As an educator, I’ve witnessed firsthand how some tools, like video and e-portfolios, have shown great promise but struggled to deliver on their early potential in the classroom. Martin Weller (2020) revisits innovations such as these in 25 Years of Ed Tech, revealing how they were expected to transform education but often fell short due to limited adoption or misaligned usage. His reflections align closely with my own experiences navigating the changing landscape of ed tech.

In chapter 15, Weller (2020) highlighted the potential of e-portfolios to transform education by providing a digital platform for students to compile and showcase their work. Weller aligned e-portfolios with constructivist, student-centred learning, but noted that it has been hampered by a focus on institutional needs rather than supporting lifelong learning for individuals (2020). He compared e-portfolios to blogging, suggesting that blogs offer a more sustainable way for students to build and maintain their digital identity post-graduation.

This resonated with me, as my experience with e-portfolios as a teacher has mirrored Weller’s observations. When I graduated in 2012, we were told e-portfolios would be crucial for job hunting, but in practice, I never used them. Even in my early teaching career, student portfolios were little more than hastily assembled collections of work in binders. When my school finally adopted an e-portfolio system in 2019, it remained a static repository rather than a dynamic learning tool.

As Weller suggested, blogging could be a more meaningful alternative. Some of my colleagues have pushed for students to maintain personal blogs that could track their progress throughout their education. I agree with Weller’s critique that e-portfolios often become just another task for students and teachers, leading to superficial reflections. A more effective approach would be for students to curate their work over time in a personal blog, culminating in deeper reflection at the end of the year, making the blog a true representation of their learning journey.

Besides the ePortfolio, it’s also important to consider other tools that could enhance the learning experience, such as video. In his 2005 chapter on the impact of video in education, Weller highlighted its potential. At that time, platforms like YouTube were just emerging, but they hadn’t yet been fully integrated into classrooms due to issues such as a lack of computers and connectivity, which hindered schools and teachers from using these tools in engaging and meaningful ways. As Weller noted, all of this led to video having high potential but vastly underutilised to make an impact. However, the increase in video content and sharing, the rise in personal devices in schools, and improved connectivity have likely helped bring Weller’s initial belief in the potential of video to fruition.

Weller mentioned the “flipped learning concept” (p. 88), which has sparked debates on its effectiveness. Critics, like Rees (2014), argued that flipping the classroom places too much responsibility on students, shifting the focus from teaching to self-directed learning (p. 88). In the early panicked days of the pandemic, the shift to online teaching meant the initial move was to use the flipped learning model of teaching. We provided video lessons for students to complete independently, followed by Zoom discussions to review the material. However, we quickly found that many students, particularly those without strong home support, struggled to engage with the content on their own. Quickly we realised that no real learning was gained. The students craved the interaction and camaraderie of the classroom atmosphere, which the flipped classroom model did not provide. Recognizing this, we shifted to live interactive lessons, incorporating breakout rooms, brain breaks, and more. However, when we returned to classes in person full time after 2.5 years of online learning, it didn’t seem right to just let all of our newly founded ed tech skills be abandoned.

While flipped learning didn’t succeed in our context, it led us to evolve to teaching post-pandemic post-eLearning: the Modern Classroom Project. We introduced digital roadmaps embedded with video instruction, formative assessments, and tailored learning paths. This system allowed us to offer more personalised teaching while empowering students to take control of their learning.

In my experience, this shift demonstrated video’s true potential in education. While we started by simply making instructional videos to put into our digital roadmaps, we ended up transforming the learning experience. Students used video to explain their learning, which could be assessed; stop motion video projects were used as ways to demonstrate learning; students recorded video reflections for their online portfolio; the school used student videos of their learning process as part of a school-wide news update. Now that management, teachers, students, and parents see the possibilities, the support for the use of video is only increasing. It was just the beginning, and I’m excited to see how the use of video in education continues to evolve.

Overall, Weller’s work highlights the intricate relationship between education and technology. While innovations such as e-portfolios and video have introduced new learning possibilities, their practical impact has often fallen short of expectations. Yet, with increasing connectivity and widespread access to devices, we are gradually unlocking the full potential of these tools and moving closer to realizing their promises.

Weller, M. (2020). 25 Years of Ed Tech. Athabasca University Press.