Desire2Learn ePortfolio

our education systems needs to change, but as Mark notes, the reason for that change is likely not to be found in "changing learners". Instead, in my eyes, we need to change education for two primary reasons:

2) the changed ways in which we can access, interact with, and connect to each other.

free Web 2.0 technologies could be a threat to some of the commercial tools

Is the edupunk ideology saying that the use of social media in commercial learning management systems is an assault on the very philosophy of learning 2.0?Ideologies shouldn’t be rigid should they? Rather they should be adapted and used in pragmatic ways don’t you think? If you’re a trainer embracing learning 2.0, who gives a rats ass where it lives.

If you have a population of learners who have already adopted tools (such as blogging and social bookmarking) for themselves that are different than the corporate tool (the LMS) do you ask them to move?

If your population has not adopted a tool yet, do you have a responsibility to the individual to show them tools that can live beyond their engagement at the company?

Networks within academia will become embedded into the applications delivered from academia.

Just as Facebook grew though the academic community out to the masses, there will be a class of applications, with detailed knowledge of the needs of education, hosted within Universities, supporting teaching and learning and research, but integrating with distributed services from applications all over the internet.

In a recent conversation with the lead developer of Desire2Learn's new ePortfolio system (www.desire2learn.com), I was pleased to hear that the system, which offers infinite management combinations for content and permissions, can also present the user (student or faculty member) with ratcheted-down options and therefore a simpler interface. A user can be set up to use just a minimal essential set of options.

Users still may not use Desire2Learn's ePortfolio system while they sit on a deck overlooking the water, but they at least have the option of a lower threshold for using it for their academic work.

Right now, we've only swapped the little red schoolhouses for the little online boxes we call course management systems. Students enroll, read posted information, and maybe listen to podcasts. A few of the more sophisticated students have some kind of electronic discussion with other students in the class, but the instructor is still at the center of the classroom. That model, pedagogically as well as for all kinds of practical purposes, is starting to lose its effectiveness.

Higher ed professionals are beginning to recognize that ePortfolios may be more effective than standardized tests when it comes to documenting student learning.

"We don't care about test scores. What we want is evidence that students have been involved in internships and service learning programs, and that they've done project work and have developed team, collaboration, communication, and leadership skills."