At the International Coalition of Electronic Portfolio meetings in late February conversation centered around Web 2.0 types of tools - i.e., web tools that go beyond simple publication and encourage participation. I would certainly consider the Blogs@PennState tool as belong to this category.
What roles do these new web apps play in educational arenas and in particular as they relate to electronic portfolios? Helen Barrett is always reminding us to look back to our purpose.
I shared this diagram with participants. This is my own perspective on this question and includes a lot of what I learned from my conversation in these meetings.
Purpose? ... Would fostering the development of an active and intelligent citizenry (life-long learning) be a reasonable end goal? This would necessarily involve one's looking back and thinking about what happens in life and why (reflective practice), which stems from a sense of legitimate agency (self-authorship). Ok, but how do we get there...
Given this end goal, in working with undergraduates in a variety of curricular and co-curricular experiences does higher education provide opportunities for students to learn and make connections between theory and practice? Yes, and in many cases we do this very well. But what e-portfolios has brought to my attention anew is the lack of experience and confidence that these pre-professionals bring to their newly discovered academic or professional contexts. How do students move from pre-professional to professional?
How do these individuals become accepted members in these new networks? Can we use the participatory features of new web apps to provide students with a mode of personal expression that instills a sense of identity, but more importantly within this context, access to a community that can help validate their contribution? Are these strategies that will assist students in gaining ownership in what they have to contribute - better yet - membership in their chosen field of professional endeavor?
What roles do these new web apps play in educational arenas and in particular as they relate to electronic portfolios? Helen Barrett is always reminding us to look back to our purpose.
I shared this diagram with participants. This is my own perspective on this question and includes a lot of what I learned from my conversation in these meetings.
Purpose? ... Would fostering the development of an active and intelligent citizenry (life-long learning) be a reasonable end goal? This would necessarily involve one's looking back and thinking about what happens in life and why (reflective practice), which stems from a sense of legitimate agency (self-authorship). Ok, but how do we get there... Given this end goal, in working with undergraduates in a variety of curricular and co-curricular experiences does higher education provide opportunities for students to learn and make connections between theory and practice? Yes, and in many cases we do this very well. But what e-portfolios has brought to my attention anew is the lack of experience and confidence that these pre-professionals bring to their newly discovered academic or professional contexts. How do students move from pre-professional to professional?
How do these individuals become accepted members in these new networks? Can we use the participatory features of new web apps to provide students with a mode of personal expression that instills a sense of identity, but more importantly within this context, access to a community that can help validate their contribution? Are these strategies that will assist students in gaining ownership in what they have to contribute - better yet - membership in their chosen field of professional endeavor?
This is exactly how I'd love to see blogs@psu to be used - to foster learning communities that can lead to the support of life long learning after the student graduates.
It is interesting how you say the community can be a source of validation for the participant. Very True. I see this as a path leading away from the strict hierarchies of the past.
This is the right direction. The notion of getting people to reflect in an ongoing sense is the most critical piece to this. Ongoing is at the core of getting people to life long learning.