I am not that visual...

Many are trying to establish a definition of what an ePortfolio actually is. And describing the nature, scope and meaning of ePortfolio will be done in relation with who establishes this definition for what context. I particularly liked this introduction to ePortfolio for students at Victoria Uni.
One comment written by Sarah Stewart on an anti ePortfolio blog post steered me towards picking an other lense to consider ePortfolio. She wrote "ePortfolio is what you want it to be!" Yeah!
I decided to drop (for now!) the institutionalised lense (education context, assessment, evaluation, measured improved outcomes, definition, implementation, eportfolio system...) and to focus on the individual ePortfolio owner* whoever that may be at any time of their life. Folios are life wide and life long and need to be considered from the user's perspective, who is a curious self motivated autonomous proactive agent of his/own learning (coming from a school near us soon!)
I came across this Guide to Digital Portfolio and I liked its presentation format. Maybe because it is flat and linear and that it caught my eye is a reflection of my limited ability to think differently :-)? I would like to master Prezi so that I convey my thoughts and experience about things through using it, but so far my attempts have left me disappointed in the result. I need to work on why? (and suggestions to guide this reflection are welcome!)
Anyhow this is my attempt at describing what an ePortfolio is. For me. Work in progress.

* Bloggers keep blogs, need to think of a name for a person who keeps an ePortfolio...

SOLE

As I wade through marking a large pile of mid-year exam papers reflecting a form of assessment that I no longer believe in (if I ever did, which I doubt!),  it is nice to take a breath and be led, via Twitter (well, via my email notification of Twitter, to be exact, as I'm not the world's most avid twitterite, am I?) to an interview by Steve Wheeler with Sugata Mitra, and thence to the latter's TED Talk on YouTube, which was posted, I see, in February.
You'd probably seen it before, but you may remember that I played his 'hole in the wall' experiment TED talk at the Long Weekend d'Immersion in 2011 as I think it speaks volumes about learning and motivation.  The latest TED talk is a summary of his previous work and his vision for the future of learning. What he says really resonates with me as it calls into question the whole structure of western education, the role of teachers and the relevance of schools in their present form. It's easy to see why some feel threatened by his approach as, if he's right, then teaching as we know it could go the way of the dinosaurs.
He presents what he calls the SOLE (Self-Organised Learning Environment) for which the only requirements are BROADBAND, COLLABORATION and ENCOURAGEMENT.
He says "We need to look at learning as the product of educational self-organisation. If we allow the educational process to self-organise then learning emerges. It's not about MAKING learning happen, it's about LETTING it happen. The teacher sets the process in motion and then stands back in awe and watches learning happen." I can really relate to this as I don't think anyone has ever successfully MADE me learn anything. I have, of course, 'learned' a heap of things out of obligation, but any deep, real learning I have done over the years has had a large element of self-organisation. It can be random and punctuated by fertile and fallow periods but it's been a largely effective process of action and reflection dictated by my own curiosity, interest, needs and head-space. Two key factors, which I've mentioned many times, are MOTIVATION and CHOICE.
Sugata Mitra ends with "I think we need a curriculum of big questions". Some would go further and suggest that those big questions should ideally be generated by the students themselves rather than the teacher.
I like his 'granny cloud' initative which links older people with time and expertise to young learners, via Skype. That's something I'd be interested in getting involved with once I hang up my official boots. It's not dissimilar to some of the things we've done on Blackboard Collaborate with L'Ecole Hors les Murs. I love that 'hands across the water' stuff.
Now, how's that for a productive procrastination of exam marking?
^. .^
=+=

A week of two halves!

France is in New Zealand for three test matches against the All Blacks at the moment. Typically it means intense rugby watching. Succession of high highs: admiration, exhilaration, discovery of talents, enthusiasm, connections, cheering, a win... Intermittently interspersed by low lows: indecisions, refs' decision, frustration, lack of direction, a loss! And that is pretty much the story of my week!

While there has been some talk since December that some ongoing community support for MyPortfolio has received funding, and I have been asked what I could contribute to this, things are only lifted slowly of the ground. I am not waiting. I am thinking.
Why am I so passionate about this ePortfolio thing? ePorfolio is about learning, is about learning to learn, is about life long learning. It is about gathering one's own evidence of learning, organising it, reflecting on it, sharing it. It is about keeping traces, it is about readying oneself for opportunities. This happens best if the eportfolio is building out of purpose, powered with drive,  by individuals who make choices, are proactive about their own learning and have an understanding of the power of sharing, who have embedded reflection as a way of being. Along the way, the eportfolio user develops digital skills, digital literacy and a digital identity. In becoming agent of their learning, they proof themselves against the unknown an ever changing world is putting in front of them.  They have at the ready,  evidence of who they are as a student or professional, of what they can contribute and of their reflections on how to go about it. They understand qualifications is the What, ePortfolio is the Why and the How. And they understand it is what makes them stand out from the crowd: the Why is deeply individualised and the How is much personalised.

