ONE SCHOOL’S EXPERIENCE IN IMPLEMENTING E-PORTFOLIOS: Lessons Learned

Anne Watson walked in to her home after a busy day in 11th grade. In the kitchen, her mom offered her a plate of fresh chocolate chip cookies. Anne was so excited that she could hardly get her laptop turned on and access the wireless network in her house quickly enough! She wanted to show her mom the e-portfolio she had been creating in the school’s course management system (CMS) over the last 2 months in an interdisciplinary activity among history, AP English, music, and art. She and her class had studied famous English authors. She had chosen Jane Austen, a highly accomplished woman of her day. Anne had collected a diverse range of digital artifacts that included: PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, music of the day, video clips, and images. Her mother couldn’t believe the quality, quantity and sophistication of what Anne had done for her project at school! Anne had produced an e-portfolio. Barrett (1997) and Siegle (2002) suggest that electronic portfolios can contain images, sound, video, text and mixed media. The e-portfolio development process facilitates student centered learning and enables students to embrace the entire learning process (Tosh & Werdmuller, 2004).

Just how exactly did Anne get to the stage where she effectively produced an e-portfolio of publisher quality? Anne goes to a school that has ubiquitous computing opportunities and a CMS that also serves as a virtual learning environment (VLE). Although e-portfolios may be developed using basic HTML and off-the-shelf tools, the CMS product Anne uses has a built-in wizard for developing e-portfolios. Anne’s e-portfolio is the culmination of an implementation process that involved commitment, funding, training, and support of the school’s administrators. The school chose to implement a course management system to enrich curriculum delivery and the learning experience for students and teachers. The administrators eventually chose to adopt the enterprise edition of the CMS that included user-friendly, e-portfolio templates. Why would administrators choose to upgrade to the enterprise edition of a CMS that supports eportfolios? The advantages of housing e-portfolios within a CMS are threefold: (1) student work can easily be shared within their respective classes, (2) the CMS parent company manages the server space the way the school’s system is configured, and (3) student work is secure, as it is housed within the school’s intranet and password protected.

What is a CMS? Course management systems were initially structured so as to fulfill demands for distributed learning, in which students participated in hybrid courses or simply used the CMS for enrichment. Currently, many course management systems serve as the basis for online education. Just like ice cream, there are many flavors, with varying features. Major players in the market today are WebCT, Blackboard, Angel, and e-Learning. A course management system is a software package designed to run either on the provider’s server or the school’s server; administration may also be through the provider or the school. There are also different course configurations that may be developed using CMSs. A straight DE class will rely strictly on the selected CMS, with no face-to-face component. A hybrid DE class will rely heavily on the CMS, but will have some face-to-face component. Of a hybrid model applied at Nova Southeastern University, Schlosser and Burmeister (1999) wrote, “the ... model is based on an understanding that a “best” balance both of face-to-face and distance instruction and of media may be established for a given group of students and instructors” (p. 45). Schlosser and Burmeister have suggested that the best balance for distributed learning combines both face-to-face synchronous and online asynchronous components.

Traditional face-to-face classes may use CMSs for enrichment purposes. This is most common in the K-12 setting; however, there are many schools beginning to follow the model of the Florida Virtual High School. By providing courses online, traditional high schools can save millions of dollars in costs for brick-and-mortar structures. High schools can expand their offerings through advanced placement courses available online, at varying costs. Some of the best high schools, whose students would ordinarily not have access to these courses, can take advantage of advanced placement courses online. Some of the best teachers in the field are chosen as online teachers for advanced placement courses in their respective fields. Technology, including course management systems and online learning, has opened the doors for students to take college courses while they are still in high school.

School administrators decided to adopt a CMS in order to not only be competitive in the independent school market, but also to provide students with an excellent introduction to online education in order to prepare them for college. The implementation of the CMS started with a basic version and eventually progressed to the enterprise version that included a school portal. So, instead of having to use stand-alone file transfer protocol (ftp) software, the enterprise version provided the school with a user-friendly interface for copying items (including word processor files, images, sound clips, video clips, etc.) to the CMS server. Furthermore, teachers and students became enthusiastic about being easily able to create eportfolios utilizing mixed media.

