Hi everyone. My name is James Chen, and I would like to welcome you to my MET ePortfolio. This electronic portfolio is a summative reflection of my learning in the MET program at UBC. On the pages that follow, I will walk you through the key artifacts I have selected from the courses I have taken to illustrate my learning and growth in the MET program. If you have any comments, feedback or suggestions, please feel free to let me know!

Guided Tour

Please have a look at the following guided tour to get an overview of my ePortfolio. For the best viewing experience, please click on the “full screen” icon and change the quality to “1080p” by clicking on the gear icon.

Purpose

As a representation of my learning in the Master of Educational Technology (MET) program at the University of British Columbia, this electronic portfolio will illustrate how my understanding in the field of Educational Technology has been transformed over the past one and a half years since 2011 in order to 1) meet the capstone experience criteria for a Category 6 designation by the Teacher Qualification Service; 2) establish a platform for educators, instructors, peers and potential employers to discuss their thoughts on educational technology; and 3) engage myself in lifelong learning. By going through the processes of planning, selecting, organizing, reflecting upon and finalizing the contents of the ePortfolio, I hope to create a concrete product which cogently represents my learning as a MET graduate.

Audience

The intended audience of this ePortfolio are MET instructors and colleagues, educators interested in technology integration, prospective employers, family and friends wishing to gain a better understanding of the skills I have learned in the MET program, and my future self who will continue to reflect upon my experience incorporating technology into educational settings.

Objectives

Jenny Moon (2001) describes how reflection plays an important role in achieving such purposes as those described above. The main objective of this ePortfolio is to examine my learning in the MET program using the knowledge and theoretical understandings I have gained to critically reflect upon key artifacts selected from the courses I have completed. I have framed my ePortfolio based on the metaphor of the Tree using the following guiding questions for reflection:

• What have I learned in terms of theory and research in educational technology?
• How has my teaching philosophy changed to reflect my learning?
• What linkages are there amongst the select artifacts?
• How have I applied what I have learned from each course into practice?

Metaphor

To set up a framework which will afford the establishment of cognitive connections (Brandes & Boskic, 2008), I have decided to use the metaphor of the tree. Like the tree, my experience in the MET program has allowed my understanding in educational technology to grow. The roles exemplified by my instructors, colleagues and courses represent nutrients such as sunlight, water and soil that sustain the growth of the tree. The process of my learning is akin to the process of photosynthesis – taking in the knowledge from instructors, fellow colleagues, and course module activities and giving back to the people I interact with the knowledge and skills I have gained in the MET program.

The role of technology was a main component in the MET program in reference to my learning as the tree. With new technology, my MET tree was able to receive nutrients through novel and effective ways. Technology also provided new avenues for the tree to disseminate oxygen (knowledge & information) to the people and places that needed it the most.

Another important element that contributed to the overall health of my MET tree was SOUL. Since all of the courses in the MET program are delivered through the Internet, the Slow Online and Ubiquitous Learning philosophy (Petrina & Feng, 2013) in courses such as ETEC 511 and 531 provided me with the much needed time and space for learning to sink in. For any plant life, excess water/sunlight/nutrients will lead to poor growth. A two day pause each week from the coursework was vital in keeping my mind clear and afresh for learning.

Adopting Olenka Bilash’s (2009) metaphor of The Tree: Linking Theory and Practice and the Canadian Forestry Association’s (n.d.) explanation of the parts of a tree, my tree metaphor has been organized into the following categories:

• Roots
  • Before MET
  • Teaching Philosophy
  • Assessment Rubric
• Trunk
  • Research & Methodology in Education
  • Design of Technology Supported Learning Environments
  • Foundations of Educational Technology
  • Applications of Learning Theories to Instruction
• Branches
  • 1st Branch: Constructivist Strategies for E-Learning
  • 2nd Branch: Curriculum Issues in Cultural and Media Studies
  • 3rd Branch: Planning and Managing Learning Technologies in Higher Education
• Fruits & Seeds
  • 21st Century Skills
  • Conclusion
  • Resources

Navigation

For the best viewing experience, please use Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer or Apple Safari to navigate this ePortfolio and select “show all content” when prompted. Please find the navigational panel at the top of each page and click on the tab that you would like to visit. Each tab contains a drop down menu which opens up as you position your cursor on the select tab. You may also wish to use the links found throughout the ePortfolio as well as the navigational links at the bottom of each page to take you to their relevant pages.

Browser Issues

This site was built using Internet Explorer, and unfortunately browsers such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox identify the scripts of this site as unauthenticated sources. To see the contents of this site in their original design, Chrome users need to click on the shield icon in the address bar and select “load unsafe script” (or “disable protection on this page” for Firefox users). Please accept my apologies for any inconveniences this may cause.

References

Bilash, O. (2009). The Tree: Linking Theory and Practice. Retrieved from http://www2.education.ualberta.ca/staff/olenka.bilash/best%20of%20bilash/tree.html

Brandes, G. M. & Boskic, N. (2008). ePortfolios: From description to analysis. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Open Access press. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/502/1050

Canadian Forestry Association. (n.d.). Parts of a Tree. Retrieved from http://www.canadianforestry.com/html/forest/tree_parts_e.html

Moon, J. (2001). PDP working paper 4: Reflection in higher education learning. LTSN Generic Centre. Retrieved from http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/hr/researcher-development/students/resources/pgwt/reflectivepractice.pdf

Petrina, S., & Feng, F. (2013). Course introduction & SOUL [Lecture notes]. Retrieved from http://elearning.ubc.ca/connect/