Tech Playtesting Assignment 2: EPortfolio Tools

For the Tech Play 2 assignment, we were charged with exploring options of website creator, software app, and other for cost platforms that we will reflect upon as well as choose a specific platform to then begin setting up and creating our ePortfolios for this class, and for some as a program/graduation requirement. 

EPortfolio Tools, Apps, Websites, and Platforms?

SITE123 was the first site that I play-tested as a possible tool to use to create, update, and maintain an electronic portfolio. This site is straightforward, and it was designed as a do-it-yourself website creator. This site allows for drag-and-drop (similar to many other technological tools like Microsoft and Google applications) and other easily customizable features. This tool is intended for novice users who have no prior web design or HTML coding experiences. It has a multilingual user-interface. You can create an account using your Google account, which is convenient for users in that you don’t have to add yet another login password credentials to an ever-growing list of passwords that most people can’t keep up with. This definitely makes this website a plus for that reason. The user interface was easy to figure out and navigate. SITE123 allows access to a number of sections (Tabs, if you will) that you can customize and adjust the settings to those individual sections. This could easily be modeled and modified to be used as an online portfolio, but you would have to be proficient in “Folio Thinking” to fully satisfy the electronic portfolio as originally designed and intended. There are quite a few tools and plugins for features adjustments within the built-in templates that allow for customization and additional creativity. Additionally, they have image and icon libraries. They do offer a free version, which has limited storage space, and bandwidth. They offer multiple plan options, and the lowest monthly plan begins as $10.80 per month. 

Wix.com is the second site that I play-tested this past week. It is a pretty familiar website builder. It also allows you to create an account using Google or Facebook. This website builder has numerous templates including various ePortfolio choices including an optional wizard setup, called Artificial Design Intelligence (ATI, new to me), includes page prompts (if you will), and it does have a free trial plan. It is easy to use and setup and the user interface is straightforward and instinctive. It does have many robust features and tools that allow you to explore, be creative, and it includes guided tutorial message bubble tour navigation instructions as you work within the environment. The templates are user friendly to work with and modify. This platform allows for the owner to connect to their Facebook, twitter, and linked-in accounts and feeds. In addition, it allows for the use of and integrating a board array of other apps and widgets, which are pretty extensive. It does have a dashboard so that it is easy to adjust major settings and it also has a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, which is user friendly. This site also uses “absolute positioning” (another new technology feature) that does make it difficult to change a theme of a website once you have originally used another theme to create the website you are make changes to. This website creator allows you to communicate with others using tools like an inbox, chat, contact, and even forms, which can be used to create a feedback page in your portfolio, so that is a nice feature. Wix has some many other features and tools that truly go beyond the scope of my play-testing this week. It also has Search Engine Optimization (SEO) abilities, which make it possible and easier for others to be directed/drawn to your website. Monthly plan option begins at $18.00 per month and if you purchase an annual subscription, then the next plan option is $14.00 per month, to be paid for annually. Overall, this site is more than adequate to be used to create and maintain an electronic portfolio. 

The third that I play-tested this week is Foliotek. This ePortfolio platform is one that I was introduced to well over five years previously with my work on the job at Dallas College (formerly DCCCD). This online site is designed and intended as an official ePortfolio platform. This software is user-friendly with a 1, 2, 3 steps easy to create process to setup your first ePortfolio. It affords new to “folio thinking” students the ability to follow specific page/content area prompts that guide students to document and reflect upon their showcased learning experiences and much more. Students can create an unlimited number of portfolios for a variety of required and/or optional projects. With this software platform, it provides the feature that enables students to copy for example, their already created “About Me” page from one portfolio and paste it into the newest created portfolio so that all the student needs to do is update experiences (say from one semester to another) to complete that copy/pasted “About Me” page for this newly created portfolio for another course, assignment, or purpose. This is a specific feature that I did not observe that the other two tools offered in relation to the creation of ePortfolios. Students who may not be computer savvy (not as many of these such students as a huge number of them have been born into the technology age, where they often help parents, teachers, and others better understand technology concepts and navigation 😊) would find this platform as user friendly as the other two above mentioned website creators. Faculty can use this platform to create/maintain their curriculum vitae as well as the individual progress in professional development, to name a few ideas. Unlike the others mentioned above, Foliotek provides assessment options and features that are built into their platform and they provide to academic institutions, including in our state, the University of North Texas, and others. Foliotek describes their interface as a “portfolio-based” interface that is an “information container.” Some of the many features afforded by using this platform are fully customizable homepage dashboard, an identity page, a “files” folder to collect, store, and organization your digital files that you work with and use in your portfolios. It has the user-friendly drag-and-drop feature as well as text placeholders, gizmo placeholders, and fully customizable and creative use to the design features. You can join and collaborate with others within communities, which also makes it nice for faculty who then would go directly to the community to review their “50 students’” portfolios that are all contained and easily accessible within the community. Otherwise, using such website builders as the two mentioned above, a faculty member (without some other integrated LMS) would have to be invited (if you will) to view students’ portfolios via an email link (times 50 students for example), which becomes time-consuming and tedious just for them to access the students’ work. This ePortfolio platform does offer a free trial, as well as additional purchase options including assessments for institutions. They also most recently offer reasonable multi-year plans to individuals. The have a two-year plan for $59.00, which is well worth the cost if you want to create and maintain the portfolio with the incorporated “folio thinking.” 

