Personal Online Learning Environments (POLEs) - Google Sites

Personal Online Learning Environments (POLEs):

Reclaiming Electronic Portfolios for Lifelong and Life-Wide Learning Dr. Helen C. Barrett http://electronicportfolios.org

Project Summary Digital age learning is increasingly self-directed, occurring any time, any place, for any purpose, at any pace. Portfolios can be powerful personal learning environments, enabling greater self-awareness, self-management, selfmonitoring, and meta-learning, essential elements of lifelong learning. More recently, these portfolios have been stored in digital containers (CD/DVD/WWW). E-portfolios could change the learning landscape, facilitating increased engagement, collaboration and passion for learning. The process of developing e-portfolios can provide powerful tools to support lifelong learning, enabling a learner to: - Collect a digital archive of artifacts/memorabilia across the lifespan - Select specific pieces from that archive to highlight different skills/competencies - Reflect on growth over time through stories of deep learning - Use evidence to articulate future learning goals/direction - Showcase achievements to different audiences This project will implement a vision for Personal Online Learning Environments (POLEs -- digital spaces for creating and storing documents), which may eventually replace the current e-portfolio model in education. Based on the concept of “lifetime personal web space,” this online archive of a life’s work/memorabilia, both personal and professional, has the potential to change the current paradigm of e-portfolios (now primarily institution-centered) and focus instead on the individual or family as the center for creating the digital archive, making it useful in a variety of contexts across the lifespan, from schools/universities to the workplace and eventually retirement. This project will focus on demonstrating how to use available Web 2.0 tools from the most popular service providers to create an online self-directed learning resource.

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Personal Online Learning Environments (POLEs):

Reclaiming Electronic Portfolios for Lifelong and Life-Wide Learning Dr. Helen C. Barrett http://electronicportfolios.org

Assessment/Evaluation Plan Two different types of data will be collected: quantitative and qualitative Quantitative - The individuals and groups* who develop e-portfolios based on the online resources provided and workshop sessions will complete an online survey (adapted from the e-portfolio survey developed by Becta, 2006). - The individuals and groups* who use the online materials will be asked to provide much shorter feedback in the form of a quick response at the bottom of each page. - A page counter will be added on all pages on the new website that will be developed. Qualitative - Blog comments will be collected as well as emails received as part of the project. - Hyperlinks will be collected to examples of actual online portfolios demonstrating lifelong and life-wide learning. - Brief interviews will be conducted with individuals and groups* about their experiences digitizing and documenting their learning experiences over time. *Individuals and Groups in this project will cover a wide spectrum of society, from cross-generational family groups to students in schools or youth groups or college, to professionals, to retirees, all interested in using Web 2.0 tools to create a digital archive of their work, and create presentations using those tools for different purposes and audiences The quantitative data will be summarized and analyzed with online statistical analysis tools. The qualitative data will be coded using HyperResearch. A professional evaluator with prior research in e-portfolios will be retained to work collaboratively on planning the evaluation measures, and analyzing the data collected.

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Personal Online Learning Environments (POLEs):

Reclaiming Electronic Portfolios for Lifelong and Life-Wide Learning Dr. Helen C. Barrett http://electronicportfolios.org

Project significance and the contribution it will make to the field of Digital Media and Learning A recent movement in Europe aims to establish an electronic portfolio for every citizen by 2010. (An e-portfolio in education is a purposeful collection of work that demonstrates efforts, progress and achievement over time, stored in an electronic container.) The potential of e-portfolios to support lifelong and life-wide learning is limited only by our current technologies, limited experience, and narrow vision. The model on the right from a 2007 research report on e-portfolios sponsored by Becta in the U.K., identifies the three distinct components of an e-portfolio system. Let's imagine what could happen if everyone was issued personal web server space that would be owned for a lifetime? (Cohn & Hibbits, 2004) This Digital Archive for Life (DAL) would provide space to store the raw materials for e-portfolios, archives of family records, genealogy and digital stories, autobiographies, child development data, evidence of personal and professional accomplishments, and all kinds of personal information. From cradle to grave, we could store and celebrate the results of lifelong and life-wide learning, including digital photos, audio and video. And in cases of tragedies, like hurricanes, floods or fires, or the more likely catastrophic hard drive crash, we would have our memories preserved online. Microsoft Research (2007) has been conducting a research project called "MyLifeBits" which is exploring "lifetime store of everything" using Gordon Bell's life work (the "official guinea pig" for the project). It seems that the time is right to explore these ideas, but not just in the context of later adulthood. How can we begin this process early in life, but be more selective in what we save, as we advocate in the portfolio process (Collection, SELECTION, Reflection, Direction)? There is a lot that the portfolio community can learn from the MyLifeBits project... and vice versa. This MacArthur proposal will provide an opportunity to focus on a variety of Web 2.0 tools that offer free web space, such as Google and Yahoo!, and provide strategies for reflection, digital storytelling, and webbased data preservation to support lifelong and life-wide learning. 3

