Australian e-Portfolio Showcase - QUT - Wed 6 Feb 08

Below are my notes from this event. My reflection will come in another post:

e-Portfolio Showcase – Wednesday 6 February 2008

Queensland University of Technology – Gardens Point Campus

Good starting point when considering ePortfolios: What do you want out of your ePortfolio? What are your educational institutes' needs?

Sakai Project: Darren Cambridge, Inter/National Coalition for ePortfolio Research
- open sourced software, but not free - expensive to establish but very flexible
- Open Source Portfolio (OSP) Initiative - started in 2003 - a collaborative approach between a large number of institutes - Community Source Choices
- 60 institutions in 8 countries using Sakai
- OSP tools - Resources, Forms, Wizards, Matrices, Evaluations, Portfolios: layouts, templates sytles, Goal Management
- layers of customisation required - End User, XML, Code
- Sakai has a 'community library' which allows users to share customisations
- University of Michigan major playing in this platform
- Uses: personal representation, teaching and learning, assessment and accreditation
OSP website: http://osportfolio.org
OSP wiki: http://bugs.sakaiproject.org/confluence/display/OSP/
OSP Community Library: http://osportfolio.org/library

Pae Ulu, Pae Kukulu, Pae Huaka'i Pae Pae - Hawaiian stages of building a boat


Open Source: Carole Hunter, Centre for Enhancing Learning and Teaching, Charles Sturt University
- chunter@csu.edu.au
- using Sakai as their LMS, OSP Portfolios are linked to Sakai
Lesson 1
- Our users are a varied groups of people - spoke to their students, and what they were doing with paperbased portfolios
- One end of group of users wanted 'guidance' and the other end group wanted a 'blank' page approach (ie those who had some web design skills). Others wanted highly reflective portfolio - others a 'resume'. Ways of recording reflection included written, as well as video/mp4 / audio/mp3.
Lesson 2
- OpenSource is empowering ... once you get started. Getting started can be very daunting
- 1st portfolios - started working with Academics and Educational Designers - so they could model the use of portfolios - to encourage student uptake. Research has proven this as an effective way of increasing student participation.
- places for public and private reflection was requested by the users
- Philip Uys puys@csu.edu.au

Mahara: Richard Wyles, Flexible Learning Networks, NZ
- private learning and development company - www.flexible.co.nz
- Mahara - Maori for 'think' or 'thought'
- www.mahara.org - to be released on 1 March 2008
- not as mature at Sakai
- designed for flexibility to accommodate range of eportfolio models: reflective learning, assessment and certifcation, and showcase for employment
- has social networking capability
- Can be inter-operability with a range of LMS's ie Blackboard, but inspired by Moodle
- Mahara Framework: various selected 'views' - friends, potential employers, file repository
- can have flickr/YouTube filtering into Mahara
- Massey Univ, Ackland Uni of Technology, The Open Polytechnic of NZ using
- Mahara is being used as a National Portfolio: myportfolio.ac.nz
- Single sign-on with Moodle/Mahara
- richard@flexible.co.nz

Blackboard: Tony Maguire, Blackboard International
- Career Portfolios, Institutional Portfolios, Presentation Portfolios, K12-20 needs are often differnt to Higher Ed requirements
- Personal * Classroom * Campus * Global * Lifelong
- Individual * Course * Program * Institution
- able to integrate with a variety of LMSs
- Signon with Blackboard
- Portfolio tool within the Blackboard Content System
- Reflection is a 'key driver' behind an e-Portfolio system
- Stand alone e-Portfolio product - link artifacts from LMS to outcome statements
- include mp3/graphics etc
- Tony.Maguire@blackboard.com

ePortfolios at the University of Wollongong, Sarah Lambert, Student e-Portfolio Project Manager, University of Wollongong
- slambert@uow.edu.au
- Home grown database product built in 2002/03
- 'Matrix at a glance interaction' is important for viewing the Record summary
- Using it as 'Academic Integration' was very important
- UoW using a multi-e-Portfolio approach ie wikis, blogs, Blackboard Portfolio for Vista, word/ppt, LMS, and still using paper-based portfolios
- Offering a choices of tools in 2008 - looking Pebblepad and OSP
- Looking at Carrick Institute research in national interoperability
- It's about developing the 'culture' around using e-Portfolios