Although administrators chose to integrate an e-portfolio system that integrates smoothly with the CMS, Gibson and Barrett (2003) identify the possibility of an alternative path whereby the e-portfolio could be created using generic tools such as word processors, HTML editors, PDF file formats, and multimedia authoring tools. Although, paper portfolios have been used in the educational environment for a long time, the digital age has brought about a renaissance of portfolio development for both teachers and students (Gibson & Barrett, 2003).

The purposes of educational portfolios include development, presentation, and assessment (Barrett, 1997; Hewett, 2004; MacDonald, Liu, Lowell, Tsai, & Lohr, 2004; Mason, Pegler, & Weller, 2004). Benefits of using an e-portfolio can be threefold and serve as the following: (1) an educational tool for the learner, (2) a mechanism for monitoring the institution, and (3) a showcase of skills for potential employers (Tosh & Wermuller, 2004). Table 1 displays key features from major providers of course management systems that feature e-portfolios. Initially, when the school adopted the CMS, the e-portfolio feature was not available. However, as the product evolved, e-portfolios became a standard feature of the academic suite.

Teacher training clearly needs to be conducted before student training, as students are already so technology savvy, their teachers easily become threatened. Hird (1997) and Jukes (2004) suggested that kids are very cybersavvy and expect teachers to be their equals, if not better prepared to use technology.

Several steps were taken to develop effective training for teachers. First, the instructional technology team brainstormed and developed a list of the most important tasks to teach the teachers in order to create with the eportfolios. Next, the team prioritized and ordered the tasks for effective implementation. Finally, the team designed and presented training sessions in sequential chunks with a “show, practice run, do” (SPD) methodology. In other words, the team demonstrates the new technology, has a volunteer practice the new technology with the group (or act as a guinea pig), and then, finally, all teachers work through the process. The most successful training follows this progression, in that it appeals to learners with different learning preferences, including visual, tactile, and auditory learning styles.

By providing training to the teachers and using a “train the trainer” approach, teachers easily guided their students through the e-portfolio development process. Teachers became empowered, embraced this new technology, and became very enthusiastic about the possibilities of using e-portfolios in the classroom and even for future cocurricular projects. Because teachers had a good working knowledge of the technology and were enthusiastic, when they presented the e-portfolio projects to their students, the students were not only quick to understand the technology, but also quickly shared in teachers’ enthusiasm. As noted by Jarvinen, Lindh, and Saaskilahti (2000) teachers need to have not only empowerment and enthusiasm in working with technology, but also ongoing training and support throughout the implementation of the new technology. The teacher training is viewed as a success because teachers were able to teach and engage 163 students in the e-portfolio development process!

Student training typically follows two unique paths. For the technology-savvy teachers, the team follows a “train the trainer” approach, in which they train the teacher and the teacher trains the class. For the teachers seeking a more “technology on demand” approach, the instructional technology trainers cooperatively and seamlessly present the eportfolios lessons to the class. Although there is not typically enough time for students to pick up all of the subtle parts of the lesson within the class, since the technology is a supplement to the subject matter area, students generally grasp the main points of each lesson very quickly. Furthermore, there are very often computer-knowledgeable students in each class seeking to excel, who tinker with the software or technology offered, and quickly master the high-end qualities of the programs or hardware. According to the school’s survey of 163 students (see Appendix), 64% found it easy to create e-portfolios.

How could the technology team improve the implementation of e-portfolio training? Since classes are only 45 minutes in length, training time was very short. Teachers were barely able to grasp the benefits of e-portfolios. However, even with this short training time, teachers were enthusiastic and trained their students. Brand (1997) suggests that teachers need time and flexibility to fully engage in technology activities. Teachers and students are beginning to see the benefits of integrating e-portfolios into the curriculum. By elevating the importance of the teacher technology training and including e-portfolio training in the half-day summer technology workshops, teachers can feel even better prepared to use the technology with their classes. However, even with the little amount of training teachers received, they were still truly inspired by the idea of electronic portfolio and wanted to create projects with their students.

