MOBILE ELECTRONIC PORTFOLIOS LINE
This page describes my learning and work on the topic of mobile electronic portfolios
The stops on this line include:
– ETEC 511 – BLOG – SKATEBOARDERS – ESSAY – SAMPLE – PROPOSAL – CERA – SITE – PUBLICATION – EDMEDIA – WEB RESOURCE – PILOT PROJECT –
mPortfolio Research Journal Update
July 1, 2013
I have decided to rework this journal to better reflect my research and work on mPortfolios. I intend it to support the timeline I am developing to illustrate my personal and professional development during the Master of Technology Program.
Revised mPortfolio Research Questions
February 11, 2013
I continue the process of refining my research topic and questions. mPortfolios continue to be my topic but my project has become more focused. I plan to do a case study on one aspect of mPortfolios: their use to document and showcase student work.
Reasons for this refocus:
- positive feedback and support from: students, parents, school principal and associate superintendent
- piloting the process and product of mPortfolios simultaneously is too big a project
- time is needed to research and to develop a better understanding of reflection and metacognition in young children
- Barrett recommends a three year plan for implementing mPortfolios and to begin with Level 1: using mPortfolios for storage and showcasing student work.
And so my latest questions:
- Are mPortfolios a better indicator of student achievement than traditional written report cards for young children? Can mPortfolios replace traditional written report cards?
These questions are still not worded properly, I’ll wait for feedback on my previous questions and then post these for feedback.
A Presentation on mPortfolios
February 9, 2013
The paper I wrote on mPortfolios and the project I am developing in my classroom are garnering some interest. I am working on a presentation to support my paper and project. It highlights and extends the process that led to both. It is developed in a Prezi format and is still pretty rough but I am working to refine it.
I met with my School Principal and District Associate Superintendent on January 31, 2013 to discuss using mPortfolios in place of report cards for my Kindergarten next year. The meeting went well and we are poised to begin a pilot project next year. There is funding I can apply for to support my planning and the cost of the portfolios. There is a lot of planning to complete but I am excited about continuing my project. I am now committed to this being the project for my Master of Educational Technology. I have been in contact with an instructor at the university who has agreed to work with me to bring this about.
I have found that while the process and product of mPortfolios interests most people, it is the product that carries the show! I also realize just how must work I have to do to get a handle on the reflection part of the process. This is too big a task while I work to refine the product and pilot it for assessment and reporting. Therefore, I have decided to focus on the showcase aspect of mPortfolios. It is starting point recommended by most authors and, done well, may secure the support and time I need to develop the aspects of goal setting and reflection.
mPortfolio Research Questions
January 31, 2013
I completed the following as one of the assignments for ETEC 500 – Module 2 and it reflects my most current thinking about my research project. A still plan to completed a case study on the implementation of mPortfolios in Kindergarten but to limit my project to the use of mPortfolios to document and showcase student learning.
Revised Research Topic and Questions
I have chosen the topic of: Mobile Electronic Portfolios (mPortfolios) for Kindergarten Students. I am interested in implementing the process and product of mPortfolios in my class and in learning more about their use for formative and summative evaluation and for reporting student progress. I have discussed the idea with some of my students’ parents and have met with my school principal and associate superintendent to discuss an mPortfolio pilot project for my kindergarten class next year. The response has been favourable. Possible questions include:
1. How can mPortfolios be implemented in a Kindergarten class? I plan to go ahead with this project so completing a case study is probably the right approach and it makes sense to have this be my degree project. I am not sure, however, that my question is correct.
2. What is the effect of video-stimulated dialogue on students’ ability to reflect on their learning? This is a more specific question about one aspect of mPortfolios and lends itself to a controlled comparison of students across learning environments. It would be completed in addition to my pilot project but may be a better project to follow-up the case study.
3. What attitudes and beliefs do educational stakeholders have about replacing traditional written report cards with mPortfolios? A suggested answer to this question could be embedded in the case study but this questions requires a more wide ranging survey of beliefs and attitude. It could be completed after the case study and before I decide to “take my show on the road”.
An Update
January 20, 2013
I continue to work on my research proposal: mainly collecting and organizing resources and references. I have set up my own rubric for evaluating references using a combination of information from our text and from the research helps available through UBC. I’ll work with it for a while and then post a sample.
I have found what may prove to be an important literature review on metacognition in young children. It feels like a good place to start.
Larkin, S. (2009). Metacognition in Young Children. Taylor & Francis. Retrieved 20 January 2013, from http://lib.myilibrary.com?ID=223437
It’s an all encompassing work and may act as a springboard for better understanding the scope of reflection and metacognition. I find myself beginning to narrow my topic and to focus on one aspect of mPortfolios as a workable piece that may produce real results in a research project. Inspired by this article:
Tanner, H. & Jones, S. (2007). Using video‐stimulated reflective dialogue to learn from children about their learning with and without ICT, Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 16(3), 321-335. doi: 10.1080/14759390701614454
I find myself refining my topic to something like this:
The effect of video-stimulated dialogue on the ability of young children to reflect upon their reading performance.
