Why utilize an e-Portfolio?

I am frequently asked by educators, “What is the REAL value of e-portfolios?” While this may seemingly be a straightforward question, most often the real question is, “Do e-portfolios have any value?” My answer is yes, when used correctly and maintained.

Students have always used some type of “portfolio” system in higher education, even before the dawn of the World Wide Web. Writers and journalists had a consortium of published articles bound to black cardstock to display the professional piece; photographers commonly carried a large portfolio case of their top photographs with commentary below each mounted picture; architects carried a portfolio that showcases their creative designs and production that resembled a transportable museum, so to speak. While some of these pre-www. portfolio practices are still used today, many students and universities have embraced e-portfolios to facilitate reflection, application, and showcasing a portfolio of work to potential employers.

Even with the establishment of e-portfolios being a venue for students to learn, reflect, and show their work, there is still uncertainty of the value of this method. Common arguments against e-portfolios are:

• Outdated technology
• Students losing password and login information post-graduation
• Upkeep is too much work
• Lack of technology skill level by student and/or instructor to use and maintain an e-portfolio

So, why have an electronic portfolio, or e-portfolio, as part of your course curriculum if there are valid and logical arguments against the technology? If the world around us has changed into an e-communication streaming medium with e-mail, VoIP, ipads, and even TelePresence videoconferencing, why should we not expect students to learn, reflect, network, and share using this mode?

E-portfolios are a valuable developmental tool for instructors to use in the classroom to facilitate ongoing reflection, learning, and application. Most e-portfolios typically showcase skills and achievements in what resemble a blog format. Depending on the e-portfolio host or site a university uses, a student may have more limitations on what they can showcase and the format in doing so.

I found a great resource on why we need to have e-portfolios in the classroom from Penn State. This tutorial gives excellent reasons and resources for educators on using e-portfolios in the classroom. Please click here to watch the short video provided by Penn State.

Next week, I will cover basic e-portfolio platforms that are used by colleges and universities nationwide. You can also get creative with e-portfolios (education or professional based) by creating a dynamic and interactive blog! I will not only show you how to get started with each resource but final products so you can make the final decision on what fits your learning needs.

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Five Reasons Why Blogging Promotes Reflective Learning

Ten years ago, the meaning of the word blog would be unknown in many households. Today, it’s one of the popular buzz words among writers, internet search engines, and popular figures. A blog is a form of a website that allows the user to combine simple text, pictures, links, and media in a single or an ongoing post.  As of July 2011, BlogPulse (www.blogpulse.com) has identified more than 165 million blogs in existence.

Anyone can write a blog and publish its content for personal or professional endeavors. This form of self-publication has many benefits, including academic advantages for students; but, not entirely embraced by higher education. However, there are many benefits to incorporating blogging in the classroom that positively impact student learning.

1)      Blogging encourages creative expression. When I blog, I often search for creative and engaging means of expressing my thoughts, opinions, or stories to a following audience. By allowing a student to personalize their blog, they have a sense of pride and ownership; thereby, naturally taking a better initiative to give more thought and express meaningfully the content contributed towards their assignment.

2)      Blogging encourages kinesthetic reflective learning. Professor Marian Diamond’s, University of California, Berkeley, research includes the effects of “external environments, again, and immune responses on the cerebral neocortex” (Department of Integrative Biology, n.d.). Her research and understanding of the human brain in external learning environments demonstrates a direct correlation with reflective, kinesthetic learning to overall retention and application of new knowledge (UCBerkeley, 2007). Blogging naturally allows students to reflect on new material and apply through a written application process. This repetition through a process of kinesthetic learning engages students and also allows an ongoing record of their learning to be encapsulated.

3)      Blogging can give students a following audience. This audience can not only give valuable feedback but also encourage professional writing to a wider audience. Giving students a wider audience, than the instructor solely, ‘raises the bar’ for students and gives them a venue to develop important communication skills. In order for a student to ascertain their beliefs and thereby defending them, which can often times be tricky but a valuable skill to have as an upcoming professional.

