Expression of Myself


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Monday, June 2, 2014

Analyzing eTechnology and Student-Learning Outcomes Through Students and Teachers’ Usage of ePortfolio in Higher Education

Educators and researchers are looking for new ways of developing student-learning outcomes. Thus, as new technologies continue to engulf our culture, a convergence between Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and education has been a popular solution to improving outcomes. However, it is important that any eTechnology (a) is easy to use, (b) produces a beneficial user experience technology, and (c) does not distract or prevent users from achieving intended purposes (Hattie, Brown, Ward, Irving, & Keegan, 2006). Furthermore, technology must reflect real world applications to enable meaningful learning from users (Kumar, 2010). Otherwise, intended goals of improved learning and teaching may be subverted by the interaction of human abilities and attitudes with machine characteristics. 

Within this context, teacher education is using eTechnology as a means of helping students prepare portfolios of their learning as prospective teachers. These electronic portfolios are evaluated since they serve to document achievement of the Graduating Teacher Standards and to assist in job hunting. However, research elsewhere has identified problems with the technological features of some electronic portfolio platforms (Deneen & Brown, 2013) and with the supposed formative benefits of teacher-student interaction around portfolio development (Struyven, 2012).

Hence, the deployment of an eTechnology to solve educational problems is not straightforward. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) assessment systems in contributing to student-learning outcomes by taking into account students’ and teachers’ technology competencies and beliefs, alongside the technological qualities of the ePortfolio. The study will analyze the usage of ePortfolio systems in higher educational institutions, seeking empirical insights in how ePortfolios affect students and their learning outcomes. The study will provide Faculty teacher education staff a user evaluation of a sample of ePortfolio platforms that may contribute to the deployment of ePortfolios being used to meet Graduating Teacher Standards. The key consequence of the study is not just an evaluation of current technology platforms and a greater understanding of user perceptions, but rather an enhanced teaching and learning environment in which both teaching and learning is improved.

The study is planned in four phases. Phase 1 will evaluate a variety of ePortfolio technology platforms (e.g., Mahara, Wordpress, etc.) being used in the University of Auckland. Each ePortfolio technology will be evaluated with the User Information Satisfaction (UIS) framework (Bailey & Pearson, 1983) and Learning Usability Evaluation Method by collecting student user experiential feedback about each system and by directly examining the functionality of each platform. Phase 2 will examine students’ perceptions, attitudes, and experiences of ePortfolio systems, with a special attention to platforms used in the Faculty of Education. Phase 3 will examine teachers’ attitudes, beliefs, and technology competencies as to incorporating ePortfolios in their curriculum. Phase 4 will explore the relationship of ePortfolio attributes with student and teacher technology attitudes and competencies as predictors of the quality of work in ePortfolios.