June 2008 — Web 2.0
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In the Driver's Seat
Web 2.0 is turning the traditional electronic portfolio into a diverse personal learning space, putting students at the helm of their academic experience.
WHEN JULIE BOHNENKAMP, director of technology
for the Center Grove Community School Corporation in
Greenwood, IN, introduced the Epsilen Environment to her
district last August, she expected a few of the more tech-savvy
teachers to take the new electronic portfolio system for a spin,
and then gradually spread the word. She didn't expect what
she calls an "Epsilen epidemic." What began last year as a
small pilot project aimed at half a dozen teachers now comprises
495 teachers, 1,908 students, 88 online courses, and 33
online collaborative groups.
"We thought we'd have between five and seven teachers who might like to utilize the system for online learning enhancements to their traditional courses," Bohnenkamp says. "But people really responded to the connectedness designed into it, the way Epsilen combines Web 2.0 technologies with the e-portfolio piece."
The Epsilen Environment is an example of what can fairly be called a new species of electronic portfolios. No longer merely a handy digital means for collecting and displaying student work or the professional achievements of teachers, this new breed adds internet-based applications and services that are fundamental to the Web 2.0 phenomenon-- things like social networks, blogs, wikis, folksonomies, and mashup tools.
"This is a paradigm shift toward progressively richer learning environments…and educators aren't ready for it."
The result is a powerful combination of capabilities that trend watchers say is transforming the e-portfolio into a diversified personal learning space rich with academic opportunities. The most profound effect is likely to be on students, whom these enhancements will effectively place at the helm of their own learning experiences, able to interact online around shared interests with their peers virtually anywhere in the world; report on school projects, news, or events; and edit and modify documents collectively. And both teachers and students can utilize this rich environment to maintain and refine their digital résumés for years to come.
"We have built Epsilen to the specifications of a new online culture," says Ali Jafari, professor of computer and information technology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). "There are a lot of goodies in there to encourage people to continue using and maintaining their Epsilen accounts."