4)      Blogging prepares students for their career field. As technology advances, it is not unanticipated to expect employers to desire potential or current employees to have the tech savvy skills to function in a 21^st Century technology driven world.

5)      Blogging is fun! Students, by my experience, would prefer blogging over writing traditional papers for reasons mentioned in this blog post, in accompany of their own personal preferences. What we need to understand is Millennials grew up with technology and the digital divide between older and younger generations becomes greater. As instructors, we must find unique and creative ways to engage students. This doesn’t mean we abandon solid pedagogy, but what is does require is that we continue to understand how students learn so we give them an opportunity to be successful.

I have given five solid reasons why blogging should be incorporated into post-secondary curriculum. Next week, I will compare popular blogging platforms that are free and easy to use. As the instructor, you will be able to make a better decision on the one that suits you and your instructional needs best.

References

Department of Integrative Biology, n.d. Dr. Marian C. Diamond [Website]. Retrieved from  http://ib.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/profiles/more/mdiamond.php

UCBerkeley (2007, August 20). Integrative Biology 131 – Lecture 01: Organization of Body [Video file].
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9WtBRNydso&feature=player_embedded

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Safekeeping your Social Media Networks

Accountants, designers, bankers, real estate agents, attorneys, among others keep detailed records that can expand years past. The reason? You never know when you need the information. The accountant wants to make sure that they can answer to a banker or the IRS if the time comes. A designer needs to showcase a creative portfolio of past work to prospective clients. A real estate agent will keep detailed records of economic and housing market trends and sales to build their business. An attorney lives by evidence and record keeping to defend their clients.

As a business owner or professional looking to expand their target audience or personal learning network, one would think safekeeping records, especially your network contacts and communication feeds would be of vital importance. We often think that backing up our computer system is enough. But, we live in a world of social media and not taking the time to backup your social media networks could be compared to not database management system.

While the event of losing your social media network data completely is rare, it is not unheard of losing access your social media networks through hacking or despoiled by a third party. I encourage you to look into two resources that are reasonable cheap:

1) Social Safe (http://www.socialsafe.net/)

Social Safe is an easy to use application not only stores your online social networks but provides the option of exporting your data. SocialSafe supports Facebook and Twitter and will soon include services for LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube, WordPress, Blogger, and Foursquare. This service allows you to store your friends list, wall posts and status updates, photos (album and tagged), comments and likes from Facebook, tweets, direct messages, in addition to followers and following on your Twitter profile. While an upgrade from a free account to a professional account may be needed to use all of these service, your social media networks are presented in an easy to use and find diary format.

2) Tweettake (http://www.tweettake.com)

If you are a Twitter lover or just a super cool instructor who has a massive following, this FREE service may be for you. This online application keeps record of your tweets, followers and following, favorites, and direct messages. In no time, Tweetake creates a CSV file holding nearly all the information that Twitter can store. The downside is there is a limit to the amount of information it can hold. So, if you run a business and want to hold onto important social media network information, I would suggest going for the pro services available through Social Safe.

Follow @LisaHoule

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Resources for Today’s “Techie” Teacher

It’s no surprise that teachers are O V E R W H E L M E D with the amount of social media resources and “techie” tools for the classroom. Today’s teacher can subscribe to countless blogs, vlogs, podcasts, e-newsletters, tweets, facebook pages, RSS feeds, and the like. My last blog talked about a paradigm shift that we are experiencing. The student sitting in a classroom today is not like a student sitting in a classroom 10 years ago. Rather than going to the library to find paper copies of resources needed for a class, students are turning to smartphones, ipads, laptops, itunes, blogs, and other collaborative social media related sites. The teacher has not been asked, but required to morph into a techie-like guru to satisfy this demand among students. The problem is…..where is all the BEST information? Quantity is NOT the problem. Just Google”teacher resources” and in 0.09 seconds, you will have 53,400,000 results, roughly.

Throughout the next few weeks, I will cover QUALITY social media and technology tools teachers can use in their course. Best of all, all of these resources are free.

