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eFolio Thinking and Learning ITEACH 2/27/09 Metropolitan State University faculty Victor Cole, August Hoffman, Laura McCartan, Carol Lacey

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eFolio faculty development Explore eFolio application beyond personal and professional options; Share learning ePortfolio works in progress for documentation and assessment; Highlight challenges across disciplines; Enhance critical thinking, confidence and creativity; Pending: retraining/additional training with eFolio 2.0 later spring 2009.

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Getting started Do you have an eFolio or electronic portfolio? Do your students bring experiential learning to what you teach? Do your students use eFolio or electronic portfolio to document their experiences and learning from those experiences? Do you assess student learning through eFolio or electronic portfolio?

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eFolio/electronic portfolio thinking Not your (or your mothers) 3-ring binder; Wholistic showcase of what you do/what you think/whats important; Highly portable/accessible/adapted and updated; Multimedia (if you want it to be); Useful for any discipline.

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each electronic portfolio (site) displays selected items & reflections based on the owners choices. Items that you might select (often called artifacts or evidence of learning) can be Electronic Portfolios what you post is what will others will see

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Nibbles vs. immersion eFolio works for range of learners and faculty. Use what works for you. eFolio thinking can develop in stages. You dont have to fully maximize all the features; start with a few to build confidence: Contacts Education Work samples

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Learning ePortfolios are used to document, guide, and advance learning over time. They often have a prominent reflective component and may be used to promote metacognition, to plan learning, or for the integration of diverse learning experiences. Learning ePortfolios are most often developed in formal curricular contexts. source: http://www.imsglobal.org/ep/ Keeping Up with Standards 2.3.3 Learning ePortfolios

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Assessment terms and strategies Competency: major skill, knowledge, attitudes or abilities measurable and observable; Learning objectives: supporting skill, knowledge, or attitude leading to mastery of a competency; Learning activity: strategy designed to help students master specific learning outcomes Performance assessment: measuring learners performance of learning outcomes or targets. Learning crosswalk (Lynne Groves, eFolio MNSCU)crosswalk

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Using eFolio for Self-assessment in Writing Laura McCartan, Assistant Professor, Communication, Writing and the Arts

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The value of self-assessment The value of self-assessment lies in it ability to make the raters take responsibility for their own performance and development. Self-assessment is a process by which you learn more about yourself -- what you like, what you don't like, and how you tend to react to certain situations. Knowing these things can help you determine which occupations and work situations could be a better fit for you. You may recognize some of these tools if you ever worked with a career counselor or consultant. (Wilson 1995)

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The Value of Self-Assessment Self-assessment allows the rater to look at their own performance, form conclusions about performance level, and act upon those conclusions to create a development plan. Accurate self-assessment requires introspection and realistic self-perception (Wilson & Pearson, 1995).

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Basic Writing Self-Assessment Why am I writing? Who are my readers? What key characteristics are important? What is my main point? What do I want readers to do/believe as a result of reading this? What general strategy am I taking? What role am I assuming?

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T AKING I NVENTORY Reflection on Individual Essays: Reflect on your two best works by answering the following questions What makes this my best (then second best) work? How did I begin writing it? What was my strategy before I began writing? What goals did I set for myself? Did I complete my goals as well as I wanted to? What problems did I encounter? Did I effectively solve these problems? How did I use those problems?

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Self-Assessment and eFolio

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Self-Assesment and eFolio

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Self-Assessment and eFolio

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Feedback Loop http://lauramccartan.efoliomn2.com/index.as p?Type=CLASSES&SEC={08B34B6F-41F6-424F- A9A5-EED8477637C6}

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Sowing Seeds of Success: Creating a Greener Campus Dr. August Hoffman, Associate Professor of Psychology

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Thinking Greener strategy & goals Purpose: incorporate Efolio technology into a civic/ community service (Thinking Greener)gardening program for introductory psychology students (minimum of 15 hours/semester); Students learn to incorporate subjective experiences of participating in a community service program, documenting and recording their academic and personal experiences in eFolio they can share; Long-term goals: collect longitudinal data to determine if students are better able to incorporate technology, specifically eFolio technology, into traditional learning.

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Method and materials Students use traditional garden work utensils (i.e., shovels, rakes, lawn mower) to complete work in the garden and create new garden areas on campus. Garden includes artichokes, various herbs, a variety of citrus trees (including kumquats), roses, grapes, watermelon, strawberries, other fruits and vegetables, and several plants and perennial flowers.

