September CoP Meeting Summary

During this month’s CoP meeting (see agenda here), we saw a demo of WebCT 6 in the e-portfolio context.

Background information:
Some of our pilot projects are currently using WebCT’s **Student Presentation Tool** as a tool for students to build e-Portfolios. The Student Presentation Tool provides students with their own webspace to store artifacts. The instructor usually provides a one-page e-Portfolio template so students can build their e-portfolios following the template structure.

Currently the Student Presentation Tool is a separate tool in WebCT CE 4. It does not link with the My Grades Tool or the Assignment Tool. In the next version of WebCT CE, the Student Presentation Tool will be incorporated into the Assignment Tool, and thus, will also link with the My Grades Tool. This [case study](./private-docs/ce4_vs_ce6.pdf “Case Study”) compares the process of creating a e-portfolio course in WebCT CE4 and CE6.

Below are some notes I gathered during the demo:

* WebCT will be releasing a e-Portfolio module for CE6 next year (expect beta version around February 2006.)
* In CE6, students will have access to their own **Content Manager**
* This basically gives student access to their own file manager (a private webspace/storage in WebCT.)
* The Content Manager will be separate from their courses.
* System administrator can set different storage limit for different roles (i.e. students, designers, instructors.)
* It supports automatic WebDAV so students do not need to set it up manually on their computer.
* Students can also upload multiple files at once using the web interface.
* It also provides a WYSIWYG HTML editor for students to create HTML files.
* Instructors can use the **Group Manager** to generate groups for collaborative group work.
* Students can share discussion board, chatrooms, and files in the group.

Some new features in the next version of WebCT CE 6:

* Peer review
* Active Learner Tool – to track learning goals
* Rubric Builder
* Weblogs
* Wikis

The group expressed interest in continuing with software demos in the next few meetings. Our next CoP meeting will be Oct. 26th and we’ll plan a 20-minute demo of one of the following tools: OSPI, ELGG or Keep Toolkit. Also, at our next meeting, we’ll move forward with some of the visioning we did as a group in the summer. Please review the summary Kele handed out at the meeting. Identify the priorities for for the next 2 years and think about how we can put those priorities into action.

Here’s a copy of the summary if you missed it…Download file