From ICT Register Wiki
ePortfolios
Author: David Broadfield
In 2005 the Department for Education and Skills asserted they sought to:
"Provide integrated e-portfolios [for Schools] by 2007"
In 2006 the ICT Register commissioned a small scale research project to ascertain the degree to which e-portfolios are being adopted and utilised by Register schools
Initial findings showed that schools had differing interpretations of the term eportfolio, but all of them shared some of the following statements.
An e-portfolio is a purposeful collection of work and information that:
- represents an individual's efforts, progress and achievements over time
- is goal-driven, performance-based and indicates evidence of the attainment of knowledge, skills and attitudes
- includes self-reflection
- is a tool for facilitating life-long learning and career development
Professional ePortfolios in Education
Aims of the research
- To identify (within time and resource constraints) a range of e-portfolios available for use by teachers and students in a selection of primary and secondary Register schools in up to 5 different geographical regions and in a range of environments.
- To investigate how the selected schools have gone about creating eportfolios and how they have used commercially available software or invented their own.
- To examine how a) students and b) teachers make use of the e-portfolios.
- To examine how parents are involved in making use of the portfolios and any issues about home-school links.
- To raise issues for both primary and secondary schools connected with transition and the effective use of e-portfolios.
- To recommend any action points for schools in designing and using eportfolios.
- To recommend any further research and development needed for the effective incorporation of e-portfolios.
The research was undertaken in two primary schools and three secondary
schools. All schools were asked the same questions (see appendix) and the
findings for each school were organised in same way. Information was gathered from four schools by personal visit and one by a telephone interview.
Main Findings
Although the research was limited to five schools nevertheless we feel it is possible to draw out conclusions and suggest implications for the future. The points below are not in any particular order of importance.
- A clear issue is the variation in interpreting the term e-portfolio. Within the five schools there was reasonable proximity but nevertheless there was a range of definitions. This ranged from collections of “best work” and test results and targets to pupils being given opportunity to record their progress in learning. This means enabling students to analyse the process of learning and not merely recording a step up from one national curriculum level to another. It may be worth noting that outside of these five schools there appears to be some confusion and misinterpretation of what e-portfolios are. Some schools had gone down the commercial route and had bought in systems whilst others had developed their own systems in house.
- The schools involved all consider themselves to be in the early stages of development, although this covered periods of up to ten years. There is a common pattern of introduction, adaptation and development consisting of several phases which is still ongoing. This is both interesting and important as it mirrors the process of learning in that it covers hypothesis, investigation, reflection, change and evaluation. It is also to the schools’ advantage that the approach has been developmental because the rapid changes in technology can easily make systems obsolete.
- Similarly, with regard to roll out, schools adopted a common cautious approach. The schools invariably began with use by selected year groups or groups of pupils, and are now in the process of expanding to whole key stage or whole school uptake.
- Most of the schools reported that it was too early to gauge the impact of their work in this area. However the schools where e-portfolios were embedded in the learning culture of the school, were seen to be making the most headway.
- It was clearly evident in all of the schools included in the research that the e-portfolio work was driven by key individuals. In the secondary schools it tended to be the ICT manager and members of the senior management team. In the primary schools it was usually the headteacher and a senior member of staff. All schools reported real optimism on the part of the staff regarding the potential of e-portfolios. This has impacted on the strategies used by schools for implementing the work in this area. There were no reported incidences of staff being negative or sceptical about developments.
- Pupils, generally, were also very positive in all the schools. The pupils, “interviewed” as part of this research, were very positive. It was clear that they were motivated and engaged by the work and they come up with some surprising comments.
One or two pupils wanted the e-portfolio to be private, they did not want
their parents to be able to see everything.
One boy said, “I would not give them my password”.
A girl commented, “I would like a private space where I can be honest
about myself”.
Another girl commented, “I would like to be able to show people my best
work……it would make me feel proud”.
A boy said, “It’s good to look back when you are older……….It shows how
you’ve improved, how your levels have improved”.
These initial findings beg the question “how will pupil engagement be
sustained and what will be the incentive for our students?”