The implementation technology team trained the teachers. They wanted to find the effects of the training of the teachers on the students, so they examined how students felt about e-portfolios, training, and the learning process. Future projects include the creation of e-portfolios next fall in the first trimester to follow summer reading assignments. Additionally, students will develop interdisciplinary projects at the end of the second trimester.

Teachers have asked students to make e-portfolios to profile English authors, to conduct investigations of presidents (where each child is assigned a president to research), and even to post science lab experiment results. Lab reports are actually written as e-portfolios. Eportfolios are also used for presenting end-of-trimester work, including digital pictures of paintings, drawings, and sculptures in art class, and projects in graphic design and photography. Presently, students are exchanging e-portfolios with each other and their teacher. Students share their research of 24 presidents and have the opportunity to learn about all 24 presidents, instead of just one. E-portfolios are also used for peer review of work, self-assessment, and teacher-assessment. Teachers are able to assess projects on different levels. Students benefit by developing e-portfolios for at least three reasons: (1) they are engaged in a project that has a constructivist base and need to use critical thinking skills to proceed; (2) they are excited about working with the new technology and work to push it to the limits; and (3) because they are engaged and active in the process, they produce a quality project. The benefits described above are in line with the key elements of the school’s mission statement, as e-portfolio development fosters creativity and critical thinking skills, and readies students to embrace the college experience. This K-12 school is dedicated to developing individuals by offering excellent academics, as well as empowering students to express their creativity and independence.

Faculty development is a critical component of teaching at any level, whether for K-12 teachers or college professors. Without faculty development, teachers are unable to keep up with technology and theoretical shifts in the educational process. By providing faculty development in an online mode, in which the final project culminates in an e-portfolio, teachers can see how much they have learned about particular topics over time. For instance, if the instructional technology team provides faculty training on educational games for teacher use in a traditional classroom, although they are providing a good service to teachers, they are not necessarily adhering to constructivist principles and enabling them to fully integrate the skill set. Whereas, if the instructional technology team presents a traditional class in developing assessments using educational games, provides online instruction (as support for the class session) and examples, and requests that each teacher submits a couple of sample assessments to his or her e-portfolio, then each teacher really has a much fuller learning experience. Plus, the teacher has also developed the basis for building an e-portfolio showing various assessment strategies. The learning experience is much more complete for the teacher. The teacher is both intellectually and professionally stimulated. Best of all, the teacher is using the technology as a means to an end, not merely using technology for the sake of using technology. Constructivist principles are at work here. The teacher literally adopts the technology to construct his or her own reality, to achieve an important assessment task, and to build his or her personal eportfolio.

E-portfolios provide students with ongoing opportunities to develop collaborative projects to not only share with other students in their classes, but also to see the obvious progress they have made from semester to semester, or throughout the scope of their class. The simple format for managing e-portfolios for either single or multiple classes makes this an excellent tool for student use. Now, why would students choose to develop an e-portfolio rather than a traditional Web site? First, students can easily follow wizard-driven instructions in the CMS to compile their e-portfolios and add text documents or various types of media, including pictures, audio files, movies, presentations, and the like. Second, students do not need to learn a whole new language like HTML or JavaScript in order to produce effective Web sites and timeless memories. Third, students can easily share their e-portfolios with their classmates or teachers, and even be involved in cross-curricular projects that culminate in eportfolio development.

Why would teachers choose to have their students develop e-portfolios rather than traditional Web sites? First, teachers do not have to learn and train students in Web development skills in order to create e-portfolios. Second, teachers can be comfortable with projects developed within a CMS because they will be shareable and easily monitored by the teacher. If students were to develop Web pages in a free space on the Internet, it would be very difficult to monitor what students are writing for presentations within the scope of the class.

