SESSION 8: Portfolios and Authentic Assessment

1. Provide a project update. What is your working title?

My working title is “ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS FOR EFFECTIVE eLEARNING DELIVERY.” 

As discussed previously, am planning to create a self-study training manual about eLearning delivery. Topics to be covered include:

 - Representing information to online learners.

- Facilitating interactions in eLearning setting.

- Tools to use in eLearning – to help in effective communication.

- Best practices in eLearning.

2. How is your project connected to eLearning?

Am using google sites to embed all the information related to the above topics. This information can easily be accessed since it will be online. Anyone who is interested can learn at their own convenient time and place. I intend to develop a PowerPoint to put more emphasis on key points, provide website URLs of relevant information, upload a short You Tube video highlighting tools to use in eLearning and a rubric for self-assessment.

3. How is your project relevant for you?

It will be a reflection time on what I have been learning about eLearning delivery and assessment and put it down to practice. This work will be implemented when I will be conducting my classes.

Since am reading articles related to my theme, I have learned more information about eLearning delivery in addition to what was covered in this class.

It is an opportunity to interact with google sites and evaluate how the final product will look like. I got this idea from Christen who provided URL about making digital portfolios.

4. What are the three most interesting/relevant/informative/important articles in your bibliography for your project?

• York, C. , & Richardson, J. (2012). Interpersonal interaction in online learning: Experienced online instructors' perceptions of influencing factors. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 16(4), 83-98.

This article reveals perceptions of online instructors towards factors that increase interpersonal interaction in online learning. Facilitating interaction is important while delivery eLearning. It has been identified to be one way to motivate students as they learn from one another.

• Chickering, A. and Gamson, Z. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. Washington Center News. Retrieved from http://www.lonestar.edu/multimedia/SevenPrinciples.pdf 

The authors have illustrated 7 principles of good practice in online teaching by providing clear examples of each principle. This is one of the main issues I am covering in the manual.

• Huang, X. , & Hsiao, E. (2012). Synchronous and asynchronous communication in an online environment: Faculty experiences and perceptions. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 13(1), 15-30.

The authors have shared information about the experience of online instructors towards online teaching in terms of types of communication and the tools they use to facilitate instruction. Without proper communication, learners cannot understand what is expected of them. The tools are also important because they assist in facilitating instruction.

Another article I found to be relevant is this one:

Keengwe, J. , Onchwari, G. , & Agamba, J. (2014). Promoting effective e-learning practices through the constructivist pedagogy. Education and Information Technologies, 19(4), 887-898.

5. What is authentic assessment in your context? Please explain important details like grade level, content area etc.

Authentic assessment – Entails an evaluation of knowledge and skills where students are allowed to practically demonstrate their understanding of what has been learned. What I shared on BB can be a good example to illustrate what authentic assessment is. “Allow students to design in their portfolios a content page about eLearning. They should select their best topics from what has been covered and present them in their own understanding. This will enable students to further go back and re-think about what they learned. Presenting it in their own way, will help to improve their critical thinking skills.” 

This should serve as evidence of what was learned in eLearning. Then based on the presentation, the instructor should be able to do the assessment. This can be suitable for higher education level students but for lower education levels, teachers can select an appropriate task to be performed and assessed.

Dr. Newberry (2014) has identified setting up realistic scenarios where students can use the skills they are learning. An explanation of what will be assessed should also be provided.

6. What are three types of portfolios? Choose one type of portfolio and explain how you could implement it in some eLearning setting.

-Reflective.

-Learning.

-Performance or Demonstrative.

Performance or Demonstrative – I have selected this type of portfolio because when I compare it with reflective portfolio, reflective portfolio only allow students to think about what they have learned, how to apply and draw conclusions. On the other hand, performance portfolio allow students to select their best works to showcase which has to involve a reflective process. 

I think for performance portfolio a student will be prepared to develop their best product hence give them a chance to better understand what was learned. Performance portfolio can serve various purposes as shown in the table below:

How to implement it in some eLearning setting.

The aim will be to have some key topics that will require students to not only reflect on what they have learned but also design products that will be presented in the portfolios. These key topics should be covered early in the course to give students enough time to design and develop the products. I will share with them a rubric so that they can be aware of what I will be assessing. The portfolio will be a final project. For example,

TOPIC: Grading /Assessment.

PRODUCT: Design a rubric for evaluation.

TOPIC: Effective eLearning delivery practices.

PRODUCT: Design a blog page illustrating best practices in eLearning delivery.

7. What is competency based learning? How could this impact your career?

Is a learning approach which is learner-centered that provides conditions for students to learn at their own pace. Since the focus is on what students learn, I think for Instructional Technology class it can effectively been used to assess what students have learned by allowing them to design instructional products. 

What I don’t understand is whether it can be applied in all fields of learning. This article provides more information about competency based learning.

8. Evaluate your participation in the discussion this week. Provide at least one quote from the discussion that supports your evaluation.

I think this week I made more productive discussion because I received immediate positive feedback from the instructor on both of my initial postings. This is one of the feedback I received “This is an interesting idea! I could see using this as a final project. I wonder what it would take, in terms of instruction and support, to make this work.”

Other than that, I gave this reply to Hye, “I like your project ideas especially using constructivist approach. Am currently reading those theories and I find them interesting about how to apply them when designing an instructional material. I have been using Rubistar 4teachers and have found it to be good. You may want to try it out.”

9. Identify the student you think was the most important participant in the Blackboard discussion. Explain why and provide at least one quote from that student's contributions to the Blackboard discussion.

Hye provided more information about benefits of e-portfolios. This was a good way to extend discussion by providing new information that is related to the discussion topic.

Christen also shared a URL in her BB discussion posting while discussing portfolio ideas and practices. The URL is about making digital portfolios with students and Google sites is one way to use. I got interested and learned more about Google sites and this prompted me to use it for my project.  

10. Reflect on what you have learned this week. What have you learned that has the potential to inform or influence you or your practice of online learning going forward? Explain why.

The readings on the three types of portfolios helped me to understand the purpose of each portfolio, primary audience for which the portfolio is designed, the process involved in designing them and there uses. This information will be used to design my e-portfolio which am currently working on.
Jon Mueller authentic assessment toolbox provides detailed information about traditional and authentic assessments, how to create authentic assessments and portfolios. More information is also provided about holistic and analytic rubrics and when to use them. This is another new knowledge that I have learned about rubrics which I will use when developing rubrics.