How have I drawn this picture of the ePortfolio user? Working with teachers and students and developing my knowledge and my understanding of the New Zealand Curriculum. This awesome picture is stuff from the world of Education. It's extremely good stuff. It is education talk. Is it heard, and understood, beyond that realm at all? Are employers, recruiters, business owners, professionals ready to pay attention to the potential a 21st century learner with an ePortfolio and to leverage what 21st century learning can bring them and their organisations?
If we spend time with students in schools learning to develop an ePortfolio approach, the best way to make it an authentic learning experience for them is that they see it has a value beyond formal education, that it is not merely something one does in French or Art.
If an ePortfolio succeeds in conveying this extremely good stuff about its owner as self directed, reflective, connected, how is this presented, explained, experienced to society at large?
I spent much of the last couple of weeks continuing to "meet" people, some synchronously but remotely, like Diana Ayling, who researches at tertiary level with interest in developing human potential, some asynchronously through their published work, like Philippe Gauthier who has compiled a Why and How to the ePortfolio approach book with employability in mind in France, or like Don Presant who is championing the use of ePortfolio for employability and career development in Canada. And some face to face, like Steven Vincent, who owns an IT service provider and support company specialising in the business and education markets. His business is about Open Source software. Steve sees helping people make the best choices around the technology that supports their every day life as a cornerstone of his activity. I also had a long chat with a woman I know socially who had a successful career in HR prior to having children and who now wishes to reenter the business world. An ePortfolio could help her capitalise on the "soft competence" she has grown and harnessed through being a mum to add to her otherwise brilliant CV.
All these encounters contribute to the high High! By moving my focus slightly out of ePortfolio in New Zealand schools and by looking beyond, it becomes clear to me that there is a direct application for an ePortfolio in the "real world" and that at the mention of its potential, people are very interested in knowing more, and getting started!
All these encounters contribute to the low Low! What to do with this understanding? Where to start? Who with? How? What is my next step?
But I start to look up again as essentially there is a Why! So that there is continuity from school to work, there needs to be a common language about Learning across sectors. So that these worlds complement each other, the people who inhabit them ought to recognise and value future proofed skills and competences, to recognise and value creativity and self direction in individuals. I believe ePortfolios are the opportunity to establish this common language.
Now what? To test the theory. This is what I am going to do locally, while continuing to learn from the world of Education!

PS: Like the image? Just a little fun reminder to self that I have got to start believing that I can be a little part of that!

Bundle of Inspiration

I am currently buried under the self motivated (!?) task of identifying and verbalising concisely why I do what I do at the moment. It stems from the realisation that it is through experiencing with and gaining fluency* in the use of a range of tools that I am seeing the transformative learning processes that they enable. Another root is that through experience and increased fluency has developed an "online me", a digital self, an identity that I have total control over, that is an amplification of who I actually am. This online identity gives me visibility, connectedness and a consciousness of self that leads more naturally to bursts of reflection like this one! To capture learning moments, curate them, share them, get feedback and reflect upon them constitute a journey. A life long learning journey that augments my understanding of self, no end in sight no certificate no pay rise. I am told that it should be leading to plenty of satisfaction. Right now it is pretty messy.
So enters the opportunity to list where I get my inspiration from, and to use a new tool that is pretty useful to bundle together a range of reference websites and display them to share. It is called Bundlr .

This tool could be used in the classroom to bundle reference websites to share with students or students could work together to create a class one on themes that make them tick. What this makes visible to me right now is that my Inspiration comes very much from the world of Education. Which is not surprising considering I am a teacher and trainer. But I take it as a reminder to look at ways at opening my horizons further, especially when considering bringing a range of people from a range of spaces together around eportfolios. I feel this is going to stay messy for a while yet!

*Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano talks about iPad fluency and makes the analogy with grammar and language learning. It talked to me.

ePortfolio blah blah

It appears we have had very different weeks and not only weatherwise... This is what I have been up to. Hesitations, blanks and repetitions included, but a podcast no longer (?!) than 10 minutes. Lucky you! Put the SoundCloud app on your phone or your browser and give it a go, suggest to your students to create an account, start recording anywhere anytime and share wherever (including MyPortfolio!) It even works for words list :-). Could be useful for revision prior to mock exams!

Enjoy your long week end and keep warm and happy!