E-portfolios and Reflection

This was one of my favorite assignments for the term because it required me to do two things I had been thinking about doing anyway:

1. Revising my blog into a portfolio. 
2. Finding a free, professional looking host for electronic portfolios for my college's graphic design students. 

As Beach et all point out in this week's reading, blogs are ideal for reflection as the author can pick out the best of his or her work to showcase.  Beach et al also praised the flexibility afforded by blogs and wikis as e-portfolios, and I agree that generic tools work for this purpose. One of the links in the ning forum didn't work, but its topic was using blogger to create an electronic portfolio. This intrigued me because I could revise my own blogger blog into a portfolio, and blogger could hold potential for free student use. I googled the topic and found an e-how article for making blogger into an e-portfolio. With some experimenting of settings and layout, I made a shell for a free, professional looking e-portfolio in blogger! Then came the productive work of reflecting on what I have learned so far in this class. And really it's everything. I had not done any of our assignments before, except for making rubrics. I learned an immense amount of information and can safely say this is the most learning--and the most fun--I've had in my program.

Reflection on My Learning
Here's a summary of my learning:

• Blogs: I had never started a blog, let alone read or subscribed to one. Now I subscribe to several. Here is my current favorite: Chris Brogan's blog.
  
• Reader: I had never even heard of a reader. Now I use google reader to read the above blogs and gather other news items of interest to me.
• Vlogs: I had never heard of vlogs, had never seen a vlog, and had never made a vlog. I have not continued to engage vlogs in the same was a blogs, but many blogs I follow have some sort of video accompaniment, which puts them in the catgegory.
  
• Wikis: I had heard of wikipedia and had revised some existing entries. But I hadn't realized how accessible this medium is. Free wikis abound and they are very easy to create and edit. With a little attention, one can even make them look professional. My computer teacher is implementing my help desk wiki created for this class.
  
• Online role playing: This was a new way for me to engage a learning topic. I loved it. However, for the first time I also experienced the skimming sort of learning method at issue in the role play (is google making us stupid?). I am happy to report I can still delve deeply into text, as well as skim for specific information. I plan to have my faculty replicate this type of assignment. Additionally, the chat function we used on the final phase of this assignment is something else I will replicate in my college. Specifically, next term we will be using live chat in a ning for computer students to role play customer and computer helpdesk representative.
  
• Digital videos: I had used a camera for recording my teachers but had never created a story, edited it, and posted it online. Since the class project, I have filmed and edited additional material and posted them to my new youtube account (also a google property). Now, I plan to record faculty presenting lessons (15-20 minutes) in class and then upload them to videoant as the feedback mechanism. I am excited about the convenience for providing crique (viewing and responding simultaneously). I also like how videoant shows all written comments when they are associated with what is occurring in the video. Previously, I would have to integrate all critiquers feedback into one, coherent document that was still divorced from the video itself because it was on paper.
  
• Podcasts: This was the most technically challenging endeavor of the semester. Of course, that's because I wanted to add a soundtrack. I am working on a podcast with my son ranking the top professional baseball players from the 2009 season. We will publish our first episode after the class concludes. I'll provide RSS info in case you want to subscribe! I also think instructors will make more use of voice recording for students who are absent or can't attend a review session.
  
• Screencasts: Totally a new concept to me. By far one of my favorite new media. I am making screencasts regularly at work now. They provide better instruction (easier to follow) than my old format of memo with screenshots. I am someone who likes to be creative and to teach but does not require a spotlight on me. Screencasts provide a more "anonymous" way for me to contribute to the read-write web and student and faculty learning (especially if I use text annotations instead of voice or a talking head!).
• Comics & Cartoons: Along with screencasts, this was my other favorite medium. Please see my e-portfolio created for this assignment (in blogger) to read about my affinity and planned uses for cartoons and comics.
  

E-portfolios
I chose blogger for my e-portfolio instead of other sources, like a wiki or free sites dedicated to portfolios, because blogger is free, easy to use, and has so many professional looks. Beach et al called the dedicated sites more web 1.0 tools. I have only just begun my portfolio and will refine it over time. In reflecting on the topics we learned, I distilled from my class blog the most important information and added additional information learned/processed since the original posts. The result is a concise e-portfolio with samples of my work that looks professional. Please visit my web 2.0 e-portfolio. I would appreciate learning how I can make it look more professional. Please make comments here, on this blog post, not on my e-portfolio. Thanks!

Our graphic design program has been using CDs to hold students digital portfolios, instead of web hosting due to technical and financial barriers. So I began this week's reading with the hope of finding a solution for me and for my graphic design students.I think the blogger site works well enough for students to post their work. The limitation could be the 1GB storage maximum. Students could always post a thumbnail or reduced version and link to a fuller version posted at a free site with bigger limits. I will have to have the faculty experiment with this.

We use traditional paper portfolios with our students already--in all major fields of study for their entire course of study at our college. The portfolio serves three specific purposes:

1. To show students how much they are learning (which helps show them progress and value)
   
2. To showcase student accomplishments during a job interview
3. To serve as a reference for students when they are on the job (keep in mind we are a career college)
   

An electronic portfolio would serve all of these purposes, though the job interview does not always allow specific involvement of an e-portfolio. The latter, however, could help the student get the job interview in the first place if referenced in a cover letter/resume. A blog itself is a kind of portfolio--just rougher than a formal e-portfolio. One advantage to the original blog, if kept journal-like throughout a course or program of study, is that it tracks the students' learning while it happens. Those lightbulb moments and rare spurts of clarity can be useful to look back on, even if this blogfolio is only used specifically by its creator.