I had an interesting morning chat with Dave Stong of ETS about the changing nature of e-Portfolios. He asked me what was different about them from the ones that have been around for some time.
My immediate thought was that an e-Port is no longer a one-way communication channel. You can set your e-Portfolio so people can comment on what you post and chat about.
My second thought was that an e-Port can provide a more holistic view on an individual. It's not just about the stuff you produce, it's also the journey you took to get there. You may write about your personal life and how it shapes you.
The ability to show who you are, not just what you can do, and the ability for others to chime in and start conversations are for me the most obvious changes that is happening in this space.
Then our conversation drifted into how e-Ports for students can be domain-specific. Each discipline has a unique set of things they expect to see in an e-Port. How can a unit like ETS possibly hope to know all these domain-specific conventions? We can't. Instead, we need to rely on content experts in a domain to guide students in that domain in the development of their e-Port. ETS is making headway here by testing a simple model out. We're bringing in a grad student, providing the needed technical skills training so he can use and teach others the tools available at PSU for creating e-Ports, then sending him back to his department/college so he can work directly with faculty to diffuse these innovations. I have high hope for success of this model, and hope we can replicate it in many places.
What about involving business and industry here? What do they look for an an e-Port? I don't know what efforts at PSU are underway to assist students so their e-Ports will mesh with prospective employer's expectations, but it is a critical need.
Then another turn in the conversation led to student awareness of how their e-Port might be used to drive college and university agendas forward without their knowledge. For example, a student's e-Port, if in public space, might be used by colleges for accreditation purposes. In this case, would the student even be aware of it? Should they be? The obvious answer for this particular example is "It's in public space." and thus is open for this use. Hopefully we'll soon have a private space option for blogs and students can easily be made aware of the differences between the two spaces, and when they can and should use one versus the other.
There is a larger issue here of university use of student creations/assets without their knowledge. As far as I know PSU policies cover this, but I wonder about the field of higher education in general - who's guarding the door?
My immediate thought was that an e-Port is no longer a one-way communication channel. You can set your e-Portfolio so people can comment on what you post and chat about.
My second thought was that an e-Port can provide a more holistic view on an individual. It's not just about the stuff you produce, it's also the journey you took to get there. You may write about your personal life and how it shapes you.
The ability to show who you are, not just what you can do, and the ability for others to chime in and start conversations are for me the most obvious changes that is happening in this space.
Then our conversation drifted into how e-Ports for students can be domain-specific. Each discipline has a unique set of things they expect to see in an e-Port. How can a unit like ETS possibly hope to know all these domain-specific conventions? We can't. Instead, we need to rely on content experts in a domain to guide students in that domain in the development of their e-Port. ETS is making headway here by testing a simple model out. We're bringing in a grad student, providing the needed technical skills training so he can use and teach others the tools available at PSU for creating e-Ports, then sending him back to his department/college so he can work directly with faculty to diffuse these innovations. I have high hope for success of this model, and hope we can replicate it in many places.
What about involving business and industry here? What do they look for an an e-Port? I don't know what efforts at PSU are underway to assist students so their e-Ports will mesh with prospective employer's expectations, but it is a critical need.
Then another turn in the conversation led to student awareness of how their e-Port might be used to drive college and university agendas forward without their knowledge. For example, a student's e-Port, if in public space, might be used by colleges for accreditation purposes. In this case, would the student even be aware of it? Should they be? The obvious answer for this particular example is "It's in public space." and thus is open for this use. Hopefully we'll soon have a private space option for blogs and students can easily be made aware of the differences between the two spaces, and when they can and should use one versus the other.
There is a larger issue here of university use of student creations/assets without their knowledge. As far as I know PSU policies cover this, but I wonder about the field of higher education in general - who's guarding the door?