“Folio Thinking”

Creating portfolios whether paper (binder or book, if you will) or electronic (online cloud space/site to hold assembly of work), are an accumulation of work (student work, in this case), in a structured and organized fashion that allows the learner to collect items, proof, and experiences of learning. The learner can select items to show/share their proof of knowledge and skills. In addition, they can reflect on the things that they have learned as well as how they learn these things. Finally, they can connect with the things that they have just learned with those concepts they have previously learned over a period of time for example. The collection of this work overtime, now becomes visible evidence of the learner’s experiences, understanding, and talents…, that the portfolio owner can then draw upon those experiences to speak about with others with a retained lasting understanding of those experiences. 

Forms of Assessment

Quizzes are one form of assessment used is schools and they can be used to track the learning progress of students. They can evaluate the learning process of groups of learners throughout the progression of the learning process. Quizzes and even tests are used to measure (if you will) what knowledge (if any) that a student has learned and/or maintained since the beginning of the instruction in question, not much more than that. They do not take into account that some students do not do or learn well under pressure and/or time constraints. Homework fosters and develops discipline, study skills, and can promote learning. Presentations can be used to assess students’ knowledge of content, students subject matter preparations, and understanding of, as well as students comfort level as it relates to publicly presenting to the class. These above-mentioned forms of traditional assessment do not take into consideration the learners thinking and/or how they arrived at that knowledge and/or skills as well as how well the student retains that knowledge, information, or skills. I think that these forms of assessment require more responsibility and ownness from the teacher (if you will). Assigning a grade/number to a student for an assignment, test, presentation…, does not provide a clear indication of what and/or exactly how much the student knows about that content. Using ePortfolios to assess students learning requires more responsibilities from each student in that students’ take more individual ownership of the learning, what they learn, and how they learn. Digital portfolios make students thinking visible and make their learning process for the student an enduring lasting understanding of the content. In addition, using ePortfolios for assessments allows for not only the teacher to see the learning and growth of knowledge and skills, but it provides lasting insight to and for the student/owner of the portfolio.

As a learner pursuing a graduate degree, I know that expressing what I know and have learned about educational technology from my academic, professional, personal, and other experiences as well as providing proof of that learning through a collection of items I’ve created since the beginning of that program and beyond would be more relevant, meaningful, and important to me personally and professionally as I move on beyond my academic experience throughout the rest of my life. This will definitely prove more valuable to me than say a letter grade on a transcript, with little if any memory down the road of what I have done and/or learned when I was in graduate school. Having an electronic portfolio as a parting gift (if you will) upon graduating from graduate school will allow me, the learner, to continue to collect, select, reflect, and make connections from those learning experiences while I was in school to those I am learning in my career and beyond. Otherwise, simply having the graduate degree and letter grades on a transcript (without electronic portfolio included in the process), over time, those learning experiences may become blurred and limited (if you will) as memory fades with time.

Letters, Numbers, or Enduring, Meaningful Experiences

Frankly, it is difficult for me to imagine not using an ePortfolio throughout my higher education academic journey. Yes, I do prefer using portfolios as I continue my adventures of numerous learning experiences through graduate school. Fortunately for me, I have used and worked with portfolios in my job at the community college level, but unfortunately for students and fellow colleagues at that time, the district that we were working in wasn’t ready for this wonderful tool of, and for learning for its students for a variety of reasons. However, there were a good number of us (faculty, staff, and students) who continued to work with and use portfolios in our academic and professional journeys, which as truly , to observe/view these ePortfolio learners/users thinking becoming visible over time as they continued to add artifacts and learning experiences to their portfolios as they completed their degrees in that district and prepared for the entrances into the career paths of their choosing with a well-documented, visible representation of the knowledge and skills that they learned in while in school.

