Reflection on the Creation of an e-Portfolio

The creation of an e-Portfolio, like most tasks that involve self-reflection, identification of skills and expertise, and clear communication to a targeted audience is nothing short of a difficult task.

However, in the end, I come away from an engaging learning experience with "a collection of electronic evidence assembled and managed by a user." 

The e-Portfolio I created, is themed Technology and Career Development. I understand, through this exercise, that using an e-Portfolio positions yourself in a vastly different (enriched) way then merely using surface features on a social media sites such as LinkedIn. 

At the onset of the project I set personal expectations for myself, beyond what the course structure called for. Of interest, a key component that I have not yet incorporated into my e-Portfolio is combining Blogger with Google Sites or linking announcements to my home page. 

While I did succeed at incorporating Voki with the e-Portfolio, in the end, I did not find it to match the context of my site. Experience was gained, however, it will have to be re-used at a later date. Another discovery or new experience for me was utilizing Snagit to record and post my webinar. Snagit uploads directly to YouTube which in turn syncs quite easily with Google Sites. 

Each aspect, or section in the e-Portfolio served to be a unique learning experience. From gathering data to create the "Opinions" piece, to writing about my life and career experience. They either challenged my technical skills or my research and writing abilities. Tasks requiring diligence pay off in the form of inner satisfaction and a enhanced skill set. 

My recommendation is that, whatever your occupation, you consider using an e-Portfolio as a means of utilizing technology to extend your exposure to possible employers or business partners. Given our current societal structure, this is indeed a 21st century skill, and one that will position you in a innovative light. Go above and beyond!

Disseminating Your Opinion

In my last post I compared the creation of content to art. However, my excitement, when creating content still leaves moments of trepidation when I share my treasured "art" with others. This post will share my reflections on the topic of disseminating my opinion to a virtually unidentifiable audience.

My first suggestion, identify an active group or discussion forum to share your opinion to. Once you have overcome any inner challenge of making your first post, to a targeted audience group (or forum), the learning process would be greatly enhanced if the audience provided feedback. 

Robin Good, an independent new media publisher, talks about how people should curate topics they are passionate about. This is a principle I adhered to when creating my opinion piece, and I hold to this thought process during all stages or instances of content development. 

Having an engaging audience to share my work with should have been the first step in this project, however, it was my last. My recommendation is that one observes a forum first, before posting, and notes the level of engagement from the existing participants. 

The writer should also share, through commenting on some of the writings from other participants, first, before posting his/her own thoughts. In this way, the writer has (hopefully) built rapport with the audience, before expecting others to interact with the new discussion he/she begins. 

The next key step, in the process, is having a viable base of information from where to support ones opinion(s). In this case, the course I was involved in provided ample resources to which I could link, and in doing so affirm my opinions. The other option is having a firm understanding of the broad topic: effective online searching. 

Finally, Lucid Chart remains my favorite for the creation of mind maps - keeping in mind that a picture is worth a thousand words, and one can provide distinctive branding to his/her articles through the creation and incorporation of their own visuals. 

In the end, press forward with bravery and express yourself. Enjoy!

Creating Content

The creation of content through research and sharing of ideas, intrinsic to each person, is akin to the creative expression of art. The canvas is blank and the artist paints, as he/she sees fit. 

In a recent course I completed, part of my assignment was developing and conducting a 20 minute webinar, the topic: Digital Literacy and Finding Employment. Being a self proclaimed technologically savvy person there were still key challenges I encountered during this process. 

First, keep in mind the key differences between in-person delivery of content and online sharing. Concepts pertaining to audience engagement vary from traditional facilitation styles, and this must be taken into account. 

Second, my inclination is that ones ability to design the template and incorporate graphics and images in a visually appealing manner is paramount to success (defined as engaged learners). Think: "would I lose some my target audience by showing poorly prepared slides."

These were the three key influencers, or steps I took, when developing the webinar:

- The canvas is blank, how/what do I express?

- Where should my paradigm of content delivery shift, now that I am delivering online?

- Design, design, design - it should "wow" the viewer. 

