Session 3: Technical requirements and opportunities
Preknowledge
| Starting this session the participant should have prepared certain materials for presentation;
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Objectives
- becoming aware of skills which can be developed through e-portfolio creation and use (focusing mostly on technical ones in this session);
- analyzing the scope of media, tools and services which can be used for e-portfolio creation;
- finding out how to evidence different competences with the help of artifacts (tech. aspects).
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Outcomes
After this session the participant will:
- recognize the scope of media, tools and services available for creating the e-portfolio;
- have the basic knowledge of how certain tools and services work, including social-services;
- understand the opportunities given by different media and tools;
- recognize ICT skills necessary to develop digital artifacts;
- be able to pick from teh set of media those solutions which are suitable for documenting one's own specific achievements in ePortfolio as well as creating it as a whole;
- be able to assist student with his/her media choice;
- have the basic skills in using specific online ePortfolio tool, Mahara being an example
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Digital artifacts
In Foundation Module you could examine Sample ePortfolios created in different media. Each of these examples consist of digital artifacts created by different tools. Such tools can be very complex and may require a high level of proficiency in dealing with media. You will find out if what is proposed here is sufficient for your ePortfolio.
Off-the-shelf software or professional solutions can help you enhance your ePortfolio and demonstrate your unique skills. There are many possibilities to develop digital artifiacts - and several possible formats, e.g. video, images, text, documents.
Activity
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Activity 1. What can you do already?
- Think of the tools you already use and list them down in your blog or notebook.
- Think what of the skills and competences they can help to demonstrate?
- Why do you use this specific tools?
- What are their advantages and disadvatages?
- What else would you need?
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Activity
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Activity 2. Tools
Task
Digital photos
If you have a digital camera (eg in your mobile) you can go out to take some pictures of a subject suggested below. Select 3-5 examples which in your opinion represent your concept at the best. Download it to your computer (cable, bluetooth, infrared) or directly to your ePortfolio. You can also store it on the Internet in one of the photo-sharing sites (more about sharing below). Justify your choice by typing a short commentary on the selection.
Task
Recording audio. Podcast
Record your commentary by using free sound editing software, such as Audacity [1].
You will have to download this tool.
Task
Recording video. Vodcast
- Recording video
- Video blogging
Task
Creating spreadsheets
Task
Creating presentation
Task
Typing texts
- blogging
- web sites
- articles
Task
Sharing
You must have heard of Web 2.0 hype by now. Like it or not, name it differently, it gives you more opportunities to develop your ePortfolio. What is the added-value of sharing? Why people want to do that?
- how to share things - social software - examples of on-line services
Flickr - photos (and other graphics) sharing site
YouTube - videos sharing site
TeacherTube - educational videos sharing site
43 things - sharing goals and plans with others
del.icio.us - a bookmark sharing site
Note to teachers and learners
Think of a small subject, such as e.g. numbers, animals, red colour, rituals, circles. Explore it step by step transfering your data into different formats.
Would you like to learn more about Web 2.0 in teaching? Read the article by Bryan Alexander or search for examples of how social software is used for educational purposes.
Do you know these particular solutions which can be used to create your ePortfolio - wiki, blog, Google Docs & Spreadsheets. Learn more about possibilities given by those tools:
- Basic ideas on how to use wiki in education [2]
- Edublogs.org - Many blogs devoted to educational issues [3]
- 10 ideas on how to use blog for education [4]
- Blog entry on using Google D&S in education [5]
- Example of large educational project conducted through Google D&S [6]
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Activity
Activity 3. Reflect
- What was the most difficult part of the task above?
- Why was that? What did you learn?
- What additional skills you need to enhance (if any) in your ePortfolio?
- What skills you can and share with others?
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Activity
Activity 4. Mahara as the exemplary metatool
Log in to the Mahara account, if you have one. See waht are the technical affordances of that tool in respect to:
- storing;
- sendingout;
- publishing;
- classifying and describing
- connecting
the artefacts you posess
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