ePortfolios to Show Progress: Informing Students, the Institution, and the Community

1. ePortfolios to Show Progress: Informing Students, the Institution, and the Community • Neal W. Topp, Ph.D. – Varner Professor of Education • University of Nebraska at Omaha

2. UNO Overview • For 96 years, UNO has been a part of Omaha's progress. • Committed to interaction with metropolitan area • Bringing special expertise to bear on pressing social, economic, government, business and educational issues. • Urban related issues: health care, PK-12 education • (in Nebraska PK-16 initiative), crime, economic development and jobs. • 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students

3. MAPP my Relationships Current ITS myMAPP Projects myMAPP/campus Judgment myMAPP/student myMAPP/faculty myMAPP/department myMAPP/staff myMAPP/college UNO Strategic Plan

4. ePortfolio Initiative’s Importance to UNO • Accountable to multiple constituencies as befits a metropolitan institution (PK-12 and economic impact most pressing) • Accountability mandate from North Central Accreditation (AQIP)

5. UNO’s Portfolio History • Designed paper portfolio process for selective admission for undergraduate teacher candidates while graduate student (1990) • Abandoned tests for paper portfolio/performance assessment in 1990 • Researched and then delivered first paper portfolio for Ph.D. program (1994) • Published numerous articles and book on portfolio assessment (1997) • Initiated portfolios for masters program in literacy education (1998) • PT3 Project- Student ePortfolio (2000) College of Education used for NCATE • Technology one of six strands in College of Education Strategic Plan • MCC joint portfolios • UNO one of 100 most-wired campuses in nation • Designed Institutional Portfolio (2001) following new draft standards • for North Central • Pilot with General Education (Fall 2004) • Students designing portal • AAHE Senior Fellow invitation • North Central Assessment Think-Tank (Assessment Exchange--Performance Assessment) • AAHE National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research Cohort II

6. Current ePortfolios -- UNO • MyMAPP/Campus • MyMAPP/Faculty • COE – School Counseling • COE – Educational Administration • COE – Teacher Candidate • GenEd – English • Honor’s Student Project

7. ePortfolio Implementation A PROCESS

8. General Tips for Success for Campus Adoption • Understand it is a process, often a SLOW process • Bottom up—Top down • Campus-wide support from the highest levels • Campus-wide coordination • Align to strategic plans • Service model – ITS restructuring & commitment • Provide solutions to existing faculty & program needs • Accreditation & accountability are key

9. General Tips for Success for Departments/Programs • Start with faculty & administration (find champions) • Provide solutions to existing faculty & program needs • Integrate implementation into instruction • Connect to accreditation • Expect that programs should be revised and improved • Focus on learning - modeling what we expect of students, staff, faculty, and administrators . . continuous improvement and learning

10. Example -- Department Process Outline • Early Awareness Phase • Awareness Phase • Design Phase

11. Early Awareness Phase • Formal or informal or both • Plant the seed • Talk about the possibilities • Get them thinking and dreaming

12. Awareness Phase • Meet with interested people (administration, faculty, staff, students) • Show examples • Listen to their needs • Help them make connections (ePortfolio elements meet their needs) • Suggest they discuss possibilities with colleagues • Encourage and support Meet with entire department/program Let their champions lead Encourage them to see this as their process & product Try to get them to focus away from the technology Show you will support them Give comfort --with your experience (you will help them find answers) Provide positive testimonials

13. Design Phase • Use the guideline questions • Support & encourage • Use best methods – different for different people • Encourage broad participation • Influence speed of process • (prodder & brakeperson) • Always analyze process

14. Guideline Questions • Preplanning • Planning • Policy & Procedures • Professional Portfolio • Technical Issues • Personnel Consideration

15. Preplanning • Purpose? • growth, mastery, accreditation, program revision? • Audience? • students, faculty, administration, accreditation, advisory boards, community, employers? • Alignment? • strategic plan, goals, objectives, accreditation? • Timeline? • Faculty experience with portfolios? • Faculty experience with technology? • Methods for getting faculty & student involvement?

16. Planning • Standards or Competencies • (What should students be able to know or do) • How many? • Artifacts? • Who will decide? • Who and how are they scored? • Rubrics? • Reflection? • Encourage active learning? • Summative and/or formative? • Research impact, how and by whom?

17. Policy & Procedures • Who will assess artifacts? • When to assess? • Who will track and assess the entire portfolio? • Will it be a requirement for graduation? • Who will be able to view the portfolio artifacts and what will be in the views? • Who will write the student release form? • and how will it work? • How will data be used? • accreditation? • college portfolio? • annual reports? • institutional portfolio? • AQIP?

18. Professional Portfolio • Will it be used for job acquisition? • Who decides content? • Who will design the view(s)?

19. Technical Issues • What is the process for the technical design? • Who will be the contact with ITS? • Should the portfolio begin with a pilot? • How to handle the “phase in” period? • How to handle transfer students? • How will the portfolio relate to other portfolios? • Who is the support? • Is there adequate infrastructure? • Is there adequate access to equipment?

20. Personnel Considerations • Who will be the administrator champion? • Who will be the faculty member champion? • Who is responsible for organizing the development? • Will there be a need for more support staff or reassignment of support staff responsibilities? • Will the faculty and staff need training on authentic assessment? • Will the faculty and staff need training on use of technology?

21. Plans for the Future • General Education expansion in fall 2005; Speech and Math (MCC and UNO) same standards; same artifacts • PK-16 (Content Pedagogy Council) Seamless Transition • Middle School & Professional Portfolios • Student Portfolios (myMAPP/student) across campus (aggregate data at myMAPP/campus) • Staff Portfolios (myMAPP/staff) individualized from myMAPP/faculty • AAHE Senior Fellow/ AAHE National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research Cohort II • Develop a research plan to measure impact • Center for ePortfolio ????

22. Implementing ePortfolio WorkshopOctober 28 & 29, 2005 • Mapping Academic Performance through ePortfolios • University of Nebraska at Omaha • Omaha, Nebraska

23. Thank You!! • Neal Topp • ntopp@mail.unomaha.edu