It was exciting to see the cacophony of interest about blogs and portfolios at yesterday's workshop in Harrisburg. It reminded me of the way Tom Waits feels about attending a symphony. He likes to get there early so he can listen to the players tune up. Waits finds the beauty of the orchestra in the energy of the creative process. For him, the concert, where the process is actualized, is anticlimactic.
I found this feeling analogous to the conversations going on around the room at the beginning of the workshop. All of the attendees had heard enough about blogs and portfolios to think they may be important. Most said they do not read blogs nor did they have a blog of their own. Some had made several false starts at starting a blog, most of which had been deleted or abandoned. But there was an unquestioned energy in the room. The kind of energy that exists when folks are anxious to create.
As the workshop carried on I realized that while we could talk around the topic we still did not know it well enough to create something of meaning--yet. And that's the critical piece. I think what we need to do is to design an environment that enables this nebulous energy to begin to form into something greater. I think there are several things we can do to spur this process on:
I found this feeling analogous to the conversations going on around the room at the beginning of the workshop. All of the attendees had heard enough about blogs and portfolios to think they may be important. Most said they do not read blogs nor did they have a blog of their own. Some had made several false starts at starting a blog, most of which had been deleted or abandoned. But there was an unquestioned energy in the room. The kind of energy that exists when folks are anxious to create.
As the workshop carried on I realized that while we could talk around the topic we still did not know it well enough to create something of meaning--yet. And that's the critical piece. I think what we need to do is to design an environment that enables this nebulous energy to begin to form into something greater. I think there are several things we can do to spur this process on:
- Create an environment that not only allows them to fail but, where failure is encouraged. Unfortunately, most of us when we try something new, particularly something we do not feel comfortable with, or have an inkling we made be good at, raise our hands in surrender after the first attempt crashes and burns. We need to make it so folks understand that this is a process, a journey, of finding one's style and voice in a way and a medium that is unfamiliar terrain. Personally, this is my fifth attempt at a blog and I'm just now beginning to feel like I'm finding my voice.
- Provide plenty of examples and non-examples. A consistent theme I find is that people are unsure of the differences between blogs and portfolios. I've been part of several conversations where we failed to connect because we were using terms interchangeably. Sometimes when folks say portfolio they're really talking about their personal web space and when they say they have a blog they're really saying they signed into Moveable Type. Or, they say they have a portfolio when they really have a blog or vice-verse. We should provide some distinct examples of each. We should also be clear in our terminology and what we're talking about. This may require some over-explaining at first but, that's okay.
- Get out of the basement and into the studio. I find that we loose way to many people when we immediately dive into the mechanics at these sessions. These folks are there because they want to create so let's get them creating right away. When we begin with the mechanics their eyes either glaze over with boredom with a subject they do not care to understand or the become white with fear because they feel they'll never be able to do this. It's like the editor of a newspaper taking a new reporter into the basement of the building on her first day and showing her how the plumbing works. Who cares?
- Help them develop new literacy skills. The medium is a bit different than what folks are used to and it calls for a different approach. The good news is that it's conceptual basis lies in the same realm where folks are used to being--creating compositions. So if we build on what they know and what they are good at--which is story telling--we can show them the affordances and the limitations of this medium so they can create.
- Build a community support system. Something that really works is the community model of support. There were several instances at the workshop where we were able to bring folks back from the abyss by utilizing the blogs@PSU space. Both the video tutorials and Help features provided nimble access to just the right information.
The combination of Tom Waits and instructional technology is brilliant. Nicely done. I would not have believed it, if I did not read it.
I agree with the key points you have outlined and have found getting into the studio one of the most important. The background nuts and bolts can be filled in as needed. Good examples and a community to share experiences are also critical.
What a great vision for redrafting how we talk and present all of this! You totally sold me.
Great thoughts ... I love it. How do we start down the path?
Cole,
What if we put together a "Digital Presentation" workshop for folks interested in doing blogs/portfolios.
-Prior to the session we'd poll them to gauge why they are coming. What they hope to get out of it.
- Based on the info, We could ask them to come with the raw materials (photos, good writing samples, artifacts)
- We walk them through the creation process.
