I live in the tension between being a digital immigrant and digital native. According to Marc Prensky (2001), I have some of the attributes of a digital immigrant in that I hold on to some presuppositions about how students can or cannot learn with other media distractions. On the other hand, I have grown up with technology for most of my life and have made use of it in a variety of settings.
When I was completing my undergraduate degree from 2000-2005, I was one of a few students (sometimes the only student) using a laptop in my courses. When I went on to the teacher education program in 2007/8, the majority of students had laptops. When I began teaching, I was one of the first teachers to get a permanent projector mounted in my classroom. As of this year, every classroom from Grade 1-12 in my school has a mounted projector. All of this changed in six years. I have a great interest in learning technologies and using digital technologies not only to connect to students but also to maximize the learning opportunities it affords for everyone
It was my interest in leveraging technology to maximize it for educational purposes that brought me to MET. When I entered the MET program in the fall of 2012 I was particularly interested in e-textbooks. As such, I have done a bit of research into the feasibility and practicality of e-textbooks for secondary schools and have found that due to the myriad of platforms on the market, e-textbooks are still some ways away from being a regular fixture in classrooms. Moreover, with my expanded understanding of teaching theories such as constructivism and connectivism as related to digital technologies, I have seen that there are other (better?) opportunities to utilize technology in the classroom. Particularly, the theory of online learning proposed by Anderson (2008) has had a significant impact in how I teach in terms of moving towards having student curate knowledge.
Over the last couple of years I have made a concerted effort to maximize the use of my course websites that are hosted on our school server. As of this year, I have set up a class website for each of the classes that I teach. I am able to post relevant course materials such as notes, assignments, resources, and helpful links. The school I work at also uses Google Apps for Education (GAFE). Each student has an email address and access to the Google apps. Thus, I am able to have students do a lot of work on Google Docs in a collaborative manner. GAFE offers numerous affordances for my classes and I am very pleased with how well it works. Thus, I have some experience using a type of learning management system with my class.
Thus, in terms of where I am I can see that I have been able to make some strides toward effective technological integration in my classes. However, I still see some areas where I would like to make some more progress. Last year, I entered discussions with a few of my colleagues about portfolios for our grade 12s. And as I build my own e-portfolio, I see that this would be a valuable experience at the high school experience.
However, I realize that I have much to learn about the ins and outs of building e-portfolios. It is my conviction that this should be done throughout high school so that students can see that learning is part of a continuum and does not merely stop and start with each school year. I believe e-portfolios, as a documentation of learning along the way, can foster that sense of learning. The New Zealand Ministry of Education (2011) published a list of guidelines outlines some suggestions for implementing best practices related to digital portfolios along with a significant list of benefits and outcomes. A brief glance through the list of benefits for learners indicates that pursuing a more detailed look at e-portfolios is warranted. Some of the ones that stick out to me are that e-portfolios foster ownership of learning, encourages reflective learning, collaborative learning experiences, and ongoing access to their learning (Ministry of Education, New Zealand, 2011).
This document will provide a solid starting point in this research. I have also found the following resources to aid me in this journey:
Hertz, M. B. (2013, May 30). Using e-portfolios in the classroom. Retrieved September 13, 2014, from Edutopia website: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/e-portfolios-in-the-classroom-mary-beth-hertz
Dorninger, C., & Schrack, C. (2008). Future Learning Strategy and ePortfolios in Education. International Journal Of Emerging Technologies In Learning, 3(1), 11-14.
Lorenzo, G., & Ittelson, J. (2005, July). An overview of portfolios (D. Oblinger, Ed.) [PDF]. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3001.pdf
Zuger, S. (2008). Build Better e-portfolios. Technology & Learning, 29(1), 46-47.
Overall, I hope to focus my attention on e-portfolios in this course.
In terms of other aspects of this course, I hope to continue the discussions that have already happened regarding privacy laws and the publication of student work. I am also intrigued in innovative uses of Twitter and other social media in the class. Overall, I am hoping to weave a total story to link back to the linchpin of e-portfolios.
References:
Anderson, T. (2008). Toward a theory of online learning. In T. Anderson (Ed.), Theory and practice of online learning (pp. 45-74). Retrieved from http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/ch2.html
Ministry of Education, New Zealand. (n.d.). Digital portfolios: Guidelines for beginners (I. Munro, Comp.). Retrieved from http://www.minedu.govt.nz/~/media/MinEdu/Files/EducationSectors/PrimarySecondary/Initiatives/ITAdminSystems/DigitalPortfoliosGuidelinesForBeginnersFeb11.pdf