Mark Pegrum

Introducing e-portfolios to pre-service teachers as tools for reflection and growth: lessons learnt

E-portfolios are being introduced into initial teacher education programmes internationally to help pre-service teachers build records of their learning journeys and develop into reflective practitioners; to allow them to assemble collections of evidence of their achievements against graduate standards, which can function as digital CVs; and to facilitate the seeding of personal learning networks that will support lifelong learning after graduation. Despite certain tensions between these aims, the potential benefits of e-portfolios make them an increasingly popular choice in teacher education. In this article, we discuss the introduction of Wi-Fi-based e-portfolios into a Master of Teaching programme at an Australian university. These served primarily as developmental e-portfolios, or personal learning environments (PLEs), and were designed to place particular emphasis on reflective practice. We describe how the e-portfolios were perceived and used by pre-service teachers in the first year of their implementation, and indicate the challenges and limitations encountered. Lessons learnt from the implementation are outlined and recommendations are proposed.

Modified, Multiplied, and (Re-)mixed: Social Media and Digital Literacies

The way educators talk about “literacy” has changed. More and more often, we pluralize it or preface it with adjectives—or both. Actually, this is not entirely new. Literacy started to multiply decades ago, giving rise, for example, to visual literacy, media literacy, and, more lately, information literacy. Paul Gilster, who popularized the term “digital literacy,” called it into service as a book title as far back as 1997 (Gilster, 1997). It is a process that led logically to the New London Group’s (2000) promotion of “multiliteracies.” And it is a process that has recently gained speed and urgency, thanks to the proliferation of digital tools and platforms like blogs, wikis, social sharing and social networking sites—in short, social media built “on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0” and promoting “the creation and exchange of User Generated Content” (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010, p. 61).

'I Link, Therefore I Am': network literacy as a core digital literacy

Networks have emerged as the dominant organizational structures of our time. In the networked era, social networks underpinned by the internet are crucial to obtaining and filtering information as well as reaching audiences and collaborators. To remain relevant in this era, educational institutions must foster network literacy, teaching students about and through networks, and helping them to establish and manage personal learning networks. This will ensure that all students, and not just the elite, are able to capitalize on the benefits and avoid the pitfalls of the networks which will be an integral part of their social and professional futures.

Future Directions in Mobile Learning

The shape of mobile learning (m-learning) depends very much on the complex cultural, social, political, economic and, above all, educational ecologies in which mobile technologies are embedded. Focusing primarily on the developed world, this chapter begins by surveying our contemporary technological context, highlighting new forms of hardware and emerging patterns of usage. It then turns to our contemporary educational context, outlining seven major trends—towards contextualisation, personalisation and diversification of learning; towards student support, engagement and creativity; and towards wider collaboration—which reflect aspects of the broader cultural, social, political and economic landscape. It is suggested that the future of digital learning generally, and m-learning in particular, will take shape at the point where ongoing technological developments intersect with ongoing educational trends.

A Wake-Up Call? Issues With Plagiarism in Transnational Higher Education

The views on plagiarism of 574 students at four Australian universities operating in Singapore were investigated through a survey and interviews. Analysis of students’ responses to different plagiarism scenarios revealed misconceptions and uncertainties about many aspects of plagiarism. Self-plagiarism and reuse of a friend’s work were acceptable to more than one quarter of the students, and nearly half considered collusion to be a legitimate form of collaboration. One quarter of the students also indicated that they would knowingly plagiarize. This should serve as a wake-up call regarding plagiarism in transnational higher education. Seven measures are recommended to curb plagiarism and foster academic integrity.

The changing landscape of e-portfolios: Reflections on 5 years of implementing e-portfolios in pre-service teacher education

E-portfolios are becoming an increasingly common component of higher education programmes, serving as constructivist learning spaces where students can reflect on their learning journeys, as centralised collections of work on which students can be assessed, and as integrated showcases where students can demonstrate their accomplishments to potential employers. At the same time, many working professionals are currently being required or encouraged to build e-portfolios which demonstrate continuing learning for the purposes of maintaining employment, seeking promotion, and applying for new positions. Pre-service teacher education courses are among the higher education programmes where participants are now commonly asked to build e-portfolios which they will be able to continue to expand and develop once they have obtained employment as teachers. This chapter is based on the reflections of two teacher educators in a pre-service teacher education programme in Australia, looking back on the first five years of an e-portfolio initiative, covering the period 2011–2015. They reflect on key lessons learned about engaging students, engaging staff, and integrating technology. They outline changes which have occurred in the e-portfolio space over the past half-decade, due both to the changing nature of technology users and the changing nature of technology itself. It is suggested that e-portfolios may have a role to play in supporting a shift away from today’s administratively oriented, pedagogically limited learning management systems (LMSs), and towards personal learning environments (PLEs) where students can engage in more individualised, autonomous learning practices.

Preparing for a Mobile Educational Future

There’s a pressing need for teacher training about mobile technologies. In fact, it’s hard to find a point more widely made in the research literature (e.g., Pachler et al., 2010; UNESCO, 2013c; West, 2012a). In the developed world we’re just starting to see a shift, with ICTs finding their way into teacher standards and national curricula (e.g., Oakley et al., 2012), and more in-service professional development (PD) courses covering ICTs; in both cases, room is increasingly made for mobile tools. In the developing world, on the other hand, it’s estimated that up to half of all teachers lack adequate training (GSMA, 2010a) — that is, general training, not just ICT training. This issue is compounded by the need to recruit millions more teachers in coming years (West, 2012a). Thus, the need for teacher training about mobile tools is part of a much larger problem — where, curiously, teacher training through mobile tools might be part of the answer.

The Mobile Landscape

The years 2002 and 2013 stand out in the history of international telecommunications. In 2002, the number of mobile telephone subscriptions surpassed the number of fixed lines globally; and in 2013, the number of internet-enabled mobile devices is set to surpass the number of desktop and laptop computers (The Economist, 2012; Meeker, 2012). Welcome to the mobile age.

What Language to Teach with Mobile Devices

Mobile devices, as we’ve seen, may be drafted into the service of a variety of language learning approaches (from behaviourist through communicative to sociocultural approaches), linked to a series of MALL types (from content and tutorial to creation and communication MALL), and used to dish up a range of materials and activities (from ebooks and grammar apps through to multimodal blogging and complex gaming). Having considered how language can be taught with mobile devices in the last chapter, we turn now to what aspects of language can be taught. In the process, we’ll draw together numerous examples of successful MALL projects. But before considering what language to teach through technology, we need to consider how technology changes language3 itself.

The Technological Ecosystem

Mobile devices are increasingly part of a multiscreen ecosystem. This ecosystem comprises mobile devices like smartphones and tablets; borderline mobile/portable devices like notebooks and laptops; and fixed devices ranging from desktop computers to television screens and interactive whiteboards. In the developed world, where many people own several devices, it’s up to each of us as individuals to work out the right niche for mobile technologies in the stream of information and communication flowing across and between our multiple screens. In other words, mobile devices don’t replace but rather supplement our other digital technologies (Hylen, 2012; Pettit & Kukulska-Hulme, 2011). In fact, different mobile devices can also complement each other, as pointed out by Mike Levy (see Vignette 3 below) in his survey of tools used in a technologies and language learning course in Australia.