In the end, I was satisfied with the outcome, and believe that I met my expectations, and more importantly, that of the viewers. That being said, rehearse, rehearse rehearse. I was surprised by how often transitions or wording got out of order and needed to be rearranged. 

The OER - Finally an OER?

I'm happy that on January 1, 2013 I have the OER, Career Development Process, back up and running and that this time it really is an OER.

Let me explain. An Open Educational Resource (OER) is really meant to be just that, open to the public, both to those who wish to view and contribute. It took over seven months but the OER (it probably should not be called mine) was finally incorporated within a classroom setting and students contributed their findings which will now benefit future learners to come (you can view their findings here). This, in my opinion, is what makes the difference between an OER and any other learning website.

Wikispaces, with which I developed the framework for the OER, does allow you to control which pages you will permit editing from outside sources. This is probably the best route to go as on my first attempt I gave the class access to edit the entire OER. Certain key section were deleted, which I could easily restore, but I now feel the wiser knowing that I can manage access settings on a page level.

In other OER relevant news, Wikispaces is taking a stand against spam and as such it will now cost me $1 to keep the OER open to the public. Read more about it on their blog.

The Future of OER...Where is it Heading?

In this final post, as a part of my involvement in the course 'Open Educational Resources' I am asked to comment on what are the contributing factors of a sustainable 'open initiative'. Additionally, with the recent hype of iBooks 2 being launched I will share my thoughts on the sustainability of this new resource (to be sold at 14.99 or less). 

An article in the Huffington Post has Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller speaking of the positive reaction children have to iPads in the classroom. It is apparent in my mind that students will be able to "explore" the textbooks in ways that the traditional paper-based textbooks does not allow. Some of the iBooks 2 features are embedded videos, interactive 3D images and models, and a built in dictionary function. 

If an educator truly desired to engage the learner why would he or she willing choose to not implement these latest trends? Perhaps the issue can be viewed from two perspectives (although I am sure it can be viewed in more ways). 

First, organization (schools, businesses etc.) do not allow for or promote the interactive learning benefits from using these (shall we call them modern?) online resources. Another angle could be that Apple from this endeavor could (and in my opinion will do so within the next three to five years) monopolize textbooks within the coming years and in doing so coerce (force?) users to purchase iPads, in order to stick with the times. 

Individuals may not enjoy this prospect, especially those who are interested in promoting openness in learning (but still content producers have to make a living). As a student I would prefer using iBooks 2, and paying less than $15, than I would shelling out the sometimes exorbitant amount required. Of course, this course is a great model to follow as the textbook is an OER and use of it is completely free of cost. 

Why doesn't all universities, schools and businesses simply adopt the use of OER in the classroom? Perhaps the underlying issue is that members of the community are not convinced with the level of quality that OER provides (or perhaps this quality cannot be consistently ensured). As outlined in the course handbook: "quality is the primary concern for most people learning about open education and open educational resources."

This is one of the contributing factors to the sustainability of the OER. movement Affordability  is another factor as content creators must be funded (also known as being able to pay the bills).  The international OER community is to give further attention to the following topics in the coming years: student assessment, quality of materials, affordability, global perspective, accessibility and access, and appropriateness / adaptation. This will undoubtedly improve society's opinion towards and solve some of the notable concerns with OER use. 

The elephant(s) in the rooms will be taken note of and then we will all move happily into the future of open resources and OpenCourseWare.

Thoughts on Open Data, Research, Books, Journals, and Government

Open Data, Research, Books, Journals, and Government, is this a dream or a reality, for the learning institute I work for? What are my thoughts on these topics? First off, as most of these terms were new to me I have briefly highlighted my findings of what each of these are. In the end I conclude by sharing how this will (or can) affect the organization I work for, and what the implications are (if any). 


Open Data, defined by the Open Knowledge Foundation as: “A piece of content or data is open if anyone is free to use, reuse, and redistribute it — subject only, at most, to the requirement to attribute and sharealike.” The readings this week provided an excellent resource to learn about the World Bank Open Data Initiative. 

