran talk freely in blogs about their culture’s taboo subjects and are also free to talk about opinions, dreams, ideas, etc. that they would not be allowed to publicly express otherwise. Additionally, blogging in the Middle East is a quickly growing phenomenon used not only by women who have been repressed and unable to freely express themselves but also by men who have been repressed as well.

New media is changing how citizens participate in their local communities and countries. “Technology, Media, and the Next Generation in the Middle East” by Jon W. Anderson, Catholic University of America talks about how the “parameters of citizenship” are changing throughout the Arab world as a result of new media. Changes, though different perhaps, are occurring throughout the rest of the world as well as citizens get more information, information from more diverse sources, have immediate and ready access to voicing opinions to government officials, can communicate freely with others, etc.

New media broadens the definitions of community and social relationships. No longer are communities confined by geography, space, or proximity. “Virtual communities” are increasing and are becoming “mainstream” for those who have access to new media. Social relationships are becoming more heterogeneous as individuals communicate with others from places around the globe and are not limited, again, by geography, space, or proximity. Interestingly, heterogeneous social relationships may ultimately result in a more homogeneous “global culture”. The routine and immediate communication with others from all over the world may alter the perceptions that people have of their own communities, cities, countries. New media is changing how people interact and relate and how they think of themselves and their place in the world.

New media is also changing business, finance, and commerce; how we learn; how we create and process information; etc. Global markets have resulted in the ability to produce cheaper products. (M/Cyclopedia of New Media “Global Communication”) In North Carolina, which was traditionally a furniture and textile manufacturing state, the entire workforce development landscape has changed dramatically as a result of “off shoring” many furniture and textile manufacturing tasks which is a result of globalization brought on by new media technologies.

A number of articles we read spoke of how new media is changing “centers of status and power”. There are articles and books about how new media technologies are impacting world religions and how individuals go about formulating and communicating their beliefs.

As we stated in the beginning, the impact of new media on culture and society is vastly greater than we had imagined. In some ways that's a little unsettling, but we read about so many positive ways that new media affects culture and society that we are hopeful that the good far surpasses the bad. I hope we're not being Pollyannas!

Sources:

Web Gives Voice to Iranian Women
Cultural and Social Implications of Personal Blogging
Global Communication
Working Papers on New Media and Information Technology in the Middle East
The International Study Commission on Media, Religion, and Culture
Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies

Old Media Vs. New Media

Old media is generally used to describe traditional media: television and radio broadcasts, print (newspapers, magazines, books), film, etc. New media includes but is not limited to the Internet and World Wide Web, streaming audio and video, chat rooms, online communities, e-mail, video games, virtual realities, interactive media, DVD’s and CD-ROM’s, mobile or wireless computing, highly interactive user interfaces, telephone and digital data integration, other forms of multimedia popular from the 1990’s on.

Old media is perceived as being static, easily dated, sluggish, passive, less accessible, one-way communication while new media is perceived as being highly interactive and participatory, customizable, dynamic, multi-sensory, and often available in real time.

Old media and media technologies have generally been thought of as being separate and distinct. For example, television companies broadcast television programs and phone companies dealt with telephone communication. But the boundaries among old media providers have blurred over time as new media and old media integrate. This process is called convergence which John Hartley defines as “the integration of telephony, computing and media (broadcasting) technologies and thence the integration of the businesses, markets and the social interactions associated with them”. (M/Cyclopedia of New Media) . It may be this convergence rather than new media itself that has the most social, cultural, and geo-political implications.

Sources:

M/Cyclopedia of New Media

What Is New Media?

A cursory definition of "new media" is provided by Wikipedia: "New media usually refers to a group of relatively recent mass media based on new information technology.” (Wikipedia)

Most think new media includes but is not limited to the following: the Internet and World Wide Web, streaming audio and video, chat rooms, online communities, e-mail, video games, virtual realities, interactive media, DVD’s and CD-ROM’s, mobile or wireless computing, highly interactive user interfaces, blogs, telephone and digital data integration, other forms of multimedia popular from the 1990s on.

But new media is much more than the latest technologies. New media has the "power" to impact society, culture, politics, and everyday life. Its dimensions are at the same time both global and local; contemporary and historical; theoretical and practical; communal and individual. New media encompasses issues such as interactivity, virtuality, consumption, innovation, regulation, cyber-cultures, accessibility, identity in cyberspace, time and space in a global culture, and the politics of cyberspace. (New Media and Society, 1999)

Sources:

Wikipedia
New Media and Society

McLuhan's "The Medium is the Message"

McLuhan states in his article "The Medium is the Message" that any medium is an extension of ourself. Media is neither good nor bad. Only the intentions of the creator of the message can be good or bad. The creator chooses the medium/media in which to deliver the message. This choice of medium is important and can have social, psychological and cultural impacts on the receiver(s) of the message. The same content delivered with various media can have a completely different meanings. The message is dependent on which medium is chosen. McLuhan uses the example of electric light to support his beliefs. - MW

In McLuhan’s article “The Medium is the Message”, I believe that he is saying that regardless of the message, it is the medium that drives and shapes, to an equal or greater extent, societal and cultural changes. Messages have been delivered a variety of ways over time from cave drawings to today’s internet, but the medium and its relationship to accessibility, time, universality, and as an extension of ourselves, etc. has tremendous influence on social and cultural frameworks. A message is a message—thoughts, ideas, or information put into words. But the medium can alter, detract from, or enhance the message; affect the message’s accessibility and usability; affect the speed at which the message is delivered, processed, and synthesized; alter one’s perception of the messenger; affect the perception of time; and can make more or less demands on higher order thinking skills. - MH

Sample Blog Posting

This is a test to see how this blog works.