Conference Proposal - ICLS 2008

Thanks to the heads-up given by Yishay at the LKL - University of London, we here at CTLT are working to develop an interactive session for the ICLS conference. Drawing from the work we are doing on the deconstruction of Geoff Hotz's blog, as a representative form of global collaborative learning, it seems appropriate that we extend this initial exercise and use it to evaluate our work with e-Portfolios.

Through our current e-Portfolio contest here at WSU it is hoped that several cases will be generated that showcase collaborative student problem solving within a global context. The contest presents an interesting opportunity to evaluate the usage of a technology within the context of a focused challenge.

What is the contest?

Following the contest it is assumed that we will have a number of case studies to choose from.

In order to showcase the ePortfolio approach to recording process in learning, adaptive problem-solving and so forth, we hope to hold an interactive session that will enable conference attendees to deconstruct a student’s ePortfolio and identify the key elements leading to effective outcomes.

Along with the interactive session we will launch our own conference ePortfolio to help frame the initial discussion, as well as allow potential attendees to begin a conversation that will support and serve as the foundation of our final evaluation at the conference.

Some of the pieces that could be used in this ePortfolio are not any different than the students have at their disposal, such as document workspaces, geo-spatial information, message boards, user blogs, video and anything else we can think of.

The goal here is to show document the process of evaluation among a global dispersed group of scholars. Through the process we will be looking at how a student might have identified a problem or issue of importance, how the student’s thinking shaped initial assumptions, how those assumptions may have changed over time, how the student connected with other groups, the types of solutions identified and whether the solutions met the expectations of the student and the people the student was collaborating with.

These are just some of the ideas that we could focus upon, however there are numerous and it will be important for us to further refine the language in order to help structure the Portfolio space we intend to build.

Also, we need to get this together quick, we only have till mid-November.