PebblesPad, Shane Sutherland/Colin Dalziel, Pebble Learning, UK
- Social Learning Tools (web2.0) (PLE) vs Institutional Learning (CMS, LMS) (VLE) = developing a 'Bridging Learning' or Personal Learning Environment (PLE)
- Wanting to produce a PLE that is powerful but User friendly, not tied to formal learning and cater for informal learning
- Asset Store - can tag, private or public, shared/published, exportable as HTML and printable, uploadable, 'Action Plan' wizards in create, edit and review, PD Activity record, Profile/Matrix, link to RSS feeds
- Matrix/Profile allows for 'self auditing' of 'employability skills'
- www.pebblepad.co.uk
- very easy to learn - very little 'training' - very simple to use

Desire2Learn, Ian Smissen, Desire2Learn
- www.Desire2Learn.com - to be released in the next few weeks
- Learner Centred - it's about learning and teaching, but not exclusively - collect, reflect, organise, feedback, review, assess (self, peer, SME)
- Common platform preferred for interoperability and can stand alone
- user-centred, tracking and evaluation, match to competencies and assessment, collaborative learning and social networking, multiple purposes, multiple audiences, lifelong learning, integration, flexible/freedom to choose
- Ian.Smissen@Desire2Learn.com

CareerHub, Darren Hughes, CareerHub
- Making it simple and usable
- Portfolio to manage employment opportunities - used by a lot of Australian and New Zealand Universities
- good for developing an online resume

Student e-Portfolio, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Col McCowan, Careers & Employment, QUT
- structed, learning showcase
- start with a small group of students to trial and increase
- experiences, artifacts, targeted views, release views
- 512mb file limit per student
- built around skills areas and incorporate non-University situations ie personal life and work
- being used in a large number of ways across the University - Voluntary to Compulsory - Serendiptiy to Embedded -
- Community Services Courses are fully embedding into their course

Does e-learning equate to penny pinching or improved client services?

TAFE SA is a large Vocational Education and Training organisation, helping to skill the South Australian workforce.

Like most government organisations in recent years its funding has been 'squeezed through a wringer' and Management have been continuously instructed to 're-construct' their budgets (ie 'reconstruct' meaning CUT).

Current State Government initiatives and the need to upskill a lot of people quickly due to skills shortages has meant that flexible training options, including e-learning, have been given 'greater attention' by TAFE SA management.

Following a meeting between Managers, Program Leaders, Trainers and Industry today to 'brainstorm' the possibilities of developing a project to adopt more flexible Electrical and Instrumentational training options, my Manager commented that this project fitted in nicely with our Director's call for 'working better for less'.

I agree with this concept - it's sound business management to want to maximise your dollar - however it is not one which our staff take to lightly. They see the concept of 'working better for less' to mean increased workloads for them.

So if we are to encourage and motivate our staff to change their currently training practices, and embrace e-learning, then we need to demonstrate:

- that flexible learning offers better customer service,
- that e-learning can provide a learner centred environment which develops independent learners, and
- that accessibility and choice allows more of the population to undertake formal accredited training.

So does your organistion consider e-learning to equate to money saved or does it see e-learning as a means of providing a better service and increased accessibility to its clients?

Trying to figure out thatsmymouse

Last night whilst reading blogs in GReader I came across the recently released thatsmymouse, which enables you to "share your mouse position with other visitors on the same webpage.". (Apologies for not giving the blogger credit who alerted me to this tool - but sorry I can't remember whose blog I read it on - but thanks anyway)


I wasn't sure what this way - so I thought I would ask Twitterdom:

Then this evening, whilst catching up on HeyJude's blog postings I was reminded of this site again, and figured I should try to work out what it is all about.

Adding thatsmymouse to this blog - well I copied the html code into my last blog posting's Html and viewed my blog.

Since then I've been able to add a comment, by simply starting to type anywhere on the screen ...


which attaches itself to my mouse - and then follows my mouse around the screen.


It appears I need to move my mouse around to keep this function alive.

So what's its greater purpose? I'm not quite sure right now - I suppose if someone else was reading the same page, you could have a 'voice box' text/IM chat. That would be interesting to see. I'll try testing it with @kerryank - who added it to her blog last night and will let you know.

I'm now wondering if YOU can also just start to type on this screen - go on try typing something - does a 'thatsmymouse' voice box appear and follow your mouse around the screen? Or do you have to 'register' at thatsmymouse first?

Posted 'findings' in the comments would be greatly appreciated :)

Learning how to function in an online environment

I found Kate Olson's recent blog posting called "Finally Facebook" very interesting and relevant to the recent FB discussions I've been blogging about here.

