Traditionally the (paer-based) portfolio was associated with the fine arts/design as a means for individuals to showcase samples of their work. Nowadays the portfolio is used as a pedagogical and assessment tool in all different kind of disciplines and in all levels of education. The definition the authors mention is a good reflection of this:
‘a portfolio is an organized compilation that demonstrates knowledge, skills, values and/or achievements and that includes reflections or exegesis which articulate the relevance, credibility and meaning of the artefacts presented.’
In the report they distinguise three types of portfolios:
showcase portfolio: this most closely resemble the original paper-based portfolio
summative/evalution portfolio: students receive a grade based on the work submitted in their portfolio.
Learning Portfolio: Unlike showcase and assessment portfolios, learning portfolios may include drafts and ‘unpolished’ work, with the focus broadened to include the process of compiling the portfolio, as well as the finished product.
In less than 2,5 months Open Education Global Conference will be in Delft. As conference organisers we have been busy with all preparations for the conference. Here some updates about the conference and all the great things we are organising.
Programme
We had a record number of proposals and we had quiet a challenge to fit all the accepted proposals in the programme. Thanks to the great work of our programme chair Robert Schuwer we have an interesting programme for all attendees. First of all the conference will be opened by our Minister of Education, Culture & Science Ingrid van Engelshoven. We have invited four keynote speakers:
Erin McKiernan, professor National Autonomous University of Mexico, will talk about the intersection of open research and open education
Vincent Zimmer, Co-Founder and Business Development Director of Kiron Open Higher Education will talk about the (digital) future and transformation of universities
Annemies Broekgaarden, head of public & education Rijksmuseum, will talk about innovative learning in a museum context
Peter Schmidt, professor Innovation in Higher Education UMUC, will talk about the role of open resources in defining what the future holds
On the website you will find the programme overview. Later this week we will publish the detailed programme.
Social Events
An important part of the conference is to meet and talk to open education people from all over the world. During the day there are already many oppertunities, but we have also some great evening events organised for you. The opening reception will be held in the Royal Delft pottery museum and factory. Royal Delft is the last remaining earthenware factory from the 17th century. Here the renowned Delft Blue is still entirely hand painted according to centuries-old tradition. During the reception we will recognise the winners of the Open Education Awards for Excellence.
Gala Diner The conference gala diner will be in the historic courtyard of Museum Prinsenhof. It was once the court of William of Orange, the Father of the Dutch Nation.
Van der Mandelezaal, Museum Prinsenhof
After the conference on Thursday afternoon we have the option to visit Madurodam, on our website you find more info.
We highly recommend that you will stay for Kingsday on Friday. It is something you have to experience to fully understand it.
Sponsors
We have been actively contacting companies and organisation to sponsor the conference. We are grateful that Siemens Stiftung, Canvas, Moodle and TAO have confirmed their sponsorship. We will announce more sponsors soon. If you are interested, please take a look at the sponsor opportunities.
Video update
As conference chair I also was forced to record a video, please take a look at it ;-)
Pre-conference workshop
I also invite you to join our pre-conference on Monday 23 April. During the pre-conference TU Delft will share its involvement in Open & Online Education and introduce you to some of the exciting projects TU Delft has to offer. Registration via the conference website.
Early Bird
The early bird registration is available until March 1st, so don't forget register and join us in Delft
The JRC open education research team has published another interesting report. In this technical report they provide an EU-wide overview of the state of play with policies on open education. 28 member states (MS) are researched:
The goal of the study Policy Approaches to Open Education in Europe : Case Studies from 28 Member States (OpenEdu Policies) was to find out which specific policies on open education are in place in European countries. At the same time, by eliciting the different perspectives, barriers and challenges to having such specific policies, the study aims to provide evidence that will cont ribute to a greater understanding of the development of open education in Europe. This report accompanies the JRC Science for Policy Report Going Open: Policy Recommendations on Open Education in Europe (OpenEdu Policies ).
They have performed desk research, interviews with relevant persons and integration of all results.
Last Friday at the 176th Dies Natalis (foundation day) of the TU Delft the new strategic framework 2018-2024 was presented. The structure of the framework is based on two dimensions. First, the breakdown of the university’s core operations into four operational areas: Students & Education, Research & Innovation, People & Community, and Campus & Services. The second dimension is based on four major principles: Excellence, Impact, Engagement and Openness. In the matrix below these two dimensions are linked.
