Volume 4, Issue 4
Quarter 4, 2008

Using ePortfolio to Provide the Most Innovative Technology for Teaching
and Learning

Since the release of ePortfolio we have espoused the mantra of “Share the Learning Journey.” In this edition, we share three major ways we are leveraging ePortfolio internally at Desire2Learn to foster the professional development of our team, who is passionate about relentlessly improving. To review our white papers on ePortfolio which include ePortfolio implementation best practices we have developed in conjunction with the research of renowned educators and institutions, visit the Centre for Excellence in the Academy for eLearning:

1. Login to the Community.
2. Click the Academy link on the Navigation Bar.
3. Click the Centre for Excellence link on the Navigation Bar.
4. View our white papers in the Content area.

About ePortfolio

Today's user demands a personalized learning experience that extends beyond traditional boundaries to include social networks of peers, evaluators and even external experts. ePortfolios can accomplish this and much more.

ePortfolios:

• Reinforce the process of learning
• Embrace a user-centric approach
• Integrate with Learning Management Systems
• Enable students to receive feedback and assessment from peers and others
• Showcase student achievements to multiple audiences
• Provide a portable demonstration of users' acquisition of knowledge and skills

How We're Using ePortfolio at Desire2Learn

1. Performance and Development Planning

Desire2Learn's annual goals cannot be achieved without the individual success of every internal stakeholder. Each department establishes yearly and quarterly departmental goals that build the ladder to reach our annual goals. All that is left to do is climb the ladder. In consultation with their manager, each employee creates a performance development plan. SMART (Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Results-focused, Time-focused) quarterly goals are decided upon that will facilitate the accomplishment of each objective in the plan.

• Employees complete an ePortfolio Performance Plan Objective form for each objective.



eP Form Screenshot


• Human resources provide naming conventions and guidelines for tagging ePortfolio items so that they can easily be reviewed as part of an employee's assessment. Human resources may also setup Permission Profiles that automatically make items with specific tags available to all users. These forced profiles ensure information that is beneficial to all learners is easily disseminated.
• Employees create presentations or collections of artifacts that demonstrate how the objectives have been met and share these with managers, peers, mentors and human resources.
• Throughout the process, employees reflect upon their progress and share lessons learned. Users who have been invited to view presentations and collections can offer feedback and share their expertise.

2. Sharing the conference experience

Desire2Learn attends over 30 conferences per year. How do we decide which ones we will participate in?

• Maximize knowledge sharing by journaling our conference experiences directly from the conferences we attend in ePortfolio presentations and invite others to view our presentations.
• Reflect upon daily sessions and keynotes.
• Create a conference evaluation form that can easily be completed by conference attendees.
• Create a collection of all the conferences we attend.
• Systematically agree upon tags for conference items so that collections can be easily retrieved and reviewed for budgeting future participation in conference events.

3. Mentoring each other

Every Desire2Learn employee brings a different combination of skill sets and professional expertise to the table. To proliferate this talent, we have developed an internal mentoring program. Potential mentors complete an ePortfolio mentoring form to indicate the skills they possess. Qualifying mentors complete a mentoring course to learn how they can optimize the positive impact they can have on other employees.

• A group is created for each mentor skill set.
• Mentees review the qualifications of mentors and self register for the mentoring group that matches the skills they would most like to receive mentoring in.
• Once a mentor and mentee have been paired, they are able to collaborate on sharing their learning journey with each other

These are the major ways we are realizing the potential of eLearning within Desire2Learn. Every day, we discover a new way that we can employ ePortfolio to support our team in providing the most innovative technology for teaching and learning.. Imagine the impact ePortfolio can have on your learners' and organization's achievements.