Open Research which promotes collaboration rather than just the sharing of data, is already active within many online communities. My experience with Drupal, allowed me to observe the vibrant online discussion and the sharing of research (code) which enabled developers to further their own efforts by gaining valuable advice from global experts (free of cost).  

Open Books, a rich resource! My initial exploration of this led me to find a variety of quality books from authors (most of whom I noted were university professors). A portion of the tag line: "top quality books by expert authors"! From learning about sales to how to conduct a successful job search this is a resource worth noting and exploring with fellow learners. 

Open Journals, in particular the Directory of Open Access Journals, is a collection of just that, Open Access Journals and Articles. While this offers a wide variety of resources, perhaps if one knew the name of the author he or she would have a better chance of finding the specific quality resource he or she was looking for. When you have over 781,850 articles to choose from, what would be the most effective way to find the one you needed?


Open Government - what I understand this to be is a drive towards greater transparency and sharing of information from the government to its citizens and other government as well. As the article 'Citizens Love Transparency' highlights, there are notable benefits to this endeavor.


I equate the opportunity for (quick and easy) open data, access, books, journals and government is largely thanks to technology and the internet. Working for an organization that  is not involved in any e-learning initiatives (and I currently do not see these elements within the workplace), I am curious as to how and when these ideals could or would take hold. 


As the workplace has recently quadrupled in size, perhaps managing organizational change has taken the precedence. Still, the organization is looking to solidify and brand their curriculum. Perhaps once this is done it would be shared as an OER (much like other universities or training institutes have done). 


No doubt there are many implications to this, especially as the stakeholders might share varying views. However, I am certain that these changes (if they occur) will take time to be seen. 

Publishing Open Educational Resources

In this ongoing series of posts, part of my involvement in the course Open Educational Resources from the University of Manitoba, I am asked to comment on the following:

"An interesting perspective to accessibility is the US's America with disability Act Section 508. Is there as similar act in Canada? Do we need a similar act or are existing laws sufficient to address the disabled? What would these laws be? How does this apply to your own context?"

What I will first take into account is the discussions provided as a part of this week's content. In the section Share, the first step towards the publishing of content is the decision to use Self- or Third-Party Publishing. There are of course pros and cons offered with regards to these two options. 

Third-Party Publishing is often quick, easy and free to use. However, when you place content on their website you lose control and have to adapt to the terms of use that the hosting website already has in place. Lost content (abruptly) and advertisements on your site may be some of the risks you will take when going this route. 

Self-Publishing allows you to be completely in control of all aspects of OER deployment (and responsible). You will need to pay for the site to be hosted and you are also afforded the additional duty of having to update and maintain the site. 

I imagine you would not, easily, be able to allow others to Revise and Remix content within the site. One could allow for this rather easily if he or she published using Third-Party Publishing (for example: http://www.wikispaces.com). 

The advice is given that ones technical skills and abilities would often determine the route he or she went. It is often easier for someone who does not possess certain technical skills to travel the Third-Party Publishing route. In a previous post I wrote of the mental block experienced when trying to use FileZilla (a tool used for Self-Publishing). As such, using Third-Party Publishing would be the quicker (more efficient) route for me at this time. 

My reaction after spending time reviewing some of the tools available to promote accessibility via Section 508 (see: tools and resources). My initial skim through some of these tools reveals that they will require a higher technical ability from the user. Higher than what is required for someone to publish via the Third-Party Publishing route (although some Third-Party Publishing tools have these tools built in). 

The Section 508 Standards are useful and a certain level of standardization is of course important to allow everyone equal access to online learning resources and content. Perhaps it comes down to education. Are we informed or possessing enough technical skills to ensure that these standards are met? My initial thought is that we are not and most may not even be aware these standards exist. 

Apparently there are no laws in Canada that would force a content creator to comply to any standards when making his or her content accessible (taken from www.cippic.ca). A shift of mindset is required in order to ensure that content is truly accessible to all. This could start with educating users to meet the W3C guidelines, and other suggestions are welcomed.