ECAR does a yearly survey among undergraduate students about information technology. In October they published the results.
ECAR collaborated with 157 institutions to collect responses from 13,451 faculty respondents across 7 countries about their technology experiences. ECAR also collaborated with 124 institutions to collect responses from 43,559 undergraduate students across 10 countries about their technology experiences.
One of the interesting finding is about the preferences of students for online or blended courses. For the fourth year in a row, the number of students preferring a blended learning environment has increased as is visible in the image above.
One of the recommendations of authors is:
Take steps to make online learning opportunities the rule rather than the exception. At the institutional level, take steps to eliminate differential pricing structures for fully online courses so that they are accessible to all students. At the program level, consider ways to integrate online and blended courses in the curriculum to meet the learning environment preferences of students (and potentially increase enrollment). At the faculty level, create faculty development programs that help instructors better integrate the LMS into their face-to-face courses, thereby increasing the capacity to produce more blended learning opportunities.
Many institutes still have a big way to go for this, including mine.
Last year (it sounds long ago) the TU Delft approved our new educational vision:
This document contains Delft University of Technology’s vision on education. It describes our educational goals and quality ambitions, and states directions for further development of our educational portfolio and our way of teaching and learning.
Recently the TU Delft Executive Board approved a policy document on learning analytics. This policy document is about learning analytics at TU Delft and is comprised of a vision on the topic, a policy framework with directional statements, and an overview of recommended next steps for the introduction of learning analytics at TU Delft.
Tthe field of learning analytics is still developing and will be in the coming years. This makes it difficult to predict how exactly TU Delft will be using learning analytics in a few years. Learning analytics policies must therefore take into account the dynamics in the field – we do not know what is possible in the future; but at the same time offer guidance – we know what we do not want.
Last month the European Commission published the report European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators: DigCompEdu. This report presents a common European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu). The DigCompEdu framework is directed towards educators at all levels of education, from early childhood to higher education and non-formal learning contexts. It can help to guide policy and to adapt training programmes (such as BKO/UTQ).
Last month TU Delft signed an agreement with 8 other high-ranked universities for a virtual exchange whereby they offer their students the option of taking online elective courses and gain credits for their bachelor or master degrees. In a similar way to a university regular exchange, such as the Erasmus in Europe, students can obtain credits from a partner university that count towards their ‘home’ education. The difference is that in this ‘virtual’ exchange the students don’t need to travel as they study online.
The top universities participating in this innovative programme and signatories of the pioneering agreement are: the Delft University of Technology, the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Wageningen University and Research, Rice University, the University of Queensland, the Australian National University, the University of Adelaide, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Leiden University.
Earlier this year we already did a pilot with a limited number of courses and students. These universities already know and trust each other – they already hold mobility exchange agreements, have experience in online education and enjoy a good international reputation.
This virtual exchange programme benefits the students in many ways:
Online, flexible, free Study at the time and place that suits you - more freedom, for free
Enrich and broaden your portfolio Choose electives from courses from leading universities
Access to expertise World-class academic staff – enthusiastic, knowledgeable lecturers the other side of the screen
Diverse learning experience User-friendly courses - varied activities, multiple format content and flexible choices to optimise learning – and exclusive access to enriched content
Connect Be part of a global, culturally rich student community – make connections and grow your international circle
In the coming semester students can choose from 18 courses, we will also offer course during summer. More information on our website.
Two weeks ago I attended the F2F kickoff meeting of the recently granted Erasmus+ project EMBED: European Maturity Model for Blended Education. EMBED is a strategic partnership with frontrunner universities in blended education. The project is coordinated by EADTU and partners are KU Leuven, TU Delft, University of Edinburgh, Tampere University, Dublin City University and Aarhus University.
Withing the project we will develop an multi-level maturity model on blended education:
micro-level of teaching and learning processes
meso-level of institutional innovation and enabling strategies
macro-level of governmental policy and support structures.
The first discussion was how do we define blended education. On the micro-level we talk about blended learning. Blended education is broader than just the learning, it also includes policy, support organisation, etc. The blend is focused on the mix of face-to-face and online:
“Blended learning refers to a deliberate, integrated combination of online and face-to-face (on-site) learning outcomes.”
The first activities are focused on developing the model. Katie Goeman, Veerle van Rompaey and Stephan Poelmans of KU Leuven are coordinating this. In the process we already identified many blended learning models, but I would like to invite you to reply with your favorite blended learning or education model.
