Research Driving Policy

Research Driving Policy: Implications of Research on eFolio Minnesota for Supporting Lifelong and Lifewide

Learning with ePortfolios

Darren Cambridge

ePortfolio 2005, Cambridge

October 27, 2005

October 27, 2005 Implications of Research on eFolio Minnesota for Supporting

Lifelong and Lifewide Learning with ePortfolios

Sources for Policy Making

Grand agenda Deering Report Broad and often vague mandates (funded and unfunded)

Stakeholder analysis JISC ePortfolio Framework Systematic analysis of the aspirations of potential users

Research on actual user behavior eFolio Minnesota The observed behavior of and impact on experienced

portfolio authors



Why research on actual user behavior

We are not starting from scratch Tens of thousands of real ePortfolio authors Decades of experience with portfolios

What people think they want, and what they actual value with experience are often different Especially true with novel information and

communication technology



eFolio Minnesota

Organizational Context

Research Results

Policy Implications



eFolio Background

A project of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system (MnSCU)

Launched Fall 2003 Available to all residents of Minnesota 30,000 active users as of April 2005 with linear

growth Planned interoperability with Open Source

Portfolio at University of Minnesota



Funding and Leadership

MnSCU leading as an entrepreneurial agency

Initial funding part of a larger grant from the Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)



Service Model

Centralized technology supportAvenet eFolioPhone technical support (rarely needed)

Distributed programmatic supportColleges, universities, workforce

development centers, schoolsSmall grants from MnSCU



Individual Focus

Focus on individual use for lifelong and lifewide learning

Minimal centralized control

Software and documentation encourages broad range of uses

See what works for individuals, then do more of that



Research Results

Age not a factor

High level of use across all six categories of use

Educational planning central

Frequent role shifts

Little perceived impact of institutional support



Factors Influencing Level of Impact Audience

Real Evidence of reading and response

Imagined: Clear intended audience Being “out there”

Ownership Integrity

Integration of personal and professional Currency



Layers

“I tried to organize it since everyone would have a different purpose to have a look at the site, and if I were showing it to my cousin in California, just saying "Hey, this is what I'm doing with my life," opposed to someone I'm applying to get a position for, try to organize it so different mediums would be able to find their way around for their specific needs.” - Heatherhttp://heatherdawson.efoliomn.com/



Being Out There

“There are certain … aspects that I don't feel the need to share with everybody, but … just as you create a resume for public distribution, you choose the pieces that you feel most accurately and positively reflect your human being, and so I selected things that I felt demonstrated my values and shed a positive light on me in a public way.” -Tracyhttp://tracywright.efoliomn2.com/



Ways Institutional Support Matters

Audience: Technology’s impact of findability, connectivity Collaborative contexts of portfolio authorship

Ownership Introduction that embraces lifelong and lifewide

learning Technology that supports user adaptation



Policy Implications

Minimize barriers to entry Introduce in way that addresses a wide range of uses Provide support for collaborative development Cultivate real audiences with real stakes Interoperability through partnerships

Bottom up from actual individual practice as well as top down through standards process

Allow sufficient space to see what people actually care about doing



Learn More

Learn more about eFolio Minnesota at http://www.efoliomn.edu/

Download the research report via my blog at http://ncepr.org/ncepr/drupal/node/17

Email me at [email protected]