Haggards, S. (2010) African Digital Diaries – Portraits of Ad Hoc eLearning in Africa, eLearning Africa 2010 News Portal, March 31

This is a podcast about several self-taught “digital [...]]]> The news portal for the eLearning Africa 2010 conference in Lusaka, Zambia, between May 26-28 has the following news items about presentations to be made at the conference:

Haggards, S. (2010) African Digital Diaries – Portraits of Ad Hoc eLearning in Africa, eLearning Africa 2010 News Portal, March 31

This is a podcast about several self-taught “digital pioneers” in Africa, including the Bishop of West Africa, a group of teenage “beach boys” on the island of Zanzibar, and a young woman journalist in Tunisia.

They keep diaries of their work and will present them at eLearning Africa 2010 – either directly or online – inspiring a discussion on the power of unstructured learning.

For more information on this project, go to: http://sites.google.com/site/africandigitaldiarieslusaka/

IICD (2010) ICT Helps Young People in Zambia Increase Their Employment Chances eLearning Africa 2010 News Portal, March 31

This is a project of the Youth Resource Centre in Kalingalinga, a suburb of Lusaka, Zambia.  In a food production class, young people have learned how to run a restaurant. By using a computer, they can then design and print menus for the restaurant and use the computers to find recipes of international dishes on the world wide web. In the carpentry and tailoring classes, computers are primarily used to calculate precise sizes and produce designs for products such as tables and chairs. This saves time for the carpenters and cuts out errors from drawing by hand.

Kiyama, R. (2010) Tackling eWaste in Africa with eLearning from UNEP eLearning Africa 2010 News Portal, March 31

To counterattack the surge in eWastes, officials at UNEP have developed an eLearning strategy and built internal capacity in eLearning course development and managing eLearning programmes. The UN agency has also established a number of strategic partnerships with specialised institutions across Africa. Representatives of environmental authorities in fourteen African countries met in Dakar, Senegal in 2009, during the fourth eLearning Africa conference. They agreed on their responsibility for establishing an African environmental eLearning network to share expertise, best practice and eLearning content.

Zulu, B. (2010) How good are Open Educational Resources? eLearning Africa 2010 News Portal, March 31

An interesting report of the response of high school teachers in four provinces of Zambia to OERs.

Vancouver Community College has entered what appears to be its next phase of life with regards to educational technology. Over the past four years, we have gone from less than a dozen programs utilizing online environments to a robust Moodle environment in [...]]]> Robin Popow wrote this report for the BC Educational Technology Users Group:

Vancouver Community College has entered what appears to be its next phase of life with regards to educational technology. Over the past four years, we have gone from less than a dozen programs utilizing online environments to a robust Moodle environment in use by over 300 faculty members. Phase two comes as many using Moodle over the past few years become more comfortable with the environment and the constructivist paradigm shift it quietly encourages. In a general way, we have reached the E in the ADDIE model and the Centre for Instructional Development (CID) has been actively evaluating offerings on a voluntary basis based on established best practices and evaluation criteria. A focus now is on the redevelopment of courses at a program level with many areas collaborating to create a layout to offer their common students consistency across courses. These templates have been well received by faculty and students.

With our downtown campus closing to accommodate the 2010 Olympic Games many programs will be utilizing the online environment during this time to ensure no time is lost. Many of these programs will also be taking their first journey into Moodle and have been working hard to prepare – some for as long as one year. It is as if the fever of the games has inspired VCC to “go for the gold” too.

Among these online developments at Vancouver Community College is a course for car body repair apprentices that delivers 10 weeks of the program online, using a large number of simply produced video clips of practices and procedures in car body repairs, with the last three weeks being the hands-on training. Because all the students are apprentices already working under supervision, many already have the skills required when they arrive at the college for the last three weeks hands-on work. They are tested, and those that have the skills are sent back to work, so the instructor can focus on those that need the skills most.

