Graduate Connections- April 2011

In This Issue: Navigating Graduate School ........................... 1 Things to Do This Summer Good Practices in Graduate Education................ 3 Academic Integrity Pledge Professional Development …………….. 4 Creating an Electronic Portfolio Writing a Research Article in 12 Weeks Teaching Tip ....................... 5 Determining How Much to Cover in One Class Funding Opportunities ....... 7 The Graduate Writer .......... 8 Revision vs. Editing Events ................................... 9 Research Fair Nebraska Lecture Institute for International Teaching Assistants SPEAK Test Dates Campuswide Workshop for Graduate Teaching Assistants Interactions ....................... 10 2011 Graduate Award Winners Calendar ............................ 11 Event Dates/Deadlines Degree Deadlines Readers’ Corner ................ 12 How Learning Works: Seven Research Based Principles for Smart Teachin

A quantitative study focusing on the effect of electronic portfolios in teacher education

Portfolios have been used in the field of education as a form of assessment since the 1980s. As time has progressed, portfolios have transitioned from paper to electronic form. Research on electronic portfolios has focused on implementation issues and their impact on student learning. There has been limited effort, however, on their long-term impact. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the perceived impact of electronic portfolios on the beginning careers of classroom teachers. More specifically, this study sought to determine if use of electronic portfolios during pre-service education impacted the attitudes and performance of new teachers. The study used a survey design. A sample of graduates of teacher education programs in Louisiana was selected and asked to complete a survey that measured perceived technology knowledge, content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge. Survey respondents (n=189) were sorted into groups based on whether or not they developed an electronic portfolio as part of their teacher preparation program. These groups were compared with respect of each of these three areas. The results indicated that those who had completed an electronic portfolio in their teacher education program had higher perceived levels of competence with regard to technology knowledge and content knowledge in mathematics. The following information can be used by universities to determine if electronic portfolios are a viable assessment tool for use by their teacher candidates

The use of electronic portfolios for preservice teachers

This paper will discuss the results found in support of this CD-ROM project: The Use of Electronic Portfolios for Preservice Teachers, through the infusion of standards in the teaching and learning process and the competent use of technology as a tool for reflective practice, assessment and hiring purposes. This project provides best practices in portfolio development, tutorial guides, and student examples in developing their own electronic portfolios

Electronic and Paper-Based Teaching Portfolios: Student Perceptions and Recommendations

This paper documents a yearlong pilot study, conducted by teacher education faculty, to evaluate methods for creating, sustaining, and assessing teaching portfolios. Selected issues with paper-based and software-based programs are compared. Key design, instructional, and procedural problems that arose during this study are discussed as well. The findings of this study support the need for a flexible electronic portfolio system in which students play a key role in the design, development, and content of their portfolios as well as the need for a clearly articulated academic purpose and requirements for the teaching portfolio with implications for students in all disciplines

Implementing Digital Story Telling in a Computers in Education Course

Assessment and the integration of advanced technologies are key themes for the 21st century educator. The electronic portfolio project was developed to explore the possibilities of using web-based technology to store artifacts as evidence of student achievements of course goals and objectives. Furthermore, the tool can be used to respond to the need for assessments and accountability and present a model that utilizes performance measures to demonstrate the meeting of standards set by state agencies. Because these systems require data collection, portfolios can be integrated to show progress over time and adherence to standards. Also, the use of technology supports the assessment work that can be collected in real-time feedback. This presentation will discuss how electronic portfolios development supports both the need for assessment and integration of advanced technology in a graduate level Computers in Education course during the Spring 2009 semester.Elluminate Liv

Використання інформаційної технології електронного портфоліо в освітньому процесі ВНЗ

У статті розглянуто роль інформаційної технології електронного портфоліо в активізації наукової діяльності студентів ВНЗ та в процесі моніторингу й оцінки її результатів з метою оптимізації складання рейтингу успішності. Створення в інформаційному середовищі ВНЗ бази електронних портфоліо наукових досягнень студентів сприяє побудові єдиної автоматизованої індексно-рейтингової системи оцінювання

Using Electronic Portfolios as a Pedagogical Practice to Enhance Student Learning