First, check out the ALA Best Websites for Teaching and Learning by clicking this link:
http://bit.ly/5rZcKI

Second, follow me on Twitter @LisaHoule. I give daily updates on the best social media and technology tools instructors can use.

Third, remember to start small. You do not have to incorporate everything….trust me, your students don’t want you to do that! What students want are consistency, assistance from the instructor, application, and interaction. Meaning, keep it simple, offer me help, make it apply to my world, and make it F U N!

Check back next week where I highlight a creative way to use blogging in your class that your students will LOVE!

 
Follow @LisaHoule

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Paradigm Shift

Creating a learner-centered environment for students is widely accepted among scholars in multiple post-secondary disciplines as common practice in curriculum design. As professors, we have hastily shifted the paradigm of knowledge solely dispensed from elite scholars within the ‘ivory tower’ of higher education by engaging learners through applied-learning and embracing technology as a tool in teaching. This is an exceptional time to be teaching in higher education as traditional paradigms shift to embrace learning that is not feasible solely in closed physical classrooms.

As technology and social media revolutionize education, we are not only serving learners by engaging them in the world but meeting an expectation. Learners expect to use technology in coursework as it is demanded as a common skill set in the corporate environment. Further, learners entering the post secondary classroom are adapt to using technology. Today’s college student is part of the cell phone, video game, Facebook, application, internet, and it’s got an app generation. These traditional college freshman age learners are part of the first generation to be born post-dot-com-bust of the late 90s. This means that this generation of learners grew up learning with technology from the start of their K-12 education.

Embracing this change has not been easy for everyone in higher education. However, the open source education movement is giving teachers options to engage students using technology in the classroom that was not previously available in years past. Technology Gurus’, as I like to refer to (including myself), use social media and technology such as Moodle, Flickr, WordPress, Google, Animoto, TED, among others, to bridge the gap between students and the world they live in.

Open source resources allow teachers to be empowered by showing learners the coursework in a new paradigm: Putting theory into practice to engage students in the world they live in. Do you know that a lay person can watch a class at Harvard or Stanford through podcasts? Did you realize that students can self-publish their projects and essays using blogs, such as WordPress, in addition to professional resources such as Blurb and LuLu? Or, how about following blogs and engage in commentary to learn more about a culture that cannot normally be reached within the walls of a classroom?

Are you interested in the paradigm shift now? Check back next week where I provide valuable resources for teachers to use open source and technology resources to embrace applied-learning and technology as synchronous tools.

 

Follow @LisaHoule

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Service-Learning Resources

Service-learning is a branch of applied-learning and can be defined as learning by doing through an act of giving. When students give back to their community, they are learning life skills that cannot be obtained in the traditional classroom. In addition, when students are engaged and feel a part of their civic or campus community, we find that this alone helps students feel a sense of purpose and belonging in their community. This sense of belonging is key to ensure a student is on the right path to stay in school through the completion of their degree. Service-learning has another side of the coin, however. If service could be called “heads,” then learning would certainly be identified as the “tails” side of the coin. Without both, the experience is as one-sided as a coin without heads and tails.

The learning emphasis on “service-learning” is equally important, but often overlooked. Students mustbe able to understand, master, and retain the learning or course objectives in the class as a result of the service-learning project. Otherwise, a student would find themselves volunteering at best. The incorporation of learning must be weaved into the course and not an episodic experience. In addition, service-learning is not an “add on.” Teachers should not be expected to “add on” service-learning to their curriculum. Rather, it is meant to be part of an ongoing curriculum and can often replace or be an aid to many assignments. For example, instead of students writing a marketing plan for a fake company, why not help a non-profit or sole proprietor out by creating a marketing plan for their business?! The student will understand the learning objectives of the course because they are applying the skills needed to create a marketing plan but the real life emphasis takes the student much farther than creating a plan for a fake company. The student is engaged with the community and can use the marketing plan as experience on their resume, or even ask for a reference.

As educators, we have a responsibility to help students, or as I like to call them learners, succeed. No longer is the chalk and talk or memorization and recall pedagogy widely accepted in higher education. Our collegiate peers are embracing applied-learning teaching methods to help students contextualize the learning objectives in the class. Further, students are not asking, but demanding for real life experience that take them farther than the walls of a classroom.

