Having never heard of e-portfolios before, I now marvel at them and my mind boggles as to the potential they offer me as a learner and a learning manager, and to my potential learners. Through this course of study at CQ University, I have been introduced to the Mahara e-portfolio system, so it is with this system that I will begin. Self defined, "Mahara [is] a fully featured electronic portfolio, weblog, resume builder and social networking system, connecting users and creating online communities. Mahara provides you with the tools to set up a personal learning and development environment." http://cqu-mahara.netspot.com.au/.
What does this mean to my learning journey and that of my potential learners?
Initially I did not understand enough about e-portfolios and their purpose to make any form of judgement. But as I started to look at Mahara and its features, the purpose of its usability in conjuction with my reflections on the information we have been presentend with in relation to Learning Management, it all became more realistic to me. Being able to define and understand the purpose of e-portfolios helped me to come to terms with the importance and value of them in education today - learning in the 21st century. I found this short video on the subject interesting and succinct.
"e-portfolios - tools for learning in the digital age"
What is different now in Education that would require us to use such tools?
As Houghton and Sheehan (2000) point out in their literature, there has been a definate shift in world economies and "The Knowledge Economy ... is ... emerging from two defining forces: the rise in knowledge intensity of economic activities and the increasing globalisation of econimic affairs". Here they suggest that the former is being driven by an information technology (IT) revolution which is happening at a rapidly increasing speed, and the latter, which is driven by national and global deregulation and communications which are IT related. In essence, the Internet is where these two forces come together through the technologies of computing and communication. "In economic terms, the central feature of the IT revolution is the ability to maipulate, store and transmit large quantities of information at very low cost" (2000, p2).
How does this effect education?
This is how we can see the major implications on education due to the shift towards a Knowledge Economy. Gregory Heath (2001) has put forward that there is a ..."crisis in teacher education" because new teachers to the teaching profession will be entering a profession that is "... rapidly changing ..." directly due to the influences of knowledge intensity and globalisation, as outlined above (p2).
To explain this, we can look Gibbons et.al (1994), summarised by Heath (2001), who introduces us to the idea of Mode 1 and Mode 2 knowledge, knowlege productions which have been supported by university research. Gibbons et. al describes that "... knowledge is changing and is likely to continue to change ...", that is, Mode 2 knowledge.
"Mode 2 knowlegdge is characterised by:
- Produced in the context of application
- Transdisciplinary
- Heterogenous in terms of the skills and experience brought to it
- Produced in diverse sites
- Characterised by the production in teams
- Subject to social accountability and relexivity
- Subject to teh quality control of market acceptability as well as peer review
- Global or non-localised "
Gibbons et.al (1994) in Heath (2001, pp2-3)
Certainly with this in mind, we would have to follow the research and understand that a chage in the education sector is inevitable and indeed imperative immediately. Such Learning theories as Kearsley and Shneiderman's Engagement Theory (1999) centre around such technological advancement capabilities as portfolios because the essence of these portfolio's upholds the very essence of the framework, that is: it is a technology based teaching and learning framework which promotes learning through Relating-Creating-Donating. Such pedagogical frameworks as the Dimensions of Learning also support full implementation of e-portfolios and we can see this in may facets, but put simply here, it incorporates Habits of Mind habits such as critical, creative and self-regulated thinking.
It is with this information then, that I base my view that the learning and implementation of e-portfolios as a part of today's education is a very beneficial part of today's learning journey for all. We are all, including our children, living with technology all around us. The Mahara e-portfolio system is all encompassing, user friendly and certainly capable of meeting the demands of today's economic and educational needs. Its multifaceted purpose of allowing the space and long term storage of many types of files - audio, visual ,written; the ability and facilities to be creative; giving the opportunity for collaboration and reflection, allowing flexibility and having information and knowledge easily and readily accessible to anyone at anytime reflect this. Certainly it is a tool conducive to life-long learning.
The only question that ponders on my mind at the moment though is, what about the economically challenged? Use of ICTs at school would certainly open such learners up to things they would not ordinarily be exposed to at home. But is that enough if all of the other learners have these things at home? I know there are cafes and libraries where learners could go, and that is the perfect solution. However, many learners in this case may not have the motivation from home???
Houghton, J., Sheehan, P. (2000). A Primer on the Knowledge Economy. Victoria University. Centre for Strategic Economic Studies.
Heath, G. (2001). Teacher Education and the New Knowledge Environment. Freemantle. FMIT University.
Gibbons et. al (1994) in Heath, G. (2001). Teacher Education and the New Knowledge Environment. Freemantle. FMIT University.
Kiersley, G., Shneiderman. B. (1999). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning.
Mahara: http://cqu-mahara.netspot.com.au/.
Marzano, R., Pickering. D. (2006). Dimensions of Learning. Teachers Manual (2nd ed.). Victoria. Hawker Browlow Education.
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