In "Finally Facebook", Kate describes how she has just started a Facebook (FB) account "in the name of research" for a parent workshop she is holding at her school on “what kids are up to online these days”. Kate felt that she couldn't teach others about FB without actually using it herself, as she is keen to help 'educate' your students' parents about Social Networks.

Kate writes:

"In no way will I be conveying that social networks are something to be scared of - I will be emphasizing parent awareness, monitoring, and open communication with teens and referencing much of Danah Boyd’s work.

I believe every parent (and TEACHER, but that’s another post) should at least understand what social networks are, even if they aren’t interested in using them for personal use. Not because social networks are something to necessarily be worried about, but we need to understand how our kids work, interact, and think. It’s just simply NOT ok anymore for parents to say, “I hardly even know how to email, ha ha” and have that be just cute and a sign of the times. We need to wake up and figure out where this generation is spending time.

- Why doesn’t every single school have parent education courses?

- Why aren’t all teachers REQUIRED to learn and discuss how social networking affects learning and interacting with teenagers (students’ personal, not educational use)?"

Kate also includes some really good links to "educational writings on social networking".

And since using Social Networking Sites like FB has been high on the agenda in the e-learning circles at TAFE SA this week I thought that I would include my comments to Kate's blog here, so that I can start to gather a 'repository' of information which can help us 'massage' people's understanding of the importance of 'learning how to function in an online environment'.

This is the comment I left on Kate's 'Finally Facebook' blog post today:

"You're spot on here Kate - the message to parents is - 'get amongst it' - because it is only once you're in the social networking-sphere that you can truly understand what's going on.

Like you I create a MySpace account a while back, and then the next time I went back to it I had 6 friend requests - I was so excited - 6 strangers wanted to be my friend :). However, upon opening up the 'requests' screen I had 6 men wanting to be my friend - hmmm - perhaps they mis-read my desire to 'network'. I was shocked and quickly rejected all of them.

However, it did bring home the question:

- how do young adolescents deal with this kind of thing?

A work colleague mentioned that her son wanted to get a MySpace and that she wasn't going to let him. I asked her how she was going to stop him, and suggested that she actually got her own MySpace, so she could at least understand the attraction of these sites to young people, and then start the 'conversations' needed to guide young people through the digital world.

Social networking is such an emerging area - so we all need to be in it together, so as a community we can shape it into a healthy and vibrant place to be.

Look what the Google-bots fed me!

Earlier this evening I wrote a blog posting of my concerns about having Google-bots scour my Gmail emails - and to my (further) amazement - a little later on I found the Google-bots actually feeding this post back to me in my G-Reader as 'top' billing' of "A look at what's new".


Is this because it contained Google content???

Yes, it does seem a little sad that I subscribe to my own blog posting. No I'm not desperate to fill my G-Reader - I was just 'curious' to see what came through on my blog posts after reading Nancy White's '2 tips for making your blog easier to read in my feeds'

So what are the Google-bots feeding you?

So what can the 'Google-bots' tell about you?

Whilst Microsoft has been setting its sights on Yahoo! I've been more concerned about Google!

My concern with Google started a few nights ago during some email communications with Stephanie. Stephanie is one of Clay Burell's PLN Students, who is doing a project on designing a 'dream restaurant', and she tweeted:

Mr.Burell's PLN Class-Send me photos of your favorite restaurants/bars in your town (plnclass@gmail.com) It'd be very helpful for my project

So I promptly 'Googled' the URL of my husband and I's favourite restaurant, the Taj Tandoor in Adelaide, and Gmail'ed it to Stephanie, along with some comments about why this was our favourite restaurant.

Whilst reading Stephanie's replied 'Thank You', it was much to my amazement that I noticed on the right hand side of the screen that the 'Sponsored Links' were all directly related to the email communications which Stephanie and I were entered into.


What? Gmail is 'monitoring' my emails? Is this right? Should the Google-bots be allowed to scroll my private communications for the sole purpose of selling me something?

Well I obviously didn't read the 'Terms & Conditions' when signing up to my Gmail account too well (which I've had for less than a month).

This all feels a little "Big Google Brotherish".

I know Google and their 'Sponsors' need to make a living - and I'm quite happy for these links to be attached to my publicly open searchs in Google Search engine - but hey, I'm NOT happy about having Google 'monitoring' my email communications.

