"AHA" moments

I had several “AHA” moments in 2013 Implementing E-Portfolios in English Language Learning with Google Apps workshop with Dr. Barrett. I’m completely convinced of the need I have of developing technological skills in order to do a good job as a facilitator. I’d tried to learn how to use some technological tools before but I found it too hard that I just quit. It was really nice to see how easy it is to use Google Drive and Google Sites. Last semester I had my classes work with portfolios (traditional portfolios, I must say) and some students included some digital artifacts.  So, I can’t wait to start working with ePortfolios! Of course, I have to invest time and effort in order to be able to teach students to create their digital portofolios but I’m willing to pay the price to get there.

Another “AHA” moment was when Helen showed us examples of storytelling. They’re very inspiring and what I like the most is that they’re doable. I can see my kids working with their storytelling already! I also had an “AHA” moment when I explored some of the sites Dr. Barrett recommended. For example I’ve already registered in RubyStar because I’ve been using rubrics for quite a time now and it used to take a long to create them. As Dr. Barrett says we should make the most of the technological tools we have in order to make time to reflect on our teaching and improve every day. And that’s my most valuable “AHA” moment along the workshop: the importance of reflection from both students and teachers. That is something I’ve kind of done in my lessons but I can do better.

So, what I want to explore in the future are the sites and apps we saw in the workshop as well as the components of the ePortofolios. My next steps are: first, to learn how to use Google Drive and Google Sites proficiently. Then I want to learn how to use other apps or sites, especially the ones that are used to work with storytelling. I also want to encourage students to reflect on their learning on a regular basis and help them create their digital portfolios next semester.  As you can see I have lots of things to do, right? 

Helping students reflect on their learning

A recent trend in education which I find really useful is “reflective teaching”. Long time ago I attended a conference with a very well-known author of textbooks and it dawned on me how important it is to reflect on what we’ve done in order to keep making progress. 

Since we want our students to improve their skills, it is critical that they learn to reflect on their learning experience too. To start with, it is essential that they reflect on their goals so that they can develop a plan to reach those goals. If they don’t know what they want to get out of a class or course, they won’t have anything to keep them focused. Also, they should reflect on their learning on a regular basis. I think it is a good idea to have students keep a journal so that they can go back and see how much they’ve learned and how they’ve learned it. That way they will develop a sense of achievement and identify their areas of improvement to do better next time.

I can’t agree more with Dr. Barret: There’s no learning without reflection.

Reflection on Session 1

In today’s session we discussed the benefits of working with ePortfolios from both process and product. The ones that I find the most relevant out of the process are the fact that it helps students develop self-esteem and confidence as well as the practice they get in using a tool that can be used in life long and life wide learning quests. Moreover, this process helps students get used to self-assessment through reflecting their own learning. When it comes about the product, I’d say the most significant advantage of working with ePortafolios is that they will have a personal learning record that is completely portable and available no matter where they are.

As Dr. Barret says, we don’t need to push students to work with social networks. They just love it! That’s why creating ePortfolios could be really attractive for students. Motivation is a critical aspect for meaningful learning and I’d say most students are already motivated to work with technology. But that’s not enough. It is important that we help students see other benefits that working with ePortfolios offers.

 I recognize that usually students are more skillful than me when it comes about technology. That’s why I need to work hard to catch up with them. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with learning from your students. On the contrary, the way I see it it’s a great opportunity to build up a special bond with your class when you let them show and share their talents.

Today we saw many useful applications; so many that I feel kind of overwhelmed. But, at the same time, I feel enthusiastic about the challenge. I know I can do it!

The ultimate feature in ePortfolios: Reflection

What makes ePortfolios a meaningful tool for learning is reflection. If students don’t reflect on their work, the portfolio is nothing but a collection of tasks. Abrami (2008) sees three moments in which students must reflect: before, during and after developing their portfolio. Reflecting before they design their portfolio allows students to set achievable yet challenging goals. This will lead students to be more goal-oriented and see the need of designing a strategic plan in order to reach their objectives. during their ePortfolio development implies self-control from learners. This is, they have stay focused and motivated so that they can do the most of their resources and effort. They may need to make changes along the way depending on their own observations of the task. Once they’ve finished their ePortfolio, students need to reflect again and assess their results. This allows students to develop a sense of achievement and, at the same time, they have the chance to see what they could’ve done better or need to improve.

Some of the benefits I see in this reflective approach are:

·        Learning experience is more stimulating

·        Students focus on the learning process much more than just in the product

·        Students get aware of their learning style

·        Students learn to manage feedback

·        Making mistakes is seen as learning steps

This reflection cycle will make the design of ePortfolios a very enjoyable task!  

Philip C. Abrami, C. Anne Wade, Vanitha Pillay, Ofra Aslan, Eva M. Bures, Caitlin Bentley: "Encouraging self-regulated learning through electronic portfolios." Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology V34(3) Fall 2008

Different tools for different kinds of ePortfolios

There are different types of tools we can use for creating e-portfolios. Of course they all have pros and cons but pros are many more than cons. To start with, they all have free versions so that students don’t need to spend any money on using them. Also they all have many easy-to-use features that allow students to be creative and imaginative. Since young people are usually into technology, they don’t have any trouble working with these apps.

Let’s take Google Apps as an example. It has great capacity and lots of templates. They also allow students to work collaboratively or independently. It has been said that Weebly is a very fun tool to use because you can include photo galleries and slide shows in your portfolio.  On the other hand, Wordpress is a fantastic blogging tool that helps you make your ePortfolio more appealing. It’s not that easy to use at the beginning, though. At last but not least, there’s Yola. It allows students include images in their ePortfolio and there are lots of free templates they can use.

Personally, I need to get familiar with all these tools because I haven’t used them that much. I think I’ll have to ask my daughter to teach me how to make the most of them :)

A very valuable learning tool: e-portfolios!

I’d like to share with you some basic concepts about e-portfolios. First of all, an e-portfolio is “a purposeful collection of student’s work that exhibits the student’s effort, progress and achievements in one or more areas.” I find this definition very insightful because I thought a portfolio was just a collection of student’s work to see his/her progress along time. So, what called my attention was the word “purposeful” because that means that we teachers need to set a clear objective of why we’ll have our students work on a portfolio so that everything we do lead students to reach that aim. Depending on the objective one has in mind is the kind of portfolio that will be developed and the tools that will be used to do it. E-portfolios are those which are entirely computer readable and it is very recommendable to use them because they offer a lot of benefits, such as portability, easy to create back-up files, completely learner centered, etc.  

There are certain steps to follow in order to create an e-portfolio:

1.      Defining the portfolio context and goals.

2.      The working portfolio

3.      The reflective portfolio (what?, so what?, and now what?)

4.      The connected portfolio

5.      The presentation portfolio

There are different kinds of portfolios: learning, assessment and employment portfolios. Basically, learning portfolios focus on the learning process; assessment portfolios focus on the learning product and employment portfolios are aimed to get a job. The kind of portfolio depends on the purpose, process and product one has in mind.

Porfolios are ongoing learning tools. As it’s been said before, they are a collection of student’s work which can be called artifacts. But what makes portfolios a very valuable tools is the fact that students reflect on their work. When they do that, these artifacts become evidence of students’ achievement. 

Barret, Helen, (2001). Education Portfolios: A chapter in education technology; An encyclopedia to be published by ABC-CLIO.