Developing and building an e-portfolio is a big task, but it is nothing but a step stone into taking ownership of your work. Taking ownership of my e-portfolio has allowed me to discover more profound learning than just recalling information. It allows me to be able to transfer my knowledge to a different context because I have a deeper understanding. Taking ownership means investing your time and your energy to accomplish the goal no matter what it takes. It is a complex process that requires discipline and will to succeed. It means that you will not take any shortcuts or eliminate options, you will try to use every opportunity to learn as much as you can despite how uncomfortable it may be.
At this point in my career and working on my e-portfolio, I know for sure that I need to take full responsibility for my own learning and strive to obtain the most benefit from it. For example, I am building my e-portfolio with wordpress.org; it has been very challenging to learn to manage the platform itself. Every day I find something that I do not know, and it takes me a few hours out to figure it out. Sometimes it’s frustrating, and it is time-consuming, but because of that, I am sure that what I learned will stay in my mind for whenever I need it again. I know I am investing in my future.
My greatest question is how we can transfer this Idea of taking ownership of the learning to our students, that are so used to be told what to do an how to do it; the typical the step by step instructions, which are not being used as a tool but as the primary source of the knowledge. Starting from the bottom and taking baby steps would be a must. A little bit at a time, teaching them that it’s okay to struggle and is more important to build up stamina and will to keep going despite the challenges of the task.
After reflecting, I realize that the ownership in the case of the digital portfolio is not only about the platform that we are choosing or the picture that we are adding it is also about the ideas that we are generating and the topics that we are choosing and even including our choice to share or not our work. This approach to Creating a Significant Learning Environment and the use of the COVA model where students are given Choice, Ownership, Voice in Authentic learning opportunities is mind-blowing. It makes me realize that I have generated this type of environment for my students on just a few occasions. How many times I have given students choice, but only from an accepted list and as a consequence, real ownership is never generated. By owning the generation of the ideas and blog posts in our e-portfolio as an education professional we are also giving ourselves the opportunity to pass our experience and knowledge to our students. We will be closer to enjoy the benefits of the creation of a real and significant learning environment (CSLE) in which the choice, ownership, voice and authentic learning opportunities (COVA) are also present.
REFERENCES
Harapnuik, D. K., Thibodeaux, T. N., & Cummings, C. D. (2018). Choice, Ownership, and Voice through Authentic Learning Opportunities,Chapters 4. http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=7291