I've always considered email to be a fairly 'private' arena - just me and the people I'm emailing to. A place where I feel I can write something which is only for a directed audience.

This has made me more 'conscious' about what I use my Gmail account for. How do I know that the data Google is gathering through their 'keyword searches' is only being analysed and used to 'sell' to advertisers?

In all of its faults, at least Twitter does not have 'Sponsored Advertising' - at least I don't feel like my privacy is being 'invaded'.

Pownce recently went public - and for one day only had 'Ads by Google' appear. So why did they decide to no longer run these ads after only a very short period of time?

Facebook has attracted a lot of media attention about the potential 'privacy' infringements of its 'Beacon' application

This led me to think about:

Who 'owns' the data in my Gmail emails?

What political and social gains are there to be had from Google having access to all of this data about us?

How do we raise people's awareness of the motivation behind Google's ever watching eye over our activities whilst using their applications?

Don't take everything at face value - Question - Question everything!

I wonder how the 'Google-bots' will use this blog posting to sell me something?

e-Learning PD ideas for Primary School's teachers

As mentioned in my post entitled "Can I have some 'training' with that please...." my children's school invested in a class set of laptops and several Interactive Whiteboards late last year, and it was these new technological purchases which enabled a conversation between myself and the school's ICT teacher/co-ordinator around offering professional development (PD) or training and development (T&D) as it is called public schools in South Australia, to the staff at my children's Primary School.

This conversation has carried over into 2008 and now the ICT teacher/co-ordinator has asked me "a short description" of what I can offer to staff so it can be discussed further at a staff meeting.

As I originally started my professional life as a High School Teacher (a thousand years ago), and for the last 7 years, I have been training adult Vocational Education and Training (VET) students and staff, I would really appreciate any input into what PD/T&D Primary School teachers of 5-13 year old students would benefit from.


Here are some workshops which I've already proposed to offer:

Blogs - online journals and personal learning environments
Your students usually only present their writing to an audience of one - you - their teacher. How much different would their writing be if their audience included their peers, parents and family? How would your students' writing/learning improve if they were interacting and collaborating with peers from across the globe?

Blogs can be personal or group project journals, information/research repositories, creative and reflective writing spaces, portfolios of work. Blogs allow you to embed photos, videos and audio, as well as provide the option for others to 'comment' on your blog.

This hands on workshop will demonstrate how easy it is to set up and manage a blog; link to other useful 'teacher/professional resource' blogs, as well as how to manage a number of blogs at one time (through RSS).


Wikis - a collaborative whiteboard and personal website
Do your students do 'group work'? Would you like to create a class or personal website?

A Wiki, which is Hawaiian for 'quick' - is an easy to create webspace which allows anyone to edit, without having to understand html or coding. Wikis allow you to upload pictures and documents.

This hands on workshop will demonstrate how easy it is to set up and manage a wiki, upload photos and documents, create new pages and manage users.


Social Bookmarking - access your 'Favourites' from anywhere and share them with others

What do your 'Favourites' look like? Can you easily find previously saved bookmarks or do you remember why you saved others? Do you use more than one computer - so would being able to access your 'favourites' from any computer be useful?

Social bookmarking allows you to save your favourite websites under 'tags' or 'topics' - so you can search by 'topic' rather ramdomly by the title. Social Bookmarking also allows to you to share your bookmarks with others. Imagine the time saved if you could see all of your colleagues' numeracy and literacy bookmarks?

This hands on workshop will demonstrate how easy it is to set up and manage a social bookmarking account, as well as find and share favourites with other.


Of course I consulted Twitterdom on this topic - and here are some suggestions for other PD/T&D for Primary School Teachers:

@murcha - What about images, size, appropiate format etc and manipulation for online use - I'm reading this to be about photo re-sizing, cropping etc

@marlenemanto - Primary School teachers? How about digital storytelling...always popular and easy to get started.

@lindiop - flickr? especially show them http://www.flickr.com/group...


And Patrick Woessner has created an A to Z of relatively new, free e-learning/web 2.0 resources which would make great 'Show'n'Tell 2.0' sessions at your staff meetings for the rest of the year!

Why not try some of these with some Primary School teachers you know? What other useful PD/T&D e-learning workshops would you recommend?

Thanks to Tim Davies, Sue Waters and Lee Lefever for the great free online resources you have developed in these topics - and which I have referenced to. Long live Sharing Social Networks!!!