i. hyperlink documents with ease, thus increasing connections with different e-portfolio elements.
ii. increase portability where students do not have to carry heavy portfolio files,
e-portfolios can easily be accessed via an internet connection or saved onto a CD.
iii. Improve, motivate and make students' enjoyable. Students who have developed an e-portfolio reports feelings of satisfaction and having a sense of ownership for an authentic task based learning outcome.
iv. improve and horn students ICT skills in terms of developing exciting and interesting teaching materials using softwares and other open source tools.
v. incorporate multimedia elements such videos and slide shows.
vi. share teaching and learning materials with peers, students and future employers.
Here in this blog I have listed 17 of the best e-portfolios developed by my students. These e-Portfolios are chosen from the three cohorts from 2009 till 2011. An example of an e-Portfolio constructed by a student in this project is shown in the figure below. A full list of the e-portfolios can be accessed under the Students' e-Portfolio List menu.
The figure below shows the basic e-Portfolio framework that I have used in this initiative. The basic elements incorporated are:
i. My Phylosophy of Teaching and Learning
ii. My Artifacts (Products of learning)
iii. My Reflections
iv. My Lesson plans
v. My Favourite Links
vi. My Videos and Slide Shows
vii. My Creative writings
Students are given the freedom to choose any templates they wish and are allowed to enrich their e-Portfolios with available gadjets offered by blogspot.
Each and everyone of the students is needed to write their philosophy of teaching and learning. I feel that this is an important part of their training as teachers and the need to internalise the spirit and soul for teaching and learning. The students' philosophies are well documented in the e-portfolios that i have listed in this blog.Students are also asked to develop their professional development plan (PDP) as a teacher. Please feel free to read them. An example of a PDP is shown below.
Some of the other artifacts produce by the students are products of their learning which include lesson plans, powerpoint presentations,specific videos used in teaching and learning and slideshows. Examples of these are given below.
A PBL Lesson
A Lesson Plan
A PowerPoint Lesson
A Slide Show
A Teaching and Learning Video
Other efforts of incorporating social networks in teaching and learning were also done. This includes teachers development of lessons using softwares such as CamtasiaStudio, LectureMaker and The Smartboard. These links could also be seen in the blogs listed. Please note that some of these materials are too large and access to them could be difficult. However these lesson were saved on CDs to facilitate assessment.
Apart from academic writings, the students' e-portfolio display elements of creativity. This aspect is well documented as creative writings (poetry, words of wisdom etc.), music, animations, photos and collages, and songs.
An important aspect of learning is making reflections. Students in this project is needed to write a reflection on all of the task given. Most reflections are aim to elicit students feedback on the benefits, challenges and resource support they needed to accomplish their task.
To gain an insight on the benefits of this initiative I have inserted a document on the students' testimonies.
In terms of achievement related to this initiated, I have managed to secure a Gold Medal in the university's Expo on Research and Innovation for a research on e-portfolios. I have also presented a paper in Huangzhou, China related to this initiative. A poster and paper presentation can be viewed in the e-Portfolio Research menu. Of late, I was also awarded a second place in an Innovation Competition. The figures below supports these claims.
A Certificate of Achievement (GOLD) from the university.(2009)
An Award for Innovative Teaching (2010)
A Paper Presentation at the UNESCO-APEID Conference (Nov, 2009)
A very significant impact on my students' learning is the aquisition of skills in developing teaching materials using free open source and Web 2.0 tools such YouTube, RSS fees, Chatbox, twitter, and free tools such as PICASA and FreeMind. Students become very motivated on their successes in developing teaching materials using softwares such as the CamtasiaStudio, LectureMaker and the SmartBoard Software Tools.
The use of blogs as e-portfolio platforms is gaining interest in the education world. I have received several invitations from faculties and one other institution to train their academicians to develop their students e-Portfolios. Presentations slides for the training can be access from the e-Portfolio training menu.A list of academic staff involved is given in the Name list.
Last but not least, this initiative has given me a sense of satisfaction especially when viewing the e-portfolios produced. I am greatly amazed at the students' efforts,commitments,creativity and joy that went along with this initiative.