According to Barbara Stäuble, Curtin University of Technology, Australia (2005), “Lifelong learning is understood as a cyclic process with four key pillars” [shown in her diagram above]. E-portfolios can support them all. While these pillars are important in any effective teaching and learning process, the main characteristic of lifelong learning is the reflective nature of the entire cycle. E-portfolios provide the best environment for that reflection, especially if blogging is part of the process. This proposal will build on prior research on e-portfolios in secondary schools (Barrett, 2007a), using secondary students and their families as the entry point for evaluating the POLE and DAL concept, Web 2.0 services, and processes.

Goals: For the 12-month grant term: - Work with major Web 2.0 software/service providers (such as Yahoo, Google) to improve the interconnectedness and user interface of their diverse services, so that they are more accessible by all ages and technology literacy levels. - Raise public awareness about the many Web 2.0 resources to collect and organize their digital-archive-for-life (DAL), through a Web 2.0-version of the electronicportfolios.com web site (with a new domain name). - Develop online training resources (print, audio and video) that can show the average family member how to store their important memorabilia online using the most popular Web 2.0 service providers.

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- Conduct a pilot project with at least one school district to involve secondary school students and their families in creating digital family archives and digital stories using popular Web 2.0 services. - Gather data on factors leading to student engagement, in secondary schools where students are excited about using e-portfolios (build on recent research on e-portfolios in secondary schools, but now focusing on the use of Web 2.0 tools). - Make presentations at national conferences on the concept of “POLEs” and “DAL” to solicit more participation. - Present these ideas to a national audience, maybe even on the Oprah show! Beyond the grant term: - Continue to maintain new website and update online training resources (print, audio and video) - Continue to provide professional development workshops in schools and universities - Write a book on “POLEs” and “DAL” using Web 2.0, based on the results of this project, and publish it online.

Detailed work and management plan and timeline The timeline submitted in the Details part of the competition website provides a detailed work plan and timeline. This proposal is from an individual contractor, not involved in a formal organization. To confirm that the project stays on schedule, Dr. Barrett will document her activities and reflections in her blog, and meet with the project evaluator on a quarterly basis to monitor and adjust the activities and outcomes, resulting in a quarterly report on the progress.

Project Timeline January-March 2008 Task: Contact Google & Yahoo and establish communications around recommendations of interface adaptations for families Outcome: Recommendations for streamlining interface for ages 6-senior citizens February-April 2008 Task: Secure new domain name and set up web server space Outcome: New web presence for project using Web 2.0 service

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April-May 2008 Task: Identify schools & groups to pilot Web 2.0 strategies. Visit schools where students are excited about using e-portfolios Outcome: Pilot project established, Data on factors leading to student engagement February–June 2008 Task: Presentations at education conferences (proposals already submitted) Outcome: Raised awareness and increased participation – produce podcasts April - June 2008 Task: Develop online training resources, begin implementation pilot Outcome: Pilot groups begin to store memorabilia/artifacts online July-Nov. 2008 Task: Refine online resource materials, contribute videos to Atomic Learning Outcome: More groups and individuals have resources to create online archives September-Nov. 2008 Task: Continue pilot project in local schools. Visit more schools implementing e-portfolios and digital archiving Outcome: More data on successful implementation strategies and factors November-Dec. 2008 Task: Present results of pilot to national audience and with other grantees. Outcome: Greater awareness of possibilities for documenting learning over time in POLEs and DA4Ls.