If you are a teacher who is looking to use service-learning as a teaching methodology in your course, you may have a lot of questions. Finding answers to questions is a great place to start and I encourage instructors to ask questions throughout the service-learning experience. Often, we tend to learn just as much, if not more, about ourselves as teachers through a service-learning experience as ourstudents in understanding the learning objectives in the course. My first suggestion to any instructor would be to utilize the resources available on your campus. In the event that your campus has rules and regulations with students working with people or organizations outside the college, it is best these are understood prior to planning a service-learning project. Verify if your campus has a Service-Learning Coordinator or Academic Support Specialist who can answer your questions on service-learning and help you plan your project. While the title name may vary across campuses of who this support person is, typically, most colleges and universities now have a department or team lead individual identified to help faculty with service-learning projects.

In addition to using your campus resources, the second suggestion I give instructors is to utilize the resources at your library. While there are not many books published on service-learning, there are a few good foundational books that are often available through library circulation. There are also many websites you can utilize to learn more about service-learning in K-12 and higher education:

Service Leader:
http://www.serviceleader.org

National Service-Learning Clearinghouse:
http://www.servicelearning.org/

National Youth Leadership Council:
http://www.nylc.org/

United We Serve:
http://www.serve.gov/

Campus Compact:
http://campuscompact.org/

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Service-Learning Evaluation

Service-learning is a teaching methodology used to aid in student understanding of the learning objectives of a given course. The spirit of service-learning could be described as learning by doing through an act of giving time and talent. We as educators want students to see the value of learning by doing and engage beyond the walls of a classroom.

While most educators find the service activity a natural fit to teaching and learning, evaluation of the learning is opaque. Developing evaluation rubrics for service-learning projects is not as challenging as one may perceive. The main emphasis we must maintain is to correlate the learning objectives in the course to the rubric directly. This means that students should be developing understanding and demonstrating the learning objectives in a given course throughout the service-learning project. If this continuum is not maintained, we as educators run the risk of requiring our students to volunteer, at best.

When the learning objectives of the course have been identified, one can now start to develop an evaluation rubric of the service-learning project. While there are many steps in developing a service-learning project, the purpose of this blog entry, specifically, is to identify the characteristics of an effective evaluation. Once one has identified the learning objectives, they must pinpoint the goals of the service-learning project. What are you expecting students to accomplish? What should students be able to demonstrate understanding of as a result of the service-learning project? What traits should students identify/demonstrate as a result of the project? You get the idea.

An effective evaluation is always clear to students up front. Prior to beginning a project, students rely upon knowing what they can expect to experience and how they will be evaluated. While educators should not be evaluating students on whether they “liked” or “disliked” a service-learning experience, we can evaluate students on the following:

Accurate: Are students able to present accurate and reliable EVIDENCE from their service-learning experience? Meaning, can students put theory into practice? Is this presented in the reflection or assignment?

Pertinent: Does the student actually answer the evaluation question clearly and directly? Or, are they giving an ambiguous statement that frees them from giving a direct response?

Objective: This is where the grey area is. We want students to be able to give us feedback, but not base their analysis with statements that are only laden with emotion. Students should be objective with their analysis of the experience. Meaning, students should faithfully represent their experience in relation to the course versus inserting their own opinions (emotionally based) as evidence.

Well organized and readable: Is the evaluation easy to understand? Is the assignment free of jargon? Is the reflection clear?

Logical: Does the student show RELATIONSHIP or CONNECTION with the learning objectives in the class to the service-learning experience? An important note for us as educators is to remember to meet the student at their critical thinking level. This means that we should be focusing on asking ourselves how the questions are posed to students. In order for students to present logical responses that are based in critical thinking, versus their feelings about the experience, they must clearly be presented questions with distinction and precise language.

Useful: Does the student provide useful information for the reader? Is this information based on observation and application? Would the information be helpful for improvement or demonstrate that the student identifies a need within the community the service-learning project took place?

