"Bag It and Tag It": Implementing a Course-Level Learning Portfolio Using CMS-Based Tools to Document Student

Learning When Teaching in Wild, Open Spaces with Cloud-Based Tools

Kelvin Thompson, Ed.D.University of Central Florida

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Welcome

• Opportunities for input and interaction• Online moderator for virtual participants• @TedCurran connecting via Twitter• Session hashtag: #cmsfolio• Full presentation materials at

http://bit.ly/cmsfolio • Specific resources linked and QR coded

individually throughout presentation

Outline

Teaching in the Open (Why? What’s It Look Like? Why Not?)

ePortfolios (Types, Portfolio Thinking, Ownership)

My CMS-Based Course-Level Learning Portfolio (Approach, Tools, Requirements, Decision Guide, What’s It Look Like?)

YOUR CMS-Based Course-Level Learning Portfolio (Lessons Learned, Getting Started)

Caveats

• Practitioner perspective• Pragmatic idealism (“CMS Plus” v. “anti-CMS”)• Not an “expert” on bigger issues (e.g., FERPA)• Opinions are my own• Situated examples/solutions/workarounds• Your results may vary

TEACHING IN THE OPEN

Poll

How many of you would say that you “teach in the open” in any fashion?

Could we get one or two of you to tell us what you have in mind when thinking of “teaching

in the open?”

Why Teach in the Open?

General• Access after course is over• Beyond “audience of one”• More flexible than or additional features than (or no

access to) CMS

For Me• Real, public tools for on-going professional development

learning (educators worldwide)• Practice using tools prior to using in K12 classroom

education alfresco by Moxieg on FlickrCreative Commons Attribution 2.0 License http://www.flickr.com/photos/moxieg/2448460302

Open TeachingTeaching in the Open Closed Teaching

What happens in the course stays in the course

Semi-permeability(Some elements go “out”)

Complete* permeability(World comes “in”)

Rough “Openness” Continuum

http://bit.ly/edXPnf

What Does it Look Like?

Traditional online graduate course with some open elements:• CMS as homebase (gradebook, low-level open book chapter

quizzes, course email, authoritative source for announcements, etc.)

• Student-owned “real” public blogs (live past course end if desired; connect to others)

• Student-owned public profiles (cultivating digital identity)• Student-owned wikis for iterative project

development/publishing• Judicious use of tools for openness (HootCourse.com for

updates, links to blog postings; Box.net for audio/text Weekly Updates; bookmarking on Diigo.com; etc.)

CMS Home Page Excerpt

Student Blog Posting Excerpt

Outsider Comment to Blog Posting

Why NOT Teach in the Open?

Concerns over not possessing student work:• Grade appeals• Award submissions

Concerns over restrictive laws or policies:• Family Educational Records & Privacy Act

(FERPA)• Institutional restrictions

http://bit.ly/euYzSA

Kelvin’s Approach

• Assume conservative FERPA interpretation• All official communications (including grades)

in CMS• FERPA/Web2.0 statements in course

documents• No required personally identifiable information

on public web

http://bit.ly/eu4sHR

EPORTFOLIOS

ePortfolio Types

• Institutional Portfolio• Teaching Portfolio• Student Portfolio

– Working Portfolio• Emphasizes process

– Presentation Portfolio• Emphasizes product• Job seeking/promotional• End-of-program• End-of-course

http://bit.ly/eUELYW

Portfolio Thinking

• Collect• Select• Reflect

Note: All learner metacognitive benefits derive from “portfolio thinking”

http://bit.ly/edkdmP

Portfolio Ownership

Hosting v. ownership• Student-owned/student-hosted• Student-owned/institution-hosted (or licensed)• Institution-owned/institution-hosted (or

licensed)

Software• Web site/blog• Portfolio (Sakai OSP, Mahara, Epsilen, etc.)

Poll

How many of your institutions have seen ePortfolio use in any of the ways described

(even if isolated programs/courses)?

What big picture issues related to ePortfolios have I missed?

MY CMS-BASED COURSE-LEVEL LEARNING PORTFOLIO

My “Upside Down” Approach

Traditional approach to presentation portfolios• “Private” coursework excerpts made “public”• Partially a response to closed courses/teaching

My approach to course-level learning portfolio• “Public” coursework excerpts made “private”• Response to teaching in the open• Still benefits learner metacognitively

Implementation Requirements

As evidence of learning housed in CMS along with grades and other “official” communications, tool must provide for:

• Uploading to CMS of (not linking to) excerpted student work

• Inclusion of substantive written reflections• Submissions tied to specific learning outcomes

Possibly Relevant CMS Tools

• Assignment dropbox tool• Discussions• Internal CMS email tool• Quiz tool (if supporting uploads allowed)• Internal CMS “Portfolio” tool

Decision Guide

Does tool allow:• Delineation of specific learning outcomes?• Upload of files for each outcome? (any restriction

on size or #?)• Written statement for each outcome? (any

restriction on length?)• Review at outcome level and as an entire

portfolio?• Integration with other ePortfolio levels?

What Does This Look Like?Assignment Dropbox Tool• Individual dropbox for each outcome• Title includes clear title for each unique outcome• Textbox for student refection• Multiple file uploads for student artifacts• Clear student instructions in each dropbox

http://bit.ly/fDvMjZ

http://bit.ly/gh7gOP

Discuss

Partner-Up with Others and Discuss:What would you do differently if you were to

implement a course-level learning portfolio using CMS-based tools?

Try to identify key affordances and constraints.

YOUR CMS-BASED COURSE-LEVEL LEARNING PORTFOLIO

Learn from My Experience

• Tension between learning goals and “possession” goals:– Not all assignments result in artifact uploads– Students may upload ancillary documentation

• Students often resist the metacognitive:– No one’s favorite assignment– Path of least resistance/pro forma

Learn from My Experience

• No such thing as “too much support:”– Provide scaffolding for mastery level determination– Screencast walk through of portfolio rubric– Consider stipulating required file formats (advisedly!)

• Portfolio reviewing/grading is tedious:– CMS tools clunky (e.g., sort by student, then click

“Back” button after reviewing each dropbox)– Keep focus on the whole (versus sum-of-parts)

Steps for Getting Started

1. Choose outcomes carefully (course objectives? excerpted program goals? national standards?)

2. Set-up tool with very clear usage instructions3. Prep students at beginning of course4. Remind students of Collect-Select-Reflect

process5. Support students in making artifacts

http://bit.ly/fFdoCZ

Poll

How many of you see value in a CMS-based course-level learning portfolio to accompany

teaching in the open?

What issues/questions would you like to raise?

Follow Up

Kelvin Thompson, Ed.D.kthompso@mail.ucf.eduhttp://twitter.com/kthompso

http://bit.ly/cmsfolio Presentation & Supporting Materials