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Mid-Atlantic Regional Technology in Education Consortium
1301 Cecil B. Moore Ave.
Ritter Annex 9th Floor
Temple University - CRHDE
Philadelphia, PA 19122
800-892-5550
215-204-5130 (fax)
General Inquires:
Laurence Peters
Judith Stull
Technical Assistance:
Barry Mansfield
Professional Development:
Joan Pasternak
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Temple University Center for Research
in Human Development and Education |
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A Case Study: The Power and Promise of Electronic Portfolios
at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s School of Education
148
by
Dorothy L. Baldwin
Fairleigh Dickinson University
How can the e-portfolio effectively support the milestones to measure teaching success and learning achievement for the preservice teacher as designated in the New Jersey Professional Standards (NJPS)? This question guided a pilot project recently initiated by the Fairleigh Dickinson University School of Education for students enrolled in the Quality in Education, Schools and Teaching (QUEST) Program. The QUEST is a combined B.A. or B.S./M.A.T. 5-year teacher preparation program offered by Fairleigh Dickinson University. Prior to implementing the e-portfolio, colleagues met to review the NJPS and analyze them in relation to course syllabi and activities. Specific tasks designed to elicit competencies outlined in the NJPS were created so that students would produce samples of work during Seminars I, II, and III and mark milestones along the way.
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In February 2004, the pilot was launched with one Seminar III class of willing participants. They were, however, somewhat apprehensive as web authoring was a journey into uncharted waters for everyone involved. To begin the process, a laptop with wireless web access and a web account on the EdFolio Portal (located on the School of Education’s server) was made available to each student. The software installed on the School of Education’s server, which provided the content management system (CMS) for the EdFolio Portal, was Frontier/Manilla developed by Userland Software.
Armed with a password, some word processing skills, and a web browser, students set off on their course. During the initial segment, they were greeted with a “happy authoring message” and simple directions for creating and editing the first page of their digital portfolios. Within one hour of logging in, students were successfully authoring their homepage using the “stories” link and uploading images by using the “pictures” link. Contributing to their success was the web authoring software, which employed a toolbar similar to one found in word processing software. The software made the writing and posting of information relatively easy for the students, and they received support from the Director of Technology who responded to questions and provided support and encouragement.
As the days of February quickly slipped into March, April, and May, students’ authoring skills strengthened and the use of the e-portfolio expanded. New pages regularly appeared as the students became adept at uploading Word and PowerPoint files using the “gems” link and linking one page to another.
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