If you want to share your experiences with Moodle 2.0, you can contact Robin at rpopow@vcc.ca

And, as readers of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy know, the answer is 42 (actually, 43 for stand-and-deliver face-to-face training). But for digital simulations, over 1000 hours.

This is a serious attempt to try and compare costs of different forms of [...]]]> Defelice, R. and Kapp, K. (2009) Time to develop one hour of training Learning Circuits

And, as readers of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy know, the answer is 42 (actually, 43 for stand-and-deliver face-to-face training). But for digital simulations, over 1000 hours.

This is a serious attempt to try and compare costs of different forms of training, but takes no account of economies of scale (i.e. these are purely development, not development and delivery costs covering all trainees). Also it should be noted that these are costs for training, not education. For instance, none of the templates for course development suggested are learning management systems that would be familiar to higher education users.

Nevertheless the data suggest that for most asynchronous e-learning, you are looking at over 100 hours of development for one hour of training. That seems about right to me, from my experience of developing graduate online courses (my figures would be about $180-200 an hour, including SME costs, and using an LMS, but excluding overheads, for relatively limited activity, e.g. no animations – Bates, 2005, p. 163).

Probably more valuable are the hints at ways to reduce costs, which primarily focus on getting better processes for ‘disciplining’ subject matter experts to do what they say they would do at the time they said it would be done. But then that would be harder than to trying to figure out the meaning of life, the universe and everything else.

Lastly, these costs are based on the traditional ADDIE instructional design model. With the development of work-based social networks, open educational resources, etc., at what point do the ‘free’ training strategies start to match the quality of the much more expensive – but high quality – ADDIE approach? And if quality training does cost this much, what incentives are there for making high quality training materials open access?

Reference

Bates, A. (2005) Technology, e-Learning and Distance Education London/New York: Routledge

Thanks again to Richard Elliott’s eLearning Watch for this.

Social Networking in the Workplace

Stephanie Taylor, Manager of Systems Development Services at the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo hopes to better engage our citizens, champion innovation, improve employee collaboration, and [...]]]> The Canadian Network for Innovation in Education invites you to an online conference on 16 December at 1:00 P.M. Eastern on:

Social Networking in the Workplace

Stephanie Taylor, Manager of Systems Development Services at the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo hopes to better engage our citizens, champion innovation, improve employee collaboration, and empower our people by using Social Networking in the Workplace. By developing guidelines we hope to open up the possibilities for effective collaboration and data sharing in an ever changing world. In this W&WW session Stephanie will present the guidelines and discuss the value of social networking in the workplace.

Stephanie Taylor is the Manager of Systems Development Services at the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.  She is currently working on her MEd. specializing in Educational Technology through the University of Calgary; Stephanie started her IT career in high school when she taught computer basics at the local rec. center.  Since 2006 she has presented at multiple conferences on the topics of E-Learning Development and Social Networking in the Workplace.

You can join th conference at http://elluminate.nait.ca/join_meeting.html?meetingId=1258398979249

When prompted for name and password, please enter your name and skip the password.

Should you have any last-minute issues, please phone (1) 780-909-0046.

For more on this, including a YouTube video, click here

Hong Kong

Overview

This is one of the best books I have read recently on distance education and has lots of good material on e-learning in Asia, as well. It casts its net amazingly wide, from Turkey and Syria in the west [...]]]> Latchem, C. and Jung, I. (2010) Distance and blended learning in Asia New York/London: Routledge

Hong Kong

Overview

This is one of the best books I have read recently on distance education and has lots of good material on e-learning in Asia, as well. It casts its net amazingly wide, from Turkey and Syria in the west through Mongolia and Afghanistan and India and China to Indonesia, Japan, Korea and the Philippines and everywhere in between – yes, including Myanmar and Bhutan. All this is accomplished within about 200 pages of very readable text.