Real learning transcends barriers of time and place. It can also provide a bag of tools one can take on the journey through life. Some students, unfortunately, leave college with empty toolkits, or ones they do not know how to open. Engaging students in the process of salient, transformative learning is a challenge, but one worth taking. Tagg (2004) speaks eloquently in a recent About Campus article about the need for faculty to use practices in the classroom that improve the quality of learning, and calls for faculty to help students claim their learning and engage in what Kegan (1995) describes as a “developmental transformation, “the process by which the whole (‘how I am’) becomes gradually a part (‘how I was’) of a new whole (‘how I am now’)” (p. 43). Kegan (1995) argues that this process is necessary as one becomes an adult and needs to develop new ways of thinking about oneself and one’s relationship to others and the world. Ideally, faculty in higher education are striving to help students learn beyond their individual courses and create the toolkit needed for success throughout life. Increasingly, the use of student portfolios has been seen as one way to help students engage in this type of learning (Cambridge and Williams, 1997). With technological advances, interest in and use of electronic student portfolios (eportfolios) in higher education has also grown in the last several years (Cambridge, 2001). Portfolios, and especially eportfolios, are seen as a more authentic representation of student learning and are increasingly being used for course, program, and institutional assessment of student learning (e.g., Cambridge, 2001)

Electronic portfolios in a fourth grade classroom: two case studies

This case study describes the experiences of two fourth grade students creating electronic portfolios for the first time in their classroom. The study examines the benefits of using electronic portfolios, the barriers encountered by students and the teacher, and strategies to effectively implement electronic portfolios. In this study, electronic portfolios were implemented not only with the two case study subjects, but also with the other twenty-six students in the classroom. The findings from the entire class provide powerful data for teachers everywhere. Obstacles, frustrations, and celebrations are shared, along with the benefits of using this form of assessment. The case study demonstrates electronic portfolios are worth the time and effort they require and can be successfully implemented in an elementary classroom

Fostering LMD english language learners’ skills and competencies as a way to face new challenges in education

There is a growing debate at present time on the necessity and importance of incorporating what is often referred to as Twenty First Century Skills and Competencies that are attitudes and abilities required to be developed in different learning situations. Indeed, they are necessary requirements for future employability and are seen as essential components completing and reinforcing traditional basic academic skills. For example, planning and objectives-setting, collaborating and communicating, persistence, flexibility and initiative-taking, would help to make students successful academically, in their future professional orientations, and even socially. Fostering skills and competencies would undoubtedly contribute to making our students handle and deal with knowledge in a more effective, reflective and productive manner.Asistimos hoy día a un un debate creciente sobre la necesidad e importancia de incorporar lo que frecuentemente denominamos Habilidades y Competencias del Siglo Veintiuno, que son aptitudes y habilidades cuyo desarrollo se requiere en diferentes situaciones de aprendizaje. Desde luego, son requisitos necesarios para la empleabilidad y se contemplan como componentes esenciales que completan y refuerzan habilidades académicas básicas y tradicionales. Por ejemplo, la planificación y el establecimiento de objetivos la colaboración y la comunicación, la persistencia, la flexibilidad y la toma de iniciativas contribuirían al éxito académico del alumnado, en sus orientaciones profesionales e, incluso, socialmente. Fomentar las habilidades y las competencias, sin duda, contribuiría a hacer que nuestro alumnado manejase el conocimiento de una manera más efectiva, reflexiva y productiva

Electronic Portfolios as Job Search Tools: Perspectives from Students, Career Counselors, and Human Resource Professionals

Electronic portfolios have traditionally been used by artists as a means of showcasing and organizing projects and accomplishments. Within academia, colleges and universities have implemented electronic portfolios as a way for students to showcase and share their papers, projects, and course work. Universities and colleges typically license e-portfolio software and distribute the platform to students. The eFolioMinnesota software is free for all students and residents in the state through the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System (MnSCU). Unfortunately, little has been researched about the use of e-portfolios in career development or employee recruiting. Never before have e-portfolios integrated with workforce development efforts nor aided in business and industry development. What is the impact of electronic portfolios in hiring practices? Through an anonymous survey, 66.7 percent of human resource representatives and career counselors admitted to seeking candidate information online. While 70.7 percent said they view online resumes, only 29.3 percent are viewing electronic portfolios. On a scale of one to ten, the average rating for value in a resume was 6.34 while it was only 4.66 for electronic portfolios and 44.7 percent of respondents found little to no value at all in electronic portfolios. The biggest weakness of using electronic portfolios in the hiring process was time, or rather a lack of time. Some considered it an extra step in the review process and questioned if using that extra time was worth it. If we want students and job seekers to develop electronic portfolios as job search tools, employers will also need education and training on the best practices for incorporating this new tool into their screening and hiring process