Not spot-on yet….bet getting closer.
Beginning
January 13, 2013
I started my Research Journal today as suggested in the course outline for ETEC 500. I plan to develop a chain of images or links to document the course of my project. I would like to show the changes that occur in my planning, goal setting, and reflection by posting each “finished” draft of my project proposal.
Research Questions
January 9, 2013
I am interested in conducting research on the topic of: Mobile Electronic Portfolios (mPortfolios) for Primary Students. Thanks Emma, for opening a thread on the topic of electronic portfolios and for providing a good description of them.
Specifically, I am interested in knowing more about how the process and product of mPortfolios impacts the ability of young children to set learning goals and to reflect on their performance. I am also interested in the relationship between mPortfolio use and student performance. And finally, I would like to investigate factors that may positively and negatively impact the use of mPortfolios as an alternate to traditional written report cards.
Lots of interests…so I’ll attempt to focus…
1. What attitudes and beliefs do educational stakeholders have about replacing traditional written report cards with mPortfolios?
I am poised to begin using mPortfolios with my students. I have sent samples home to parents for their feedback and will make a presentation to the school board sometime this term. I thought a survey of attitudes and beliefs of students, parents, teachers, and administrators might identify issues I need to address.
2. What is the relationship between the attitude and beliefs teachers hold about mPortfolios and their willingness to use them with students?
When I started my research on mPortfolios I thought mostly about the product. The more I learned about the powerful processes involved in developing them, the more willing I became to use them with my students. How are this understanding and willingness correlated?
3. What impact does viewing a movie of themselves reading have on students’ ability to reflect on their performance and to set goals for improvement. What relationship exists between this process and students’ performance in reading.
I think is the most interesting topic. It was my work with students that encouraged me to push the boundaries of assessment. I am continually impressed by the ability of young children to think and to take control of their learning. I’d like to know, however, if I am just seeing what I want to see. I thought that narrowing the academic focus to reading and the mPortfolio focus to watching a movie of themselves reading would facilitate my research. I also thought that using a recognized reading assessment that incorporates reflection, like Fountas and Pinnell’s reading assessment, would collect more objective, reliable, and valid data on reflection and reading performance.
Pretty wordy, but I really benefited from reading through the previous postings and the responses they generated. Thanks to everyone who jumped in early and got the discussions going.
Don
Project Update
November 24, 2012
I have been gathering data to complete my report cards for the first term, all the while thinking about ways I can change the process and product to bring it more in line with what I believe about assessment and mPortfolios.
I have set-up cubbies for students to store their creations and work samples in preparation for sharing them with the class during Quality Time. During Quality Time the kids share their creations and work samples. Sometimes they share pictures and movies they have made. When they talk about their work creations, I feel like I am attending a TED talk. They have lots of important things to say and their questions start with why, how come, and how. No one asks “Do you like your …….?” It is far to simple! We have a lot of do to formalize this time. we play around with reflection and self-evaluation using iPads. We sometimes make and share movies of their presentations. Watching themselves talk to the class and hearing their classmates’ questions and suggestions, has resulted in some pretty significant changes. We have a lot of work to do to improve the process. Facilitating reflection does not come easy to me. But my students are patient and Quality Time is rapidly becoming one of the day’s highlights.
I have chosen a application for developing mPortfolios. Pathbrite provides an interesting format for mPortfolio development. It is web based with the same security features as my classroom Wiki. I am experimenting with it as a storage portfolio for myself and for one student; testing to see what features of a paper report card can be incorporated and what special features it allows. My school principal is supportive of the project and of the idea that next year my report cards will take the form of mPortfolios. Pathbrite is launching a new site for educators in the new year which promises more flexibility as well as the ability to add rubrics. I also want to check out Capturing Learning in the Classroom (CLiC) which will soon be published by Pearson Education as a tool for developing electronic portfolios.
You can check out my sample mPortfolio by clicking on the Pathbrite logo. I have developed it for myself but will gradually change it to reflect a student mPortfolio.
Introducing My Project
November 12, 2012
The project for my Masters of Educational Technology will be on mobile electronic portfolios or mPortfolios. Developing a personal mPortfolio is the first step recommended by many authors. So here I go:
Thanks to an email from my wife, I am engaged in a bit of hero worship right at the moment. Sir Ken Robinson, PhD is an internationally recognized leader in the development of education, creativity and innovation. He is also one of the world’s leading speakers with a profound impact on audiences everywhere. The videos of his famous 2006 and 2010 talks to the prestigious TED Conference have been seen by an estimated 200 million people in over 150 countries.
Start with Changing Education Paradigms.
Then enjoy Bring on the Learning Revolution! I agree with so much of what he says!
And if you haven’t had enough…try Do Schools Kill Creativity