I strongly recommend this book to everyone with an interest in e-learning and distance education, and especially those in Asia, but it will also be of particular value to African institutions, as it provides some clear pointers for how e-learning and distance education can be, and has been, developed in less economically advanced countries. There are also some important messages for institutions in North America and Europe, as I will discuss later. But first, let’s look in more detail at what this book covers.

Ulaan Baator, Mongolia

Contents:

Chapter 1: Technology, e-readiness and e-learning readiness This provides data and information on the state of technology access for nearly all Asian countries in terms of a mobile phones, Internet access and world rankings for e-readiness and e-learning readiness, and relates this to different national strategies in these areas. There is a fascinating section in this chapter about cultural differences in the use of technology.

Chapter 2: Open schooling, SchoolNets, and ICT integration in classrooms includes a detailed analysis of success and failure characteristics of ICT integration in the k-12/school sectors across Asia.

Chapter 3: Higher Education This includes a section on the 33 open universities in Asia, another section on dual-mode, blended and cross-border institutions, followed by a section on the ‘Third Wave’ – recent newcomers to e-learning and distance education. The final section is a critical look at the challenges facing distance and blended learning in Asian higher education.

Chapter 4: Lifelong learning, workplace training, professional development and non-formal adult and community development.This has sections on policy, planning and provision for lifelong learning, workplace training, gender issues, basic and non-formal adult and community education, and ends with a set of lessons learned.

Chapter 5: New providers and new markets. This includes discussion of virtual/cyber institutions in Asia, of which there are many more than I expected, especially but not exclusively in South Korea and Malaysia, national and international consortia, partnerships and networks, national for-profit providers, and a final section of conclusions, including again success and failure factors.

Chapter 6: ICT integration in and beyond the school. This chapter focuses on how schools (k-12) are integrating ICTs in the classroom, including the different types of pedagogy being used, in the different countries of Asia, with a final section on out-of-school applications of ICTs.

Chapter 7: Instructional design, learner support, and assessment in e-learning. This chapter focuses particularly on the design of e-learning, with sections on instructional design, mobile learning, blended learning, learner support, and e-assessment.

Chapter 8: Leadership for educational change and innovation. As the introduction to the chapter states (quoting  Schleicher, 2006): ’success goes to those countries and institutions that are open to change and swift to adapt, and there is still need to improve educational access, enhance quality and develop leadership capacity,’ p. 131. This chapter focuses on leadership in Asian distance and blended learning, with sections on strategic planning, leadership styles, leadership and Asian culture, strategies for leadership in change management, and leadership recruitment and development. Although the examples are all from Asia, this should be mandatory reading for senior administrators in universities and colleges everywhere.

Chapter 9: Quality assurance and accreditation. After a brief discussion of quality assurance, there are sections on QA in schooling, technical and vocational education and training, and higher education, followed by an analysis of QA in Asian open and distance learning (ODL), including the different national strategies for QA. There is then a more detailed discussion of administering QA in ODL institutions, including a short section on QA in e-learning The chapter ends with discussions of international recognition and accreditation, and transnational QA.

Chapter 10: Staff training and development. This starts by linking the need for staff development to change management, describes the general lack of training and staff development in Asia for distance and blended learning activities, and provides a model and different strategies or approaches to staff development and training, including a comprehensive list of online training resources.

Chapter 11: Research, publication and translating research into practice. This chapter is basically a plea for more and better research in distance and blended learning by Asian researchers, particularly focusing on the Asian context. It includes a comprehensive agenda for research and some useful tips about how to get published, and why Asian researchers tend to be under-represented in publications in this area.

Chapter 12: Conclusions. This is a very short, four page chapter (probably due to exhaustion by the authors!) which nevertheless provides some very useful lessons and conclusions drawn from the book as a whole.

There is also an extensive bibliography of publications, of which the majority are by Asian authors.