Fundamentally, one wants to remember that the purpose of a service-learning experience is to allow students to learn by giving back to their community. The primary importance should not be placed in the evaluation metric but on developing an enriching experience for both students and community.

To review the presentation on service-learning evaluation in its entirety, please visit the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse Website:
http://servicelearning.org/webinars/service-learning-evaluation

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Creative ways to bring out the techie in every instructor

There is no denying it: We live in a digital age. Technology is taking society, culture, and education by storm and there is no turning back. Only a few short years ago, we were in awe of the floppy disk and its ability to save information between computers. Now, floppy disks make great “techie” coasters for that cup of joe while you read this fantastic online blog.

While some may be intimidated with the digital change, others have learned to embrace it, for the better! Often, we try to find new innovate ways to engage students in our class. Service-learning is already an active approach to learning that is often widely embraced among students. Adult learners must be hands on and involved in learning. No longer are students expecting instructors to prepare a five-star lecture. Rather, students demand that instructors be hands-on in their teaching methodology. Technology and digital communication is interlocked in the social and professional fields; thus, learners have come to expect using this media in the classroom.

There are multiple, and creative ways, learners can reflect or even promote service-learning to the general community. I encourage you to “try on” one of the following technology tools in your classroom. Generally, students can even share this media with friends, family, and even employers making it a win-win on all sides.

Animoto

Animoto is a web application with a free basic accounts that create music video like slide shows. Students upload their own pictures and select free music for their slide show feature. Animoto is a great tool to allow students to reflect using a creative outlet. Animoto slide shows can be shared and are well accepted among students.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn  is a free social networking site that allows professionals to network with over 85 million members. The purpose of LinkedIn is to allow professionals to link, connect, and create with fellow professionals in your field. LinkedIn has features where members can create and promote events, in addition to uploading materials. Since we want our students to consider networking as an opportunity in service-learning, this free site is an excellent way for students to establish connections and learn more about organizations/businesses in their community.

Vimeo

Vimeo is a free video-sharing website that allows users to upload, share and view videos. What makes it different than youtube is that there are no commercial, gaming, or adult videos on the site. Since Vimeo is safe for the college classroom, it is a great tool to use with students as a means to share information or allow students to be creative. Imagine if students, even if at the most basic amateur level, created a video sharing their service-learning experience!

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking site that allows users to connect with friends world-wide. Originally, facebook was deemed for college students only. Now, a user only has to be 13 to create an account. Facebook is a great tool for instructors to create a group page for their service-learning project. Students can upload photos, make comments, and connect with their peers. If creating a sense of community is the number one retention tool, Facebook, when used appropriately, is a great way to help students get connected with their community.

SurveyMonkey

SurveyMonkey is a website that offers basic free and pro web-based surveys. Often, instructors find themselves struggling to help students research and understand the community or community partner they will be working with as part of their service-learning project. An instructor can use SurveyMonkey to assess students’ previous experiences with a particular population or as an assignment, have students create their own surveys about perceptions (for example) and distribute them among their peers and family. By creating reflection that is prior, during, and following, students are able to have a better grasp and understanding of how their perceptions were or are formed.

There are countless technology tools that one could use to engage students in today’s technology driven classroom. The point is to make sure that YOU, the instructor, are comfortable using the tools and helping students utilize them to their full potential. Don’t be afraid to just try one new technology tool in your residential course. If the shoe doesn’t fit, you can always try on something else!

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Community versus Going Rogue

 

I recently came across an article suggesting that we as educators are hindering students ability to learn because we are answering too many of their questions in class. I remember the days of being a college student and asking practical questions on the expected margin width of a paper or when my final exams were scheduled. This information was almost always located on the syllabus or school website but when panic sets in, there was an unsettling urgency to find answers. My personal belief is that anyone who wanted to succeed in college felt this urgency at some point or another. Typically, students who feel the necessity to ask countless questions either are very curious learners or lack the confidence necessary to locate the information themselves.