According to Mason, Pegler, and Weller (2004) and Tosh and Werdmuller (2004), eportfolios can be used for short-term purposes, but the basic concept is that the learners will contribute continuously to their e-portfolios throughout their school experience, and draw on it for such things as job interviews and maintaining a record of achievement. For instance, a student seeking to demonstrate talent in debating could insert a video clip into the e-portfolio. Likewise, a student with skills in image editing could include a high-end original graphic design created in Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator and saved in an appropriate Web-friendly format. Evidence suggests that portfolio assessments have had a positive effect on student learning (Santos, 1997; Sweet, 1993; Tierney, Carter, & Desai, 1991; Wolfe & Sui-Runyun, 1996).

In a recent survey of 163 high school students who created e-portfolios using a CMS, the students were asked about their experiences. Nearly two thirds (64 %), said that the process was easy.

With the advances in digital media, students are able to add a variety of documents to their e-portfolios. “An e-portfolio is a web-based information management system that uses electronic media and services. The learner builds and maintains a digital repository of artifacts” (Tosh & Werdmuller, 2004, p. 1). When asked to respond to the question “What document types did you include in your e-portfolio?” students responded as follows: Word document (113), images (121), PowerPoint (104), audio file (39), video (24), PDF (7), and Excel spreadsheet (2).

E-portfolios can play an important role in evaluating student progress. Many of the students in the survey stated that they would prefer to have an e-portfolio assigned as a form of assessment as opposed to a test. However, the majority (54%) of students selected a traditional test rather than an e-portfolio to be used for assessment at the end of a trimester when asked “Would you prefer your teacher assign a semester-long, e-portfolio project rather than a test at the end of the trimester?”

These high school students are deemed to be cyber-savvy, as they have used laptops in a ubiquitous environment for over 5 years. Even these students are somewhat noncommittal about using e-portfolios for applying to college or for jobs. However, MacDonald et al. (2004) have suggested that the key objective of an eportfolio is to help students organize their work for presentation to employers. As Wheeler (2003) has noted, “ePortfolios should ultimately support the reflective practices needed for life-long learning. This implies ePortfolio applicability and portability within K-12, to higher education, and on to career” (^6). E-portfolios are an excellent method for not only reflecting state standards and the NETS^S across the curriculum, but also for helping student teachers develop an organized process for displaying academic work in a variety of media over time (Avraamidou & Zemball-Saul, 2002; MacDonald et al., 2004). E-portfolios also serve as an outstanding tool to be used in conducting employment searches (Bucci et al., 2004). However, the survey indicates that these students (73%) do not see the application of e-portfolios for applying for college or jobs when asked, “Can you envision using e-portfolios to apply to college or for a job?”

The student Anne Watson recently stated that she acquired a summer position because her mother passed along her e-portfolio to an executive at a local Fox network affiliate, who was so impressed that she took her on as a summer intern. Such is the power of an e-portfolio! Obviously, the producers of the major CMS products have also recognized the power of eportfolios, in that they have chosen to integrate them into their present systems. In fact, course management systems have made the process of developing e-portfolios simplistic for both students and teachers. Therefore, the training process for IT departments has proven to be very straightforward and beneficial for those involved.

However, in a recent survey of 163 students with state-of-the art technology and ubiquitous computing opportunities available, the students were mixed in their reactions toward eportfolios. For example, when asked, “Can you envision using an e-portfolio to apply to college or for a job,” 117 said “no” and 46 said “yes.” Students can easily produce e-portfolios, but cannot make the connection between production and application. E-portfolio-savvy teachers and high school guidance counselors can begin to bridge the gap between production and application. In order to be e-portfolio savvy, however, both teachers and counselors need to be trained or at least shown actual student-developed e-portfolios, and the benefits of producing such projects should be explained. The process is a gradual one, and through ongoing technology training, and perhaps even student or parent pressure, use of eportfolios for college admission will become the rule. However, college admissions counselors have not yet set standards or developed a rubric for creating e-portfolios that effectively encapsulate the skills, knowledge and talents of these students. As a first step, standards should be developed that comply with NETS^S standards to allow students to see the application of e-portfolios for their high school coursework. Ultimately, standards should be established for evaluation of students as they apply to college or for work. After all, an eportfolio should serve as a self-assessment and reflection at a personal crossroad (Barrett, 2000).