Desert sunset, Dubai

Evaluation of the book

I have provided this detailed description of the contents to convey the breadth and scope of this publication. It is not only comprehensive in the countries it covers, but also in the key topics discussed. It is embedded with examples from different countries, and the analysis and conclusions are convincing. There are times when it reads like a list of activities, but I would rather the discussion was drawn from multiple examples than isolated cases, and the authors do this really well.

What I took particularly from the book is the tremendous energy and drive in Asia towards distance and blended learning. Yes, mistakes are being made, and these are well identified by the authors, but overall one gets the feeling of a huge juggernaut of innovation and change sweeping through many Asian educational institutions. While there are many laggards, countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, India and China are making rapid progress in distance education and e-learning. In particular, there seems more appetite for fundamental changes, such as the cyber-universities, in some Asian countries than will be found in North America or Europe.

Underlying the book are both differences in ethnic cultures, which is well discussed in the book, and the academic culture, which is less well discussed. It is therefore not always easy to identify those problems that are generic to educational institutions, and those that are specific to particular countries or cultures or even Asia in general.

Nevertheless, there are many lessons in this book not just for Asian institutions, but also for those in North America, Europe, and Australasia. The importance of training and staff development if e-learning is to be successful, the benefit of national strategies for e-readiness, of which e-learning is a part, the need to focus on the design of learning environments as well as the technology, the value of visionary and professional leadership, and the critical role that research in e-learning can and should play in adapting technology-based teaching to local environments and cultures, are all clearly set out in this book, and are relevant everywhere, not just in Asia.

Although the particular ODL and e-learning initiatives in Asia will gradually fade from memory, the lessons learned from these experiences and described in this book will last much longer. This will be a book I will constantly refer to over time. Congratulations, Colin and Insung!

Hanoi, Vietnam

The authors

Colin Latchem is an experienced consultant in open and distance learning, based in Western Australia, but with experience in many different countries. Previously he held a professorial position as the Head of the Teaching Learning Group at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia until 1998.

Dr. Insung Jung is a professor of education technology and communications at the International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo, and has many years of experience in distance education and e-learning institutions in Korea and in an international context. Before joining ICU in 2003, she served as the Director of the Multimedia Education Center at the Ewha Women’s University in Seoul. From 1992 through 2000, Dr. Jung was on the faculty of the Korea National Open University.

Disclaimer: Although I am one of three editors for the series in which this book is published, I was not involved in any way in the selection for publication or production of this book.

All photos:© Tony Bates 2009.

Tom Kuhlmann has over 15 years of hands-on experience in the training [...]]]> Tom Kuhlmann’s Rapid E-Learning Blog shares practical tips and tricks to help trainers to become rapid elearning pros. He offers a useful 7-part series that ‘brings you up-to-speed with some basic ideas about rapid elearning and how to get your project off the ground.’

Tom Kuhlmann has over 15 years of hands-on experience in the training industry.

Thanks to Richard Elliott’s eLearning Watch for this.

Call for Papers: Inaugural issue (PDF version available here)

Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E-learning has been established to address the paucity of research publication avenues with a particular emphasis on e-learning in organisational and workplace settings. It will [...]]]> IMPACT: JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN WORKPLACE E-LEARNING

A publication of the E-learning Network of Australasia (ElNet)

Call for Papers: Inaugural issue (PDF version available here)

Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E-learning has been established to address the paucity of research publication avenues with a particular emphasis on e-learning in organisational and workplace settings. It will be a fully online journal, publishing refereed and non-refereed contributions from both researchers and practitioners relating to the design, implementation, evaluation and management of workplace e-learning across a range of sectors and industries.

