Workshop Reflection

The three-day workshop that I just finished today showed to me what can happen in a laptop university. All of the faculty brought their wireless laptops to the workshop, and their enthusiasm for innovative uses of technology was refreshing. I could really see what can happen when the entire university community is provided with tools and access to the Internet. There were no "Yeah, but..." comments. The faculty members also thought it would be a great idea to do their own e-portfolios. I hope I can see a few by fall. Their preferred method of development will be using the common tools on their laptops, and they will have their students create CD-ROMs on their student laptops. With a laptop university, that makes sense. They are also planning to set up an online assessment database, where students can upload the assessment artifacts that will be used for accreditation. They agree with me that the students' portfolios should be their own, with an emphasis on individuality and creativity. And with the addition of digital stories, I think they are going to be very engaging!

The department chair was relieved that an e-portfolio didn't have to be lock-step and identical to meet accreditation requirements. They could stay true to their roots in constructivist learning environments, keeping the positivist assessment needs of the institution separate from the constructivist learning portfolios that are much more meaningful for the students.