Project personnel qualifications relevant to the proposed project Dr. Helen Barrett retired from teacher education in 2005. Her Ph.D. is in Human Development, where her dissertation research focused on adult self-directed learning and personal computer competency. Her research since 1991 has focused on electronic portfolios, primarily in education. She established a website in 1995, secured several domain names, and her own server space in 2000. That website is now considered the most comprehensive resource on electronic portfolios on the Internet (enter the term “electronic portfolio” into Google, and “electronicportfolios.com” comes up first). She provided training and technical assistance on e-portfolios to teacher education programs for four years through a PT3 grant, and then conducted a two-year privately-funded study on e-portfolios in secondary schools. She has made keynote presentations at most of the international conferences on e-portfolios in Europe, Canada, and Asia between 2003 and 2007. An excerpt from her blog (June 2, 2007) describes her passion:

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As I look at my work on e-portfolios, I feel a real disconnect between my vision of the eportfolio as a way to document the story of deep learning, and the pervasive implementation of e-portfolios as a source of data for accountability and accreditation… As I wrap up my current study on e-portfolios in secondary education, I know what I want to explore next: the issue of passion, or excitement, flow and engagement in learning. When I talked with students last year, I heard more excitement in the students' voices when they talked about their use of MySpace than their use of the academic portfolio tools. If part of the problem in education today is that many students are bored and see no relevance in schools, I want to find examples of where students are excited about learning, using e-portfolios as a way to demonstrate that excitement for learning. If we are going to change education, we need to change the way students document their own learning. That reminded me of a statement made by Thomas Friedman in The World is Flat: “CQ + PQ > IQ” (Curiosity plus Passion is greater than IQ) in learning. My passion for the last decade has been e-portfolios and the related processes that enrich the experience (reflection, digital storytelling). E-portfolios aren't just for schools... in fact schooling may be ruining the experience for a lot of learners. I hope that we can find the passion again in documenting, and better yet, celebrating lifelong learning within a worldwide community. That is a future worth working toward!

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ePortfolio Mash Up with GoogleApps This graphic illustrates a suggested workflow for using the wide range of Google online tools to facilitate using an e-portfolio for formative assessment (feedback on student work in an online portfolio). The power in the process is with the interactivity that many of the tools afford. This "architecture of interaction" which is the foundation of Web 2.0, leads to a "pedagogy of interaction" which I call e-portfolio 2.0. It is this pedagogy of interaction, facilitating assessment for learning (quality feedback on work that shows students where they can improve) that has the best potential to improve student achievement, as shown by the Assessment Reform Group in the U.K.

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References Barrett, H. (2007a) Researching Electronic Portfolios and Learner Engagement: The REFLECT Initiative. Electronic Portfolio issue, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. 50:8, pp. 436-449 Barrett, H. (2007b) “Passion and Future ePortfolios.” E-Portfolios for Learning blog. [Retrieved October 10, 2007 from http://electronicportfolios.org/blog/2007/06/passion-and-futureeportfolios.html Barrett, H. (2007c) “ePortfolio Mash Up with GoogleApps” [Retrieved October 10, 2007 from http://electronicportfolios.org/google/] Becta (2007) "Impact study of e-portfolios on learning" [Retrieved October 10, 2007 from http://partners.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=rh&catcode=_re_rp_02& rid=14007] Bell, G. & Gemmell, J. (2007) A Digital Life, Scientific American, March 2007. Cohn, E. & Hibbitts, B. (2004) “Beyond the Electronic Portfolio: A Lifetime Personal Web Space” Educause Review, Volume 27 Number 4. [Retrieved June 6, 2005 from http://www.educause.edu/apps/eq/eqm04/eqm0441.asp?bhcp=1] Hartnell-Young, E. & Morriss, M. (2007) Digital Portfolios: Powerful Tools for Promoting Professional Growth and Reflection. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press. Microsoft Research (2007) MyLifeBits Project. http://research.microsoft.com/barc/MediaPresence/MyLifeBits.aspx Stauble, B. (2005) Using concept maps to develop lifelong learning skills: A case study. Technology and Learning Forum 2006 Refereed papers. [Retrieved October 10, 2007 from http://lsn.curtin.edu.au/tlf/tlf2005/refereed/stauble.html]

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