This poses the question are we as educators enabling students by giving them immediate answers to every inquiry? “For the most part, college students enrolled in beginning chemistry courses do not, during laboratory-based experiences, learn to follow directions. Instead they learn to depend excessively upon oral directions presented by the instructor in response to their queries.” (p. 103).

While this does hold some truth that we as educators do not want to enable students to always receive an easy answer – learning atrophy takes place – I pose the question that if students are expected to learn in a new learning environment, are we as educators displacing trust by not answering their questions?

When I expect my students to be engaged in a service-learning activity, I challenge them using a manifold of reflection questions that employs critical thinking in their search for an answer. As their instructor, these reflection questions compel students to ask questions. If I do not connect the learning with service in this manner, students unequivocally bypass a powerful opportunity to discover the connection between their personal lives and the learning objective.

Hosting an assumption that we are hindering a learning lesson by not answering our students questions only creates an environment that lacks trust and rapport between teacher and student. This opens new issues of students disrupting the class or learning experience to ask other students questions or vent their frustrations to their peers. These actions may play into a domino effect and result in students stirring up irrational fears or uncertainty in their ability to be successful in college. If the number one retention tool for keeping a student in college from the time they enroll to graduation is a strong sense of community, would it not be an oxymoron to suggest that educators should let students figure it out themselves?

Reference: Hilosky, A., Sutman, F., and Schmuckler, J. (1998). Is laboratory-based instruction in beginning college-level chemistry worth the effort and expense? Journal of Chemical Education, 75

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Role of Reflection in Service-Learning

Reflection is an inestimable step of the learning and retention process for students engaging in service-learning projects. Often overlooked, reflection is a component that should be integrated, or weaved, into course curriculum alongside the service-learning component. Using reflection as a learning tool in addition to an evaluation method can give students an opportunity to apply and immediately use the content being presented in the course.

Many instructors, however, do not present reflection in a manner that is most beneficial for students. Reflection in the form of discussion is often asked as “How did you feel?” or “What are your thoughts?” While these questions are valid, they provoke little critical thinking in the student.  If an instructor does not challenge students to reflect on the self in discipline, directive, monitoring, and corrective thinking, the learner will only consider a breadth of knowledge versus thinking in depth and analysis. The Socratic dialogue affirms that one (leaner) will come to truth by logical questioning and unhindered doubt of another person or event (Tredway, 1995).

By allowing a student to question the world around them in a safe learning environment, we give freedom to present feedback that is more personable and germane. This, however, stretches us as an instructor because we open the door for negative feedback or disagreement to the content presented to the student’s ideologies. Yet, we have a duty to challenge students to come to well-reasoned conclusions.

Since reflection is an examination into one’s understanding of the world, we as instructors need to allow students opportunities to engage the world around them. When reflection is combined with meaningful learning, the ultimate goal is to allow students to make choices based in creative (critical) thinking in addition to increasing effectiveness through knowledge. In order to obtain this ultimate goal, reflection must be conducted prior, during, and following a service-learning experience. In addition, we must allow students to give us honest feedback about their understanding. Allowing students to give honest feedback is one of the most difficult but effective goals in our pedagogy. In order to fully understand the reflection stages, we need to grasp each step

Prior

In this preparatory stage, we are preparing the students for what they are about to experience or learn. This stage is a time for students to evaluate their current knowledge of what is already known and what to look forward to. In order for students to fully reflect on the experience, they need to understand where their ideologies rooted from.

Preparation: What do they already know? What does the student hope to learn?

During

As students are in the midst of the service-learning experience, now is the time to ask the questions surrounding what they are doing, what is expected/unexpected, what is being taken in, what is surprising. Later, students can look back and see how their assumptions or expectations were accurate or inaccurate based on their direct experiences.

During: What was expected/unexpected? What are they doing/applying to the course material?

Following

Often the most popular form of reflection, students should engage their thinking following a service-learning event so they understand the big picture or so what of the experience. In order to have in-depth reflection following an assignment, students must have engaged in the reflective process prior and during the event. By doing this, students have a track record or timeline of what happened.

Following: What is the big picture? What is the “so what” of the experience?

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