Submissions are invited for the special, inaugural issue of the journal, the theme of which is “Current issues and future directions in workplace e-learning: Mapping the research landscape”. This issue will include peer-reviewed articles that address one or more of the following areas:

1. Summary and synthesis: Where are we now?
- Identification and analysis of major issues, themes and trends in the field of workplace e-learning research
- Review of key studies and seminal pieces of literature in this field, and how future research efforts might build upon the work already done

2. Gap analysis: What do we need to know more about?
- Discussion of areas have been under-emphasised or neglected in the field of workplace e-learning research
- Exploration of how these areas/gaps might be addressed

3. Planning and designing: How should we move forward?
- Setting the research agenda for workplace e-learning
- Future directions for workplace e-learning research and its application to practice

In addition, case studies / best practice examples and position or commentaryarticles may be submitted to be either peer or editor reviewed. Non-refereed contributions in the form of technical/application notes (eg tools, how-tos) and book/Web site reviews are also invited.

The Editorial Policies section of Impact’s Web site contains general information on the journal’s focus and scope, including topics of interest and types of articles accepted. For specific style guidelines and advice to authors, please see the Submissions section of the site.

Prospective authors for the inaugural issue are strongly encouraged to submit proposals or expressions of interest to the Editor-in-Chief well in advance of the manuscript submission deadline, in order to allow time for feedback and discussion. This may be done via email to impactjournal@elnet.com.au, however full manuscripts are to be submitted via the online submission system on the journal’s Web site, and not via email.

Key dates:

- Manuscript submission deadline: 1 June 2009
- Notification of acceptance: 1 July 2009
- Submission of final articles for publication: 1 August 2009
- Publication of inaugural issue (online): 1 September 2009

Editorial team:

Editor-in-Chief
- Mark J.W. Lee, Charles Sturt University, Australia

President, ElNet
- Clint Smith, Learnworks, Australia

Manager  Publications, ElNet
- Position vacant

Manager  Branding and Promotion, ElNet
- Marianne Cini, Evolve Studios, Australia

Editorial Board
- A.Y. Al-Zoubi, Princess Sumaya University for Technology, Jordan
- Zane L. Berge, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, United States
- Marcus S. Bowles, Institute for Working Futures, Australia
- John G. Burgoyne, Lancaster University Management School and Henley Business School, United Kingdom
- John Clayton, Waikato Institute of Technology, New Zealand
- Jay Cross, Internet Time Group, United States
- Rabelani Dagada, Wits Business School and Royal Bafokeng Administration, South Africa
- Margaret Driscoll, IBM Global Solutions, United States
- Wellesley R. (“Rob”) Foshay, Texas Instruments, United States
- John G. Hedberg, Macquarie University, Australia
- David H. Jonassen, University of Missouri, United States
- Angela Lewis, Angela Lewis Consulting, Australia
- Kin Chew Lim, SIM University, Singapore
- Joha Louw-Potgieter, University of Cape Town, South Africa
- Terry Marler, Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand
- John G. Mitchell, John Mitchell and Associates, Australia
- Pam Moule, University of the West of England, United Kingdom
- Anna Peachey, The Open University, United Kingdom
- Clark N. Quinn, Quinnovation, United States
- Hanna Risku, Danube University Krems, Austria
- Andrée Roy, Université de Moncton, Canada
- Roderick C. Sims, Capella University, United States
- J. Michael Spector, University of Georgia, United States
- Marcel van der Klink, Open University of the Netherlands, Netherlands
- Jelke van der Pal, National Aerospace Laboratory NLR, Netherlands
- Douglas R. Vogel, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- David Young, University of Derby, United Kingdom

This project, funded by  the Australian Flexible Learning Framework, has investigated how organisations are using e-learning in innovative ways that support national initiatives by providing more responsive, flexible and effective approaches to training, particularly in the areas of [...]]]> Callan, V. (2009) How organisations are using e-learning to support national training initiatives Canberra: Australian Flexible Learning Network

This project, funded by  the Australian Flexible Learning Framework, has investigated how organisations are using e-learning in innovative ways that support national initiatives by providing more responsive, flexible and effective approaches to training, particularly in the areas of skills shortage.

