Attending academic conferences is simply part of conducting and sharing research into improving the learning environment. Over the past few years, I have often used Zoom to join my colleague who has taken the time to travel to the conference. Most often we have simply added this virtual function to our presentations and since I have been working fully online since 1995 being brought in via some form of video-conferencing tools has been what I have been doing for over two decades. Quite often session the moderators are simply surprised by how easy it is to have someone join the session virtually.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic I was able to attend the SITE conference fully online via Zoom and did a presentation on the paper Graduate Students’ Perceptions of Factors that Contributed to ePortfolio Persistence Beyond the Program of Study. Other than a few minor glitches in getting their slides screen shared all of the academics in my session were able to present without any major problems. Yes, some will point to the fact that OLC and other organizations have offered a virtual attendance option for a couple of years now.
Makes one wonder if we will ever go back to the way that is was where we have to spends dozens of hours and hundreds or even thousands of dollars to present. Yes, there is the serendipity of large collaborative environment but as we are seeing with the lock down or stay in place situations there are other ways for us to communicate and collaborate. I have to admit I didn’t miss the 2 hour trip via bus, seabus, and then train to the airport. I didn’t miss the long lines and the hours of waiting to check in and get through security. I didn’t miss the jet lag or the cold that I always seem to catch from a sick passenger that I sat next to on the plane. I didn’t miss the taxi or shuttle bus ride to the hotel or conference center. This morning I logged onto the system 15 minutes early, ran a last minute test on my audio and video, and waited for the rest of the conference participate in my session to join. Everyone was on time, each session stayed within the allotted time, and the Q & A session was as good if not better then in many face2face sessions I have experienced. Yes, I do miss the chance meetings of colleagues I haven’t seen or simply experiencing the power of the crowd, but this morning presentation and session was much more efficient, less costly, and still a really good experience. To answer may own question at the start of this paragraph…I liked the virtual conference experience and I wouldn’t mind if we do not go back to the way that it was.
In this Learner’s Mindset Discussion. Dr. Thibodeaux and I discuss the 5 biggest ePortfolio mistakes I have made over the years. Another way to look at these mistakes is from the context of what are the 5 things I wish I did sooner? If I were to start from scratch with what I know now what would I do?
Switched to WordPress Sooner
Stop playing the name game (i.e. website, blog, digital portfolio, ePortfolio, etc.)
Create a domain of my own
Post sooner and smaller
Digital dump drawer
Bonus Mistake – 5b. or 6. Effective navigation structure
The following is a short summary of the highlights from the discussion:
1. Switched to WordPress Sooner
I started teaching fully online in 1995 and I started my first ePortfolio or started keeping a weblog what we refer to as a Blog at the same time. Unfortunately, I don’t have a fully functional record going back to 1995 because I kept on chasing the next best platform. I had learned HTML (hypertext markup language) and quickly realized that this wasn’t an efficient way to post quickly and often so I started using an early content management system what are commonly called CMS back in the late 90s. Unfortunately, many of these systems like XOOPS, Hyperwave, and Mambo no longer exist and many of the CMSs like Joomla and Drupal that are still around today are not the best tool for an ePortfolio. I have lost over a decade of my posts because of this. I have many archived versions of my earlier sites exported to HTML but these archives are just too difficult to use. In early 2000 I also started posting for the institutions that I was working for and when I left those institutions all may work remained and in most cases is no longer available. From 2006-2009 I posted almost daily and while I do have an archive it isn’t easily accessible online. In 2009 I finally stopped shopping around and realized that WordPress was going to be around for the long haul can I committed to this platform.
2. Stop playing the name game
My ePortfolio is the same as my blog or as my website, or my net presence. Regardless of what you call it…this is my space on the internet that I fully control where I can share my voice, insights, ideas, and resources with others… or not. This issue also contributed to my search for the ideal platform. I know I wasn’t just blogging so I actually stayed away the early WP because it really just focused on 90% of what I wanted to do. It wasn’t long before WP matured to the point it did everything the early CMS did and much more. But I still waited for too many years to move to it and also to create my own domain.
3. Create a domain of my own.
I own many many domains which I have parked and don’t use and in 2009 I finally registered my own name and have been using this as my only website, ePortfolio, blog, or whatever you want to call it. I wasted so much time, money, and resources moving from platform to platform or trying to copy the work when I was working with a number of different educational institutions. If you are using your school or institution’s platform for your website, blog, ePortfolio, etc. you never really own it and it will stay with the institution when you leave. Once again I have lost so much of my work over the years because I made this mistake.
4. Post sooner and smaller.
Seth Godin posts almost daily and sometimes it is just a matter of 2-3 sentences. Some of these best or most memorable and useful posts have been 2-3 sentences. It has taken me WAY too long to realize that my posts don’t have to have every detail or that they need to be perfect. It is much better to get your ideas out and in the process, you start to make those meaningful connections as you reflect on your experiences. You can always go back and edit what you have written or add a Part B or follow-up post.
5. Digital dump drawer
If you want your ideas to be useful to others you just can dump all your digital content into your site and treat it like people treat a dump drawer–you know that drawer or shelf or cabinet that you just dump things into and that you can never find again. Rather than just dump assignments, essays, or other digital content into your digital container you need to create a context for this information and connect it to that context. This is an integral part of making that meaningful connection.
Bonus 5b. or 6. Effective navigation structure
Just because you know what rabbit trail to take to your information doesn’t mean others will. Building an effective navigation structure, using tags and categories, and having a functional search engine will help others find your information…so will sending your audience an accurate URL. Having a fully functional search engine will also help you and your users to find things that haven’t been titled or categorized well. When you have several hundred or thousand posts/