The VP of Academic Resources, Enrique Riveros-Schafer began to receive requests for funding related to ePortfolios. In response, in the fall of 2005, Kevin Kelly (Academic Technology Director) and I were asked to conduct a needs assessment of our campus related to the use of portfolios.Portfolios were not a new idea, and many departments have used portfolio review as a primary assessment strategy for years.
We wanted to find: 1) identify depts. currently requiring student portfolios (paper or digital); 2) clarify emerging dept. needs (formative/summative/capstone use of portfolios); 3) analyze investigative data from other comparable universities.
Based on our findings, we were asked to recommend a preliminary course of action for Academic Resources.
The assessment was prompted by concern that each college/dept. were using their own approaches, which in the long term was not fiscally sustainable. It also posed issues for students who could be asked to create different portfolios for different classes/majors, with no technical or pedagogical parity.
An underlying assumption was that things could get unwieldy and we might want to recommend a universal/unified eportfolio system for the whole campus. The vendors certainly were keen on suggesting that this was the only way to proceed.
But from day one, it was clear that a "one size fits all" approach would not work on our campus. The use, definition and application of portfolios were varied, with existing portfolio use already established. What we had rather was a tree with deep roots in using portfolios some disciplines (Education, the Arts, Health and Human Services among others). Some departments have always used portfolios. And there were new branches emerging each semester. What we quickly discovered was that:
- 40 Dept. Chairs/Faculty)indicated that they already required some form of portfolios (paper/digital), or expressed interest in using eportfolios at the course or dept. in the 2006-07 year.
- 17 depts. were already using some form of digital portfolios [Hosted solutions: eFolio, Taskstream, homegrown solutions, ICAP, DIVA, as well as CD's, DVD's and websites
Was there a "magic bullet", or a tool that we could afford and roll out across our 28,000 student campus? If so, what WAS it, and could we afford it? And what would this "top-down" decision do to the existing portfolio using programs? These programs represented our core expertise and we didn't want to alienate them.
In looking at many tools (thanks Helen Barrett for pioneering the effort!), and given an extremely limited budget for new projects, we realized that we needed to take each departmental need on it's own terms. Which meant different definitions.Oh, and...What WAS an ePortfolio anyway? (Definitions were slippery, even between colleges on our campus.)
In addition to writing the report, I made a concept map of our situation. It looked like a sea urchin with tendrils in all directions. Hard to get one's head around.
What would be an organic growth model that would allow for the rooted depts. to deepen their efforts, new projects to start, but the core trunk to be unifed in philosophy, approach, and ultimately in the technology?
The image of a tree arose. I sketched out the exisiting long-standing projects as roots, with strong branches, and the newer developments as new growth.
OK, so I AM a foresters daughter, but the tree metaphor really allowed me to drop the pressure that there would be one solution the University would need to impose.
And so...we now have solutions that are tailored to needs. We have student portfolios being created with many tools. Check out out gallery space to see some examples.
The best fit we could find at this point. And a way to support, deepen and nurture those programs with their roots already well established in the use of portfolios.
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To read more about the SFSU needs assessment approach: http://academic.sfsu.edu/ar/at/otl/eport.php