Key conclusions (extracts only: LOTS of really good stuff in this report)

e-learning is finding its niche in particular stages or aspects of training, and in particular trade qualification areas that are encountering skills shortages. E-learning is proving to be an excellent tool for the delivery of underpinning knowledge and theory in many trade qualifications, for example, as well as in the delivery of modules that are required for licensing and up-skilling in specific qualification areas.

At least from this project, it is clear that trade teachers in the areas of building and construction and bakery in particular, are leading the way. The plumbing industry is still examining its options for more innovative ways to deliver training. However, it stands as an exemplar in how to explore what is required and what is available with e-learning and other solutions to meeting its skills shortages. Major drivers in each of these industries are the need for more flexibility and the desire for these industries to have more workplace training and assessment.

Trades are using a wide range of e-learning tools up-front at the pre-apprenticeship stage or at the initial stages of the apprenticeship training. They are exploring innovative ways to assess competency for tasks completed on-the-job. E-learning is integral to redesigning training so that less time is spent at the training provider and more time, or even all of the time, is allocated to on-the-job skills development.

E-learning is seen at its best where it exists in contexts that encourage collaborative learning and interaction. There is a need for continued efforts at engaging learners, their teachers and their employers as joint collaborators in the learning experience. The development of social networking tools will assist here. In addition, most see huge potential for the use of virtual environments for training in the trades and related areas. These tools will assist in allowing better designed learning tasks to assist learners to conceptualise their practical experiences. It is expected that technologies of the future will provide more 3D, more immersive forms of tasks, and more use of animation. New technologies will allow better replication of the
actual workplace environment in which the learning occurs, with all of its interrelated and multiple demands.

My comments

Australia is clearly a leader in the use of e-learning for vocational training, and Australian employers have been quicker than most in seeing the value of e-learning.

Thanks again to Richard Elliott’s eLearning Watch for recommending this.

Lourdes Guàrdia Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences Universitat Oberta de Catalunya E-mail: lguardia@uoc.edu

Reports

Callan, V. (2009) How organisations are using e-learning to support national training initiatives Canberra: Australian Flexible Learning Network

This project, funded by  the Australian Flexible Learning Framework, has investigated how organisations are using e-learning in innovative [...]]]> This section of the web site is managed by:

Lourdes Guàrdia
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
E-mail: lguardia@uoc.edu

Reports

Callan, V. (2009) How organisations are using e-learning to support national training initiatives Canberra: Australian Flexible Learning Network

This project, funded by  the Australian Flexible Learning Framework, has investigated how organisations are using e-learning in innovative ways that support national initiatives by providing more responsive, flexible and effective approaches to training, particularly in the areas of skills shortage. It includes a brief discussion of the use of e-portfolios for vocational and technical training. Curyer et al (below) has a more detailed examination of e-portfolios in this area in Australia.

Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) (2008). “Effective practice with e-portfolio. Supporting 21st century learning”.
This guide investigates current good practice in the use of e-portfolios as a support to learning and as an aid to progression to the next stage of education or to employment.

Hartnell-Young, E. et al. (2007) “Impact study of e-portfolios on learning”.
Becta commissioned researchers from the Learning Science Research Institute, University of Nottingham, UK, to investigate the impact that e-portfolios can have on learners in schools, further education, higher education and work-based learning. Case studies of eight e-portfolio projects were created from document analysis and interviews and surveys of learners and teachers. Findings relating to the impact of e-portfolio systems on learning outcomes and processes and commencing and sustaining e-portfolio development were drawn from cross case analysis.

Curyer, S & Leeson, J. & Mason, J. & Williams, A. (2007) Developing e-portfolios for VET: Policy issues and interoperability
The E-standards for Training project has released a report on e-portfolio systems in the vocational education and training system in Australia. This report specifically focuses on e-portfolios to support transitions between training, other forms of learning, and employment. The study shows the potential for e-portfolios to provide a systematic, electronic method for learners to record and control access to evidence of their learning.

