Orientation Kevin Kelly John Ittelson ePortfolio - Day of Dialogue February 25, :30 – 5:30

ePortfolios around the world

Audience participation – Anyone from another continent? Anyone from another state? Anyone NOT in higher ed?

How familiar are you with ePortfolios They're pretty new to me. 41 people 36% I've seen them often and have used them a bit % I'm an expert % Where is your institution in respect to adopting ePortfolios? Thinking about it/assessing needs % Pilot phase/less than one year % Adoption in progress/fully implemented %

Assessment - Room 673

Teaching & Learning - Room 675 & 676

Assessment - Room 674

Interactive Sessions

Please turn cell phones off – speakers, too! Don't forget: Fill out evaluation forms after each session.

ePortfolios for non-beginners Kevin Kelly San Francisco State University

Setting the stage for dialogue Initial questions and context Learning from FOOD SCIENCE: Using umami concepts to create a balance Learning from COMPLEXITY SCIENCE: Using fractals to understand different levels of needs

So you’ve started an ePortfolio initiative… now what? Do you feel like the proverbial dog that caught the pickup truck? Image: Alice Chapman (with Kevin Kelly)

Different needs pull ePortfolio efforts in different directions Are faculty prepared? Are students motivated? Does the tool work, period? Can we support ePortfolios? How do we move as a campus to authentic assessment? How do we change the campus culture? Does the tool do what we need it to do? How do we capitalize on students' use of Web 2.0 tools? Are ePortfolios accessible? Are these portfolios OF learning or FOR learning? Or both? How do we foster reflective thinking and learning? Do we consider teaching portfolios?

Using umami concepts to create a balance Learning from FOOD SCIENCE The Swami of Umami bittersalty sweet sour umami

Targeted efforts can pull ePortfolio initiatives back into balance Engage the Academic Senate Identify what studies have been done Identify existing support options Start with disciplines that require authentic assessment techniques See how ePortfolios integrate with different tools Talk to students about what Web 2.0 features they like and why Ask the Disability Programs to help test Determine campus priorities when choosing portfolios OF or FOR learning Collaborate with writing instructors and WAC directors Starting with faculty ePortfolios has proven successful Look at WASC rubrics and articles

Learning from COMPLEXITY SCIENCE Mandelbrot (1967) used his study of the British coastline to define self-similarity, often a characteristic of fractals. He theorized that most smaller-scale parts of the coastline resembled the larger-scale whole. flickr.com/photos/tezzer57/ /

Fractals in organizational change "A change agent who learns the simple rules that govern the behavior of a system on one level will have information to support decision making at other levels" (Olson & Eoyang, 2001, p. 101).

Levels of mapping

Levels of mapping: an example

Take-away Questions Do campuses have an institutional e-dentity? – If so, campuses should feel free to use principles we tell our students. For example, it's okay—and desirable—to have different portfolios for different audiences. Do ePortfolios need to do everything? – How do Assessment Management Systems fit into the picture?

Summary Different campus elements can help bring ePortfolio initiatives into balance. Observing smaller scale efforts (class-level or program-level pilots) can inform larger ones (campus-level or system-level initiatives). Complex problems often require different approaches than we've used in the past.

Mandelbrot, B. (1967, May 5). How long is the coast of Britain? Statistical self-similarity and fractional dimension. Science, 156(3775), Olson, Edwin E., and Eoyang, Glenda H. (2001). Facilitating Organization Change: Lessons from Complexity Science. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. Umami Information Center. (n.d.). Getting a taste for wine. Retrieved on 20 Feb 2009 from _a_taste_for_wine_-_interview_with_tim_hanni_mw/