The simplest definition of disruptive innovation is from Clayton Christensen when he stated, “you transform something that used to be complicated and expensive so that only a few people had access to it, and now you make it so affordable and accessible that a whole new population of people now have access.” One of the most noticeable opportunities for innovation in my organization is probably related to electronic portfolios (ePortfolios). Currently, our institution does not provide access to ePortfolios other than the portfolio available in our LMS which is limited in features and not capable of traveling with the students beyond their time in our organization. We provide WordPress for faculty, but we don’t allow students to easily create their own WordPress sites within our organization. We also don’t have any simple-to-use ePortfolio software tools or systems available campus-wide. Expanding our institution’s options for ePortfolios could open the door for our students to take ownership of and showcase their work in an entirely new way.
Inspiration
According to the 2018 Horizon Report (Becker et al., 2018):
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Of the 55-million jobs that must be filled by 2020, 5-million requiring postsecondary credentials are estimated to go unfilled due to new job creation and Baby Boomers leaving the workforce. Although this may suggest a gap between qualified graduates and workplace needs, some instead posit a communications gap in learners’ abilities to articulate what they have learned and connect it to workforce needs.”
Call to Action
Proposal
The use of electronic portfolios (ePortfolios) within the learning environment could serve as a way to help close this communication gap by helping students improve their digital fluency and provide an avenue for students to articulate and demonstrate what they have learned during the course of their education. In addition, implementing various ePortfolio solutions can help the institution support faculty who are engaging in blended learning activities or are looking for more authentic ways to measure student learning. In order to better serve our students by helping them connect their current learning to future employment, my proposal is to introduce a comprehensive ePortfolio initiative.
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Expanding our institution’s options for ePortfolios could open the door for our students to take ownership of and to showcase their work in an entirely new way to future employers, and I would love the opportunity to help implement this type of bold campus-wide initiative. To help justify this proposal, I have written the following Literature Review.
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Planning
Phase one of my proposal would involve investigating what systems are currently available in our institution and evaluating new online resources for providing ePortfolios. This would closely examine the technology, tools, and services currently offered which could be adapted or used for ePortfolios.
Phase two would be to deploy one or more ePortfolio solutions for our campus – which would include initiating ITS security reviews, institutional policy reviews, and necessary budget planning for deployment. By providing multiple options for ePortfolios, students can take advantage of ready-to-go portfolio solutions or build their own portfolio in a popular, highly customizable, web-publishing platform.
Phase three would be to work with staff to publicize the new ePortfolio options to students and faculty, conduct training sessions on how to use the new systems, and help prepare the Instructional Design team to think of creative ways that faculty in online or blended programs could take advantage of these new services on campus.
For a detailed breakdown of the steps in each phase of this plan, please visit my Implementation Outline.