Articles

Batson, T. (2010) The testing straightjacket Campus Technology, July 7

Trent Batson provides a critique of existing testing practices, with their emphasis on memorization, and suggests that e-porfolios provide a more authentic form of assessment.

Fusch, D. (2010) Integrating e-portfolios in your assessment strategy Academic Impressions, July 16

David Fusch interviews Tracey Penny Light, of the University of Waterloo, who offers several steps for integrating e-portfolios into an instructor’s assessment strategy.

Krämer, J. and Seeler, G. (2009) E-portfolios as tools to assess generic competences in distance learning study courses Elearningpapers, September

This paper by faculty from a German graduate business school. It discusses the need to evaluate students’ performance in online distance education courses. It focuses on the so-called “generic” or “key” competences, which are increasingly in demand as part of academic competence goals. This paper discusses the suitability of portfolios which at the same time integrate elements of self-reflection and feedback in fulfilling these requirements.

International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), Vol. 4, No. 1 (2009) published a special edition focused on e-portfolios with Serge Ravet as the guest editor. The following three articles are from this special edition.

Himpsl, K. and Baumgartner, P. (2009) Evaluation of E-Portfolio Software International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 16-22

E-Portfolios are a new type of software and it is still relatively vague to determine which functions are obligatory – that is which functions constitute characteristic features – and which functions are just optional (“nice to have“). This article describes the concept and the preliminary results of a research project which was conducted to evaluate E-Portfolio software, and aims at providing decision guidance for implementing E-Portfolios in higher education – first and foremost from the pedagogical perspective. Which recommendations can be made to an institution which now wants to implement electronic portfolios with a certain objective? [Note: Only the abstract is available at http://online-journals.org/i-jet/article/view/831. For a pdf copy, you need to register here first. There is no subscription required.]

Bisovsky, G. and Schaffert, S. (2009) Learning and Teaching With E-Portfolios: Experiences in and Challenges for Adult Education International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 13-15

Based on short introduction into the e-portfolio method, this contribution focuses on experiences and challenges for adult education: For that, it describes best practice, current projects and initiatives in European adult and continuing education. Additionally, the results of interviews with experienced adult educators who have already worked with the e-portfolio method will be referred: The interviews focus on competencies that educators need, if they are working with the e-portfolio method. In a short outlook, requirements for a future professional development and training for e-portfolio trainers in adult education will be sketched.

Hilzensauer, W. and Buchberger, G. (2009) MOSEP – More Self-Esteem With My E-Portfolio: Development of a Train-the-Trainer Course for E-Portfolio Tutors International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning Vol.4. No. 1

E-portfolios are known as a technology- supported learning method for the documentation of competency development. In this article the didactic approach, the course design and the results of the Leonardo da Vinci project MOSEP (More self-esteem with my e-portfolio) are described. The main objective of the project was to develop, test and evaluate a new e-portfolio training concept for teachers and tutors in order to support learners during their competence development phase.

Cambridge, D.  et alt. (2008) “The Impact of the Open Source Portfolio on Learning and Assessment” MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching Vol. 4, No. 4, December 2008

An article that surveys the current state of OSP development and use and shares results of research on its effectiveness.