For me, I would rather have created, updated, and maintained an electronic portfolio in preparation of entering the workforce after college that I can not only share with potential employers, but my learning experiences, knowledge, thinking, and skills would be a visual (show me) representation of those skills and knowledge that I gained while in college as well as visually showing them how I arrived at those new skills and knowledge through the learning process. In addition, I have a debilitating spinal cord injury/condition that causes me excruciating chronic pain that affects my focus and concentration with every daily task, whether menial or complex, which may or may not respond well to the other forms of assessment as mentioned above, although I always do the best I can with, and through everything I do in life. As a result, I have learned to adjust accordingly, in the way I do things and how I do them. So, in the short-term and more important to me, the long-term, having created, updated, and maintained an ePortfolio throughout my academic, professional, and other experiences would be more meaningful for me as I continue my various journeys through life that I can revisit, reflect upon, and make deeper, purposeful connections throughout this life of experiences that I continue to go through.

Alternatively, simply sharing a printed resume (usually limited to one page, front-side only) would merely “tell” the prospective employer what knowledge and skills you have, and it would not “show them evidence” that you not only learned about those items, but you are able to replicate (if you will) those knowledge and skills, which they can clearly see when reviewing a prospective employee’s ePortfolio. For an employer, it is a greater risk (if you will) to hire a person based solely off a paper resume, and one, maybe two interviews as they would have to “take a chance” on that person by hiring them and paying them to do the job that their resume stated that they could do (skills and knowledge). It would be far more valuable and important to me, the recent graduate job seeker (for this example) and the employer as well to have a digital portfolio that would share and provide “visible evidence” of the job seeker’s knowledge and skills before the employer hires that individual/me. This way, the employer is able to “try it before you hire it” (it, being the knowledge and skills that were demonstrated via digital artifacts, maybe video evidence in this case of that prospective employee). 

Portfolios, Electronic or Paper

Physical/Paper Portfolios are a start and have many benefits that include 100% ownership of the content in it, the way it looks, who it is shared with, as the owner, you have complete creative control, structure, organization, and overall visual appearance of how it is laid out and setup. The owner controls what and how many items that are included in the physical portfolio (if you will) Overall, this physical/print portfolio is more cost effective as paper, writing utensils, tape, binders, dividers…, will not break the bank to purchase and maintain continued work on the physical portfolio.

Physical/Paper Portfolios over time, however, are more difficult and time-consuming to update and depending on the physical size of the book/binder (and other supplies), the owner is then limited to that number of pages (unless they choose to purchase a second, third “volume” book/binder) to continue the portfolio. There is limited time and place the owner can update and maintain the portfolio since it is a physical representation, and it can only be in one place at any time (at the owner’s home where it probably is stored between updating and physically bringing to locations and people to view). This leads to another disadvantage, which is the antiquated method of the learner’s collection of artifacts, there is the question of where and how to store and preserve the portfolio, and if this method of collection of learning experiences is continued, it becomes difficult to store a large collection of physical binders/books (what if the was a fire in storage location even), and the possibility of losing such a wealth of evidence of learning that cannot be duplicated and/or retrieved (if you will). In addition, physical/paper portfolios become bulky, cumbersome, and difficult to share with others and the owner would need to physically carry portfolio everywhere they wanted to show/share his/her evidence of learning (maybe at a job interview as an example). Also, over time, the owner’s physical portfolio becomes brittle (if you will), and eventually there becomes a breakdown of paper used, glues, tapes, ink fades, and depending on the location of storage, there is a possibility of unwanted critters satisfying their appetite on your invaluable, nonreproducible body of skills, understanding, reflections, and evidence of learning and work. They are not inclusive for people with disabilities (if you will), blind persons, color-blind individuals to name two. As for a reviewer of one’s physical portfolio, unless the owner is well organized and structured within the creative and collection phase of the portfolio, it could be very time-consuming for the reviewer to view the portfolio and/or locate specific artifacts of learning, and therefore cut short the review of the material being shared, which I’m sure would be frustrating for the physical portfolio owner and the person tasked with reviewing it.