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Working in the garden...

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early on a Saturday morning

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What does Green really mean? Environmentally more conscious of what we do in the classroom; Becoming an Instructor & Advocate for the environment; Helping students to become more active within the community

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Green Community Service Work Links academic content and standards with community service. Helps to determine and meet real, defined community needs; Instructors are environmentally proactive within their disciplines; Reciprocal nature benefits both the community and the students by combining service experience with learning experience. National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, 2005

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Criticisms of Green CSW Green Activities sounds nice but are students really learning? Is it possible to incorporate Green CSW among all disciplines?

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Service-Learning in Higher Education: Most service- learning courses are offered at four-year Liberal Arts institutions. Only 1% are offered at either schools with a majority of African-American or Hispanic students. Only 18% are offered at community colleges. National Campus Compact, 2005

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Prior Research Research suggests that the strongest predictor for institutionalizing service learning is faculty involvement in and support for service- learning (Furco, 2001). Hoffman and Wallach (2007a) found that community gardening activities can help to improve student connectedness to campus, peers, and reduce ethnocentrism.

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Student responses (so far) I think that community service activities should be a part of educational programs. I used to be nervous about using technology, but I can see how it helps me learn in the classroom.

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The Urban Teacher Program Metropolitan State University, College of Professional Studies, Education Department Victor B. Cole, Field Experience Coordinator Licensure Officer and Community Faculty

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The Urban Teacher Program Developing the exemplars Utilizing eFolioMN as an Instructional Tool Creating a Teaching Philosophy (metaphor) Meeting MN Teaching Standards of Effective Practice

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The Urban Teacher Program Developing the exemplars Developing the Education Department o Early samples, using a hybrid of paper and on line evidence for a Portfolio Presentation Early samples o Recent examples are fully online and more complete since its integration into the Information Technology course (EDU 383) Recent examples

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The Urban Teacher Program Utilizing eFolio MN as an Instructional ToolInstructional Tool Scaffolding for Learning and Teaching

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The Urban Teacher Program Creating a Teaching Philosophy (metaphor)Philosophy (metaphor) Each teacher candidate begins to develop her/his personal, professional and pedagogical philosophy in the first course, Introduction to Urban Education and Reflective Teaching (EDU 200)

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The Urban Teacher Program Meeting MN Teaching Standards of Effective Practice, Ten standards teacher candidates measure her/his work and knowledge in a public forum o Lesson plans (what, how, changes?) Lesson plans o Behavior management (issues and resolution) Behavior management o Professional development Professional development

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Version 2.0 admin screen Manage Content Panels eFolio Page Workspace Manage Sites & Pages Context Sensitive Help site controls Common Icons Create To-do Properties Add Trash Restore Date Picker Collector Build Remove Edit Delete Public View

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tags both searchable & collectible data types moving us beyond simple text multiplesites re-purposing existing pages feedback including Blog/Wiki-like messaging activities affiliations artifacts career objectives certifications competencies/outcomes contacts course work education employment history events forms media publications/presentations skills uploaded LOs web 2.0 ePortfolio Elements

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Ethics/privacy/confidentiality Concerns about client confidentiality (real lives; real people; real experiences) when included in a student's posted comments Permissions to use information (public/private) Honor original work & intellectual property Mask identities Apply common related policies/guidelines such as email use

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eFolio conversation How can eFolio be of practical use to you in your teaching? How do you see eFolio working in your discipline? What challenges do you see re implementing eFolio?

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Future conversations How might you use eFolio for assessing vs. enhancing or documenting learning? Would Wouldnt Document learning Major project Routine assignments

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eFolio contacts: Metro State University Victor Cole, Urban Teacher Program: http://victorcole.efoliomn2.com August Hoffman, Psychology Department: http://augusthoffman.efoliomn2.com Laura McCartan, Communication, Writing and the Arts (CWA): http://lauramccartan.efoliomn2.com Carol Lacey, interdisciplinary liberal arts: http://carollacey.efoliomn2.com Continue the conversation: http://nextstage.edublogs.orgColehttp://victorcole.efoliomn2.com Hoffman http://augusthoffman.efoliomn2.comMcCartan http://lauramccartan.efoliomn2.comLacey http://carollacey.efoliomn2.comconversation http://nextstage.edublogs.org