Brandes, G. and Boskic, N. (2008) “Eportfolios: From description to analysis” The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Vol. 9, No 2 (2008), ISSN: 1492-3831:
Another interesting article, from authors at the University of British Columbia. Here is the abstract from that article: ‘In recent years, different professional and academic settings have been increasingly utilizing e-Portfolios to serve multiple purposes from recruitment to evaluation. This paper analyzes e-Portfolios created by graduate students at a Canadian university. Demonstrated is how students’ constructions can, and should, be more than a simple compilation of artifacts. Examined is an online learning environment whereby we shared knowledge, supported one another in knowledge construction, developed collective expertise, and engaged in progressive discourse. In our analysis of the portfolios, we focused on reflection and deepening understanding of learning. We discussed students’ use of metaphors and hypertexts as means of making cognitive connections. We found that when students understood technological tools and how to use them to substantiate their thinking processes and to engage the readers/ viewers, their e-Portfolios were richer and more complex in their illustrations of learning. With more experience and further analysis of exemplars of existing portfolios, students became more nuanced in their organization of their e-Portfolios, reflecting the messages they conveyed. Metaphors and hypertexts became useful vehicles to move away from linearity and chronology to new organizational modes that better illustrated students’ cognitive processes. In such a community of inquiry, developed within an online learning space, the instructor and peers had an important role in enhancing reflection through scaffolding. We conclude the paper with a call to explore the interactions between viewer/reader and the materials presented in portfolios as part of learning occasions.’

Berlanga, A.; Sloep, P.; Brouns, F.; Bitter-Rijpkema, M.; Koper, R. (2008) Towards a TENCompetence ePortfolio. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET) 3.
Abstract
This article argues that the TENCompetence ePortfolio definition should integrate rhetorical, pedagogical, social, and technical perspectives. The rhetorical perspective is needed to show the learner’s competences, achievements and history; the pedagogical perspective aims at supporting learner’s self-reflection, through the definition of competences mastered, review and creation of (new) competence development plans, and assessment of competences; the social perspective aims at fostering interaction and social help support; and the technical perspective aims at supporting the other three perspectives. Guiding principles for the design of the TENCompetence ePortfolio are provided, and the aforementioned perspectives detailed.

Ring, G., Weaver, B. and Jones, J. (2008) Electronic Portfolios: Engaged Students Create Multimedia-Rich Artifacts, Journal of the Research Centre for Educational Technology (Kent State) Vol. 4, No. 2

This is an interesting paper that shows the potential of the ePortfolio as a learning tool. The authors describe how to help students understand why they should create an ePortfolio, and how by scaffolding them through the process of how to create an ePortfolio it is possible to get a successful implementation.

Abstract

This paper briefly summarizes the implementation of a university-wide electronic portfolio requirement. We begin with a systemic view of the ePortfolio Program and narrow our focus to a view of ePortfolio integration into two different classes. The rationale behind the Clemson University ePortfolio Program is to build a mechanism through which core competencies are demonstrated and evaluated. The target classes are a general education English class focusing on 20th and 21st century literature and a professional development seminar in computer science. Both classes allow students to select their topics and present their work to the class using a variety of media types, and both include a form of peer evaluation. These classes confirm that when students’ choice is built into the assignments we are pleasantly surprised by the outcomes. In addition, an extensive variety of artifacts are generated from each course that can be used to demonstrate the general education competencies, provide authentic evidence of learning, and generate a career portfolio. In our examples, we will describe the planning, implementation, and dissemination processes necessary to integrate the ePortfolio Program into university courses.

Ward, C. and Moser, C. (2008) E-Portfolios as a Hiring Tool: Do Employers Really Care?  EDUCAUSE Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 4 (October–December 2008)

The article states: ‘E-portfolios demonstrate students’ learning and competency, yet higher education has not persuaded employers to use them in recruiting and selecting employees.’ This is a report on a survey of employers regarding the use of e-portfolios for hiring.

Pereira, A. et al. (2009) Evaluating continuous assessment quality in competence-based education online: the case of the e-folio EURODL, December 9

The paper, from researchers at the Open University of Portugal, proposes two main types of instruments to be used in undergraduate fully online courses: e-folios and p-folios. The e-folio “is a short digital document elaborated by the student and published online to be visualized by the teacher, and should clearly demonstrate that the student acquired or developed a given competence” The e-folios may be complemented by a p-folio that takes place in a face-to-face setting. The p-folio may take the form of “a set of questions defined by the teacher, or other forms, such as the presentation of a project or a report, according to the competences to be developed by the students.