In contrast, electronic portfolios are easily accessible providing the owner/creator has a form of computer and an internet connection. Other than the limits and/or constraints of the host site or portfolio provider, there are minimal limits to how many artifacts you place into your portfolio. Electronic portfolios are available (once published by the owner) to anyone at any time 365 days a year. The owner can quickly choose and control who to share the portfolio with (specific users and/or publicly accessible). Electronic portfolios with continued modern advances with technology, a portfolio reviewer can navigate via electronic search quickly and easily to the area and/or artifact requested or desired for reviewing, which saves time and then the reviewer can better focus on material asked to review by the portfolio owner…. Electronic portfolios are accessible and inclusive for all users including those with visual disabilities…. These portfolios are digitally enduring in that those people who owner’s portfolio has been shared with at any time is available, live, and current, even when the owner adds content shortly before the reviewer opens it up to explore your content.

Electronic portfolios do have some drawbacks (like most everything). The technology is only as good as the provider, sources, and maintenances of that technology. Technical difficulties do and I imagine will always happen. Using and storing anything online including electronic portfolios, there is always a chance that the data/information you put online will not be secure. With all use of technology, there is the possibility that your material can be infringed upon by malicious people and/or groups. Technology is ever evolving, and it is a daily struggle (if you will) for users to keep up with the updates and improvements to the software applications that are being used, which includes the sites and/or software applications that are used to create and maintain electronic portfolios. So, there is an inevitable growing learning curve when it comes to keeping up with the technical skills necessary to create, update, and maintain your electronic portfolios. Also, when the owner is creating and maintaining electronic portfolios on the world wide web, there becomes a chance that their digital forms of learning including images, videos, writings, and others may become victim to plagiarism and copyright laws. These are a few disadvantages of using technology that electronic portfolios are subject to. So, choose your digital portfolio provider wisely and make sure that these options are not overlooked when selecting primary features for your electronic portfolio.

Considerations for Students

When choosing a portfolio platform for someone other than myself, i.e., students in my class, I would quite possibly choose a different tool than I chose for myself. Reflecting on past academic experiences attempting to adopt new technologies for the classrooms, I personally would not begin to rely on my school district to direct (if you will) that part of my classes (and others). I would take initiative, and consider my immediate sphere of influence, which would be the students in my class(es) only. I would also want to choose a tool that would be a best fit for my classroom users in relation to the subject matter and content being taught, students’ proficiency in using basic technology as well as choosing a potential tool that will afford us to quickly overcome two major obstacles commonly experienced in learning, which is time and money. There are a variety of factors involved in this process including the cost to the student/family, intended purpose of the portfolio for the students, ease of use, features that are afforded depending on the website creator or ePortfolio platform, and the customization abilities to name some main considerations. I primarily at this time, work with dual credit students (junior and seniors), and first- and second-year college students, so my initial thoughts of tool to select would be Google Sites. I would choose this tool because, with my knowledge and experiences working with these students as well as those of my many young nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews who are at various stages of their primary education and the primary technology tools for the majority of them at this time is the adoption of Google Suites, which would work well for ePortfolio creation using these technology skills that they have all become very proficient in and would require very little time (if any) to train them on the use of yet another Google product like Google Sites. Additionally, there is no additional cost or huge learning curve associated with the use of incorporating Google Sites into their technology tools. As a teacher, working with students, who all struggle with finding enough time in a day to do assigned tasks…, we could save time needed to train them how to use the tool, and just dive into the assigned project and using the Google Sites tool to proceed with the assigned work at hand, which complements nicely with all the other Google applications they have already learned to use in school up to now. The only remaining and extremely important obstacle to overcome in the process of choosing Google Sites, as the teacher, since Google does not include and/or foster the “folio thinking” aspect of that tool being used to create online portfolios for my students, I would need to take some additional time to create additional guided learning and “folio thinking” prompts to the instructions so that the students would completely and thoroughly be embracing the “folio thinking” aspects of those learning experiences, which are valuable additions to their learning as they work with their portfolios. 

