Personal Blogs

This task is very relevant to me because at work I am trying, together with 2 other members of the IT-team, to implement an electronical learning environment in which e-portfolio plays an important role.

Target: European School Karlsruhe Secondary School department
System review: Google Apps and My Stuff (Moodle Based)
Recommendation: Google Apps

In today’s day and age there are many e-portfolio systems. Our team has chosen to take a closer look at Google Apps and Moodle. We have done this for several reasons, but the main ones are:

·         Our school is currently using Google Mail as a mail client server, therefore Google Apps seems to be a logical step for using this for e-portfolio purposes.

·         In the past we have looked at Moodle because it can be modified to suit specific needs. My Stuff is a good example of how this e-portfolio system has been molded to suit the needs of the Open University.

·         We have set up some criteria to compare the two e-portfolio systems. This information is attached to this document as appendix 1.

Usage in Education
Google Apps exists of Google Docs, Google Talk, Google Calender, Google Mail, Google Groups and Google Reader.

Moodle is a Open Source software product which can be modified to match our own needs (it requires specific knowledge).

Currently, neither Google Apps nor Moodle are being used in the other European Schools. So we would be the first ones using either application.
Schools in Germany tend to use a system which is set up by a local cooperation. In Karlsruhe the LMZ (Landes Media Zentrum) is very active in setting up various LMS systems with e-portfolio possibilities. Their system is too rigid to use in our school system.

Functionality
Google Apps contains various applications which one can use for e-portfolio purposes. In general Google Apps is not set up as an e-portfolio system like My Stuff. My Stuff provides more e-portfolio character than Google Apps does. For example, in My Stuff there is a transcript of achievement and CV’s  (My Stuffbites) which gives students and tutors the possibility to upload their personal achievements. These can then be shared with a specific community. In Google Apps such documents must be made by the students themselves. They can then be shared in the Google Groups Community.

Google also provides various ways of accessing the Google Apps. For example, there is a Google for Educators portal which gives access to various Google Apps or one can access the Apps through iGoogle.

At this stage it has become apparent that My Stuff is not an option for our school because we do not have the specific knowledge required to implement it and our budget is too tight to buy this knowledge. The question remains as to whether Google apps can meet our needs.

Students’ use
In Google Apps students are able to share their documents, create their own profile for PDP and have ownership of data (because they have their own Google Account). They would have access to their profile through either the schools website or iGoogle (or Google for Educators). We would prefer to organise the LMS system in such a way that only one log in is required for the students.

Teacher’s use
Teachers can create learner groups by using Google Groups and students then can add files, notes, PowerPoint presentations in their files. Teachers have control over these learner groups they can interact online and have if necessary access to the shared documents. At the moment it would be difficult for me to describe how to assess all of this.

Integration into the European School Karlsruhe
Google Apps will not be hosted from the schools’ sever. Google provides server hosting outside of our school and has its own servers. From a cost point of view this will save us some money.
Google Apps is interoperable with other platforms and allows data migration in two directions(use of Google docs is compatible with Office and Open Office).
Google Apps has an OpenAPI system which interconnects other providers’ websites within the system. This would be very useful as it would enable us to integrate our school website and WebUntis into Google Apps.
Parental Access through Webuntis which can be integrated in Google Apps as it is Open API.

Conclusion
This team recommends Google Apps as a use for e-portfolio. The main reason for this is that Google Apps is part of an integrated learning system (Google for Educators or iGoogle) which can be modified and administrated by its user. We suggest setting up a trial group in our school and seeing whether this projects has the ability to succeed or not.

In H800 we had to make an overview of my PLE which you can find here
These are the technologies I'm currently using.

For my study I use iGoole as my main account for Blogging and reading others' blogs. I find iGoogle a very useful tool because as soon as you open your account you get an overview of all your used applications. In my case this is: Google Calender (a shared calender with my class parents and students), Google Mail, Google Groups (virtual environment for my different classes), Blogs and Google Reader (aggregator for reading blogs).

For my e-portfolio (storing evidence) I use Google docs and Office Live. Lately I use Office live more often than Google Docs because I use quite a lot of Excel files which are not really compatible (IMHO) with google docs. I store my written work for the OU course and I have stored all my work files (worksheets, planning, time tables etc). I can share these documents with others as well but I have to invite them first and on the receiving end one has to create an account (same as with Google Docs).

For Blogging I use various accounts (all stored in Google Reader). For the OU I use my OU blog which is quite simple, but it does the job. I mainly write my personal reflections about what's keeping me busy during the course. This can be either personal notes and/or reflections regarding articles we have to read. When I write my TMA's I look back on what I've written, what kind of responses I've had. I also store interesting comments or blog posts in my iGoogle account (shared documents) which I also use for my TMA's.
On a personal level I also have a cycling log in which I write reviews about various cycle routes throughout Europe. I also have a class blog, where my primary students write about their schooltrips (protected area).

Favourite links, websites, articles and other stuff I find intersting, are saved in my Delicious account. I tag all my files to create an overview of my pile of links. I find this most useful especially when you are part of a network and see what others are saving. Sometimes I start searching for documents in Delicious first. Another interesting fact is the way people are tagging. For me this is quite often a learning experience, to see how other people are using specific keywords.

I have stored all my documents on the net (backup on a mobile hdd) except for my bankdetails and private details. I have no documents left on my laptop or computer anymore.

Currently I'm trying to experiment with "My Stuff" as well. Looks promising. I have to figure out all the different possibilities though. I quite like the "save" buton which directly saves interesting articles, video and comments into "My Stuff". I find this very usefull. I used to copy and paste interesting material into a Word document and then save it in Google Docs or Office Live. This is a fairly quicker way!

I'm wondering if anyone else uses other applications as well? Eportfolios, blogging, storing and sharing...I find this most interesting and above all very useful in my professional, student and private life.

Cheers, Eugene