In 2018 my school became involved in a pilot project to use student e-portfolios as a way to both represent and communicate student learning. Following the guidelines set in place by FIPPA, my school district needed to find an e-portfolio site that would not collect or share student data and stored all data within certain countries. (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, n.d.) This led my district to land on Scholantis Portal as both our closed district employee site and what we could use for both classroom sites and e-portfolios. As an early adopter of this new system, I took on a leadership role within my school and was a part of several training and professional development sessions.

What was the goal of moving to E-Portfolios

– Documentation of student work over time
– Easier communication of student progress to parents
– Replacement to report cards – all reporting done on student E-Portfolios

When first introduced, staff were excited to try this new technology. Many teachers had used E-Portfolios before, but since the district now decided we all had to move to Scholantis we were all interested to see how it compared.

Challenges
– Student log-ins – Students were given long email addresses and passwords
– Parent log-ins – Given separate log-ins and only had access to a portion of the E-Portfolio and website
– Internet Access
– Bandwidth at the schools
– Aging technology at schools – Computers were old and would take a long time to do anything
– Access to technology in schools – Computer labs, tech carts
– The site frequently was down
– Digital Literacy of staff, students, and parents
– Language Barriers

As this was a transition initiated by the district, they were willing to put in the money and effort to provide an upgrade and support where needed. The tech services department was always available to support teachers or schools with issues, and would try to solve any problems as quickly as possible. Although getting all students logged in initially was sometimes challenging, it was a predictable process that they quickly learned. This would be the same for parents, as they understood if they were unable to see specific information, they would just use their child’s log-in.

As a younger teacher, using technology in my classroom and with my students was exciting and felt like a logical step, but that wasn’t the same feeling as many of my colleagues. It was common for teachers to refuse the use of technology with their classes, or just be afraid of it as they didn’t know what to do. I decided to take on more of a leadership role within my school and offered support and training to any other interested teachers. Showing them how to set up their site, create e-portfolios, and connect with their students or parents. This led to a higher level of interest and acceptance within my school, and by the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, 19 of the 21 divisions had a site and students could share their work on an e-portfolio.

The biggest challenge: The Covid-19 Pandemic

With the move to online learning during the pandemic, issues were noticed again quickly. The site would often become overloaded, resulting in difficulty uploading documents or assignments. It is also blocked in many other countries, meaning it could be impossible for someone not in Canada to access the site.

The district stuck with the Scholantis Portal until 2022, when it began looking at other options for E-Portfolios and online learning. It eventually landed on a mixture of Microsoft Teams for staff and older grades and SpaceEDU for younger students. Both of these allow for the sharing of student learning with parents and easier communication between school and home.

What did we learn?
– Usability is key
– Ensuring infrastructure is there to support the new technology
– Ensuring access to training and supports is essential

Since the transition to our two new online learning and e-portfolio options, there has been a much higher level of buy-in by staff, students, and families. These are both more user-friendly, and both the platforms and district tech staff have easy access to support.

References

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. (n.d.). www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca. https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96165_00