Generated Examples (SAMR & TPACK)

The first example I chose is for the subject matter of chemistry the concept of chemical nomenclature (C), which involves the naming of compounds and writing chemical formulas for substances. The process of chemical nomenclature is often difficult in that the students must take recently learned lessons on this topic, with the idea that they have now developed those skills, knowledge, and a deeper understanding necessary to use the given information to then go through the process of either name compounds or write formulas for compounds. In order for students to demonstrate this, I would have them use an app such as “ShowMe” interactive whiteboard, “Doceri,” “Educreations,” or even “TechSmith Capture” to name a few recording, work/learn, and share software apps to explain the process/steps that you would go through to successfully name a compound or write a chemical formula using the IUPAC Nomenclature Chart and periodic table given/shared during class (TCK). In addition, I would ask them to identify and classify the (five) types of chemical compounds (PCK), to then use two examples for each type to name the compound. Finally, I would ask them to upload their videos (in this case) to their class ePortfolios in Google Sites, and write a paragraph reflecting on that assignment (hopefully, nudging closer to TPACK). Upon completing this assignment, the students would be showing me, the instructor, what it visually looks like when they know and understand that concept. This assignment specifically (when done completely and successfully), makes the students’ “thinking” visible to them as well. This is more meaningful as a form of assessment because it helps the students make deeper connections to not only the newly learned skills and knowledge of that concept, but also how they used critical thinking to draw those conclusions throughout that learning process where they can then be mindful of these affordances as they move on to the next course, and so on for the remainder of their academic pursuits. Incorporating the technology, method of instruction, and reflection part to this assignment in the classroom with my students would certainly augment the understanding process for the learners.

The second example that I would choose in a classroom environment with my students would be the chemistry concept of Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion Theory (VSEPR Theory), molecular geometry, and polarity (CK). For the assignment, I would ask them to use an app such as “ShowMe” interactive whiteboard, “Doceri,” “Educreations,” or even “TechSmith Capture” to name a few recording, work/learn, and share software apps to explain the process/steps that you would go through to successfully draw Lewis structures for the following two molecules: water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) using and demonstrating the AXE method without using the chart. The determine and evaluate the molecular geometry of each of the two molecules above. Then go back to the app store and use an app such as “PhET Simulations,” “Atomsmith Molecule Lab” or “Odyssey Polar Bonds – Molecules” to name a few, to further evaluate, compare, and contrast the above two molecules they drew in “ShowMe” (for example) for molecular polarity (TCK) as they are viewing these 3-D models side-by-side. Then, I would ask them to upload their videos (in this case) to their ePortfolios in Google Sites, and write about the similarities and differences that you observed and evaluated in the second app, i.e., “Odyssey Polar Bonds – Molecules.” Finally, I would ask them to reflect on the assignment, as you drew each of the two molecules, describing the process you used to determine whether the molecule was polar or nonpolar as well as the specific details (including the simulations about each molecule, and physical properties including melting, and boiling points etc., that you learned about each molecule. Incorporating two different purpose app technologies, method of instruction, and reflection piece to this assignment used with my students would hopefully modify or even redefine the learning process for the students in such new ways that without the use of or incorporation of technology into the assignment would not be possible or visually conceivable. Having students use a digital portfolio to reflect on such above-mentioned learning experiences allows them to hopefully develop a deeper understanding of the concepts being taught, as well as encouraging them to understand how they think about those learning opportunities such that their focus may shift to a better understanding of one, the concepts being taught, but also the thinking involved in arriving at the information and/or conclusions…. These types of assessments afford students a more meaningful learning experience as they begin to explore within themselves a deeper understanding of their individual “thinking” as they learn and have lifelong experiences moving forward. These types of experiences foster a more enduring and lasting understanding of what they have learned and how they learned those things as opposed to say multiple choice, true false, simple presentations, memorization of information (retained usually for short-term memory only), or even essays in general. Assessing students work, knowledge, and skills using ePortfolios encourages providing a more comprehensive understanding of how you learn what you learn, as well as provides a place of documenting your individual “thinking,” which becomes visible to the learner and those with whom their ePortfolios are shared with.

In Closing

In summary, using ePortfolios for learning are a valuable collection of visual representations of items that the portfolio owner selects personally which items (of many learning experiences) to display and share (privately and/or publicly) throughout their progress in school (even other life experiences they draw upon), that they would reflect upon as they continue their journey of life long and wide learning experiences. Finally, they can make meaningful connections from past experiences (academic, professional, and personal…) with those newer and most recent experiences of learning to then speak intelligibly about them to others including future generations.