Presently many youngsters are engaged with social technologies. They do
not need to be “reminded” about updating their information or profile. “My
Space” is very popular and youngsters value “presenting” themselves to
their peers. They value the feedback they get from friends and may
update their site several times a day on the basis of feedback. We need to
understand what makes this so attractive to youngsters and build on it in
schools. One of the reasons for students’ engagement with My Space is
their sense of audience. We need to transfer this to the school situation. If
we don’t we run the risk of e-portfolios becoming very much second rate to
our students and therefore not valued. The fact that this technology gives
students opportunities for anytime, anywhere learning should influence the
thinking around the use of e-portfolios.
- The research suggests that e-portfolios are not impacting on transfer at kS2/3. This is due to a number of factors. The numbers of schools involved in any one area is often an issue. One school reported that it had 40 feeder primary schools across several local authorities. One of the schools is trying to address the issue by employing a member of staff to work with its feeder primary schools. This is a new venture and so it is too early to assess its success. However already there is an issue with data loss between schools even when they are using the same software. Another issue for some schools is that e-portfolios are not seen as mandatory and therefore are not worth pursuing.
- One encouraging aspect of the e-portfolio is the opportunity it provides for supporting the Personalising Learning Agenda. All the schools involved recognise that it is a way of giving pupils some measure of control over their learning. It provides the means of giving them ‘a voice’. This can range from pupils involved in basic self–selection of work, self assessment at a fairly restricted level to pupils engaged in ‘Deep Learning’ where they are really analysing the processes of their learning, analysing their progress and being self-directed in future choices. Primary aged pupils are more than capable of engaging in this level of activity (see Art journal). E-portfolios could be the way for Learning to Learn skills to be an embedded and integral part of a child’s experience. The best examples of e-portfolios in the schools visited were those that provided the means for pupils to record evidence of their learning rather than recording progress in terms of movement from one national curriculum level to another.
- Another issue appears to be the position taken by commercial providers. Some schools are going down the commercial route whilst others are seeking “in-house” solutions. There seems to be no clear lead being given by any organisation here. Some commercial providers are providing eportfolio solutions with their VLE’s and some exam boards require pupils to keep an e-portfolio as part of their evidence of meeting course requirements. These would appear to meet the needs of the organisation than the interests of the students. There needs to be a discussion around design, use and purpose. Do we need a clear statement that e-portfolios are categorically for the benefit of the student or are they for the benefit of the institution? These are not mutually exclusive of course.
Implications for the future
- We need to develop a shared conceptual understanding of the term eportfolio and a shared understanding of the pedagogies that underpin them. We therefore need more experience and more case studies in order to develop this.
- The conflict of interest between the school centred VLE and the student centred e-portfolio needs addressing. It does not have to be an either or but the rationale behind each are very different.
- Working with e-portfolios should be embedded in students’ everyday work in a way that is meaningful to them. It has to become habitual and not a bolt on in time for parents evening or student reviews. We must look at the how and why of the ways our youngsters interact with social technologies.
- Research suggests that students find the reflecting on learning element of e-portfolios the least appealing. Schools need to develop learning to learn programmes to counteract this. This is a fundamental part of deep learning. This is the area that employers are most interested in. Many reports by employers state that they are interested in “soft skills” – do eportfolios need to reflect this? (quote from “their space” – Demos)
- We need to involve all stakeholders in the design of e-portfolios, including students and employers. The design debate should incorporate both aesthetic and technical aspects.
- Although a standardised system may be desirable it is important to retain flexibility. A “locked down” system will not be appealing to students or teachers. Flexibility needs to take into account future functionality. It is evident that e-portfolios have a potentially key role to play in the personalising learning agenda. Increasing learner autonomy and self direction and developing the students’ ability to reflect on their own learning will result in “deep” learning. E-portfolios definitely have the potential to make the transfer of students between key stages and institutions more efficient and effective. However this has implications for the future.
You can download and read the whole of David Broadfield's research into ePortfolios here. (Note that the file is a 1MB pdf document, so may take a while to download, depending on the speed of your Internet connection.)