--examples & non-examples
--writing guidelines to follow
--media use guidelines
--aesthetic/formatting guidelines
- Then we turn them loose in a safe environment while we provide support.
- We try to help them form a community. Running ideas past each other. Commenting on each others post, etc.
I'm thinking a similar type of format for the portfolio space. It's blue sky. Ideas are welcome.
The idea is to get these folks thinking in narrative. That their space, no matter what type it is, is telling a story--their story.
I want to help them transfer what they do now in different formats into this format. I think if we start in the realm their comfortable and good at, rather than scaring them with the unknown, we have a better chance at them achieving success.
Hi Jeff,
Excellent call to action - your suggestions are right on! As you mentioned portfolio development is an ongoing process that involves continual improvement so we shouldn't be afraid to make mistakes. Thanks for sharing your quest to master blog writing through several attempts - we should all be less apprehensive! Our faculty appreciate examples (and non-examples) and well-developed models that they can use as a guide for their unique and creative sites. It is something that we instructional technologists somethings forget so it was include in your training and awareness plan.
From a technical point, some blogs tend to be less efficient at organizing and storing artifacts and in some cases requires a separate web site or product. Does Moveable Type handle such digital assets?
Joe Fahs (7-4-09)
Thanks for this post Jeff! I'm glad that you also felt the energy in the room that morning. Having 20 faculty in attendance at a summer session is amazing!!
I would like to think that something I did helped to create that atmosphere, and I'll share it here (you've already suggested it in your comments above). First, in my workshop invitation to faculty, I presented a range of possibilities: "Blogs and e-portfolios are seeing an increased use on campuses. Blogs are being used in various ways - for a faculty's professional website, for a class blog, and for student journaling. E-portfolios are being used as a way to capture and highlight students' learning over time, and are quite effective for assessment purposes. The Blogs@PennState initiative is our newest tool to make the publication of blogs and eportfolios easier. A hands-on workshop on building and using blogs/eportfolios for ourselves professionally, and for our students' use will be held on June 30th (details above)."
Then, after I had my list of faculty attendees, I solicited them for their reasons for attending - providing them an opportunity to reflect on what they hoped to learn/accomplish (I believe that, first, asking them, and second, having them put it in writing, has some power): "Please respond to Carol by the end of this week with a short explanation of your interest in the use of blogs/e-portfolios, whether it is for your personal/professional use, or for your students' use, what you hope to learn during this workshop, and what you want to be able to do after the workshop." I shared their responses with Glenn so he would be aware of their varied needs and could plan to address them during the workshop.
Finally, at the conclusion of the workshop, I gave them two sheets of paper. One asked them to write down their action plan, which they kept for themselves: "Moving forward with what I learned today, this is what I would like to do." The other asked them to share their support needs, which they turned in to me as they left the workshop: "Based on your action plan, what do you anticipate to be your support needs? In other words, what kind of support would you like the Faculty Center to provide you in order for you to implement your action plan? Please be as specific as possible." This gave me the opportunity to follow up with them, and allowed me to plan for their support needs.
Now that they've been through the nuts and bolts workshop and their minds are going wild with the possibilities available, another session is needed to bring them back together to share what they've done so far, and to provide them with the support to take the next steps. Jeff, when can you come back? :-)
Hi Carol,
Thanks for sharing what you do to engage faculty. I always thought you were great and communicating and engaging faculty. Whenever I get invited I always know to expect a great bunch of folks to work with.
I'm putting together this type of workshop over the summer and I'll be looking for groups to iterate and refine it with over fall. I'd love to come down sometime.
I'm back in the office next week. Let's talk more.
Jeff
I am really excited about your vision for how this will work, Jeff! It is essential to create a context in which to address affordances and features of blogs/e-portfolios. Get students (and faculty) up and running with their own blog in as few clicks as possible. Uploading media/assets, tagging, commenting, etc. are then played out in an authentic context and with meaning. When students can leave with their e-portfolio started, my sense is that there will be a better chance of them pursuing it.
So glad to be working with you this summer!
May this be the beginning of the end of the one-size-fits-all, once-and-done, faculty professional development!!