Electronic Portfolio Encouraging Active Reflective Learning

ePEARL

(Electronic Portfolio Encouraging Active Reflective Learning)

Welcome to the GVSD ePEARL support page! This page will feature news items related to ePEARL, and serve as a resource page for GVSD teachers using ePEARL. ePEARL is being used province-wide in Manitoba as part of the Literacy with ICT initiative, In addition to having been adopted by 24 out of 37 Manitoba school divisions, ePEARL is currently being used in about a dozen countries around the world.

What is ePEARL?

ePEARL is a bilingual web-based process portfolio developed by Concordia University in Montreal. ePEARL is an acronym for Electronic Portfolio Encouraging Active Reflective Learning, and is designed to facilitate and support self-regulated learning for students from Kindergarten to grade 12. There are three levels in the software: Level 1 (grades 1-2); Level 2 (grades 3-6) and Level 3 (grades 7-12). Level 1 is intended for K-3 and focuses on reading and writing skills. Level 2 is intended for grades 4-6 and supports more complex work. Level 3 is intended for grades 7-12, and has all the same features as level 2, while using higher level language and more sophisticated images. Self-reflection and conferencing on work are important components in all the ePEARL levels. ePEARL version 3.0 was released in the summer of 2008, and made available by MERLIN on September 30, 2008.

Why use ePEARL?

A portfolio is a collection of work done by a student, and typically contains highlights of a student's progress in a subject are, and in the areas of critical and creative thinking. A portfolio may also contain works-in-progress that are in various stages of development. An electronic portfolio, like ePEARL, is an online space where students can interact (reflectively) with their work and post assignments and projects. ePEARL electronic portfolio items can be shared with classmates, and can also be accessed by teachers and parents. ePEARL provides a way for students and teachers to collect evidence of the development of multiple literacies. ePEARL is an electronic portfolio that connects and supports 21 century teaching and learning.

RVS ePEARL Community of Practice Professional Development Project

Facilitator: Brenda Valerio

Host School: Glenbow Community members:

In the 2009-10 school year, a group of RVS teachers will use ePEARL as part of a PL project to see how e-portfolios can be used in our division. Teachers who are interested are welcome to be part of this PL group. ThePEARL can be hosted by school divisions on their own servers, or hosted by MERLIN for an annual fee. The user experience of ePEARL may depend on the Internet bandwidth available to RVS, as the ePEARL interface is entirely Web-based. Our plan for 2009-10 is to have MERLIN host ePEARL and our student portfolios for us. Our teachers and students will access their portfolios through the Web, and the portfolio data will be stored on MERLIN's servers. There will be space limitations on the portfolios that we will have to work with. The plan is to actively evaluate what our bandwidth requirements will be to provide a rich ePEARL experience to our students. It is hoped that in the future, all teachers and students wishing to use ePEARL might be able to do so.

The RVS teachers participating in the ePEARL ePortfolio Community of Practice are:

 Bruce Gramlich - 3  Peter Bouvier- 4

 Karen Edwards- 3  Willem Greoneveld- 4

 Cailin Morrison - 3  Kim Knitter-4

 Cheryl Gamble- 3  Janet Southgate-5/6

 Carol Perry- 4  Heather Minty- 3/4 ePEARL Community of Practice

Three full-day PL divisional days are planned for the ePortfolio group to get together to learn about the software, practice with it and start to creat their own environment for themselves and their students. The days for this are place on:

 Monday, September 28, 2009 Full Day

Location: Meadowbrook Middle School- Airdrie

During this session we will meet the group and participate in the divisional activities to start the day. We will then go over what ePearl is and share our knowledge, understanding and experience with portfolio assessment. From there will go online and go through the Demos in oreder to see ePearl software in action. We will plan for the next 2 PL days and have some action plans for our classrooms.

 Monday, November 30. 2009 - 8:30 - 3:30 pm

Location: Glenbow School- Cochrane

 Monday, March 1, 2010 - 8:30 - 3:30 pm

Location: Glenbow School- Cochrane

ePEARL Resources ePEARL Web site - http://grover.concordia.ca/epearl/en/epearl.html ePEARL promotional video - http://doe.concordia.ca/cslp/Downloads/Promo/ePearl.html ePEARL Virtual Tutorial - http://grover.concordia.ca/epearl/tutorial/index.php ePEARL Teacher Resources page - http://grover.concordia.ca/eportfolio/epearlhelp/resources/home_en.html ePEARL Wikispaces site - https://cslp-epearl.wikispaces.com/

How to Create an e-Portfolio - http://electronicportfolios.com/portfolios/howto/index.html

Portfolios and Assessment - http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/tech/lict/let_me_try/assess.html

St James-Assiniboia School Division - http://www.sjsd.net/~amckiel/epearl

HRSDC Essential Skills List - http://srv108.services.gc.ca/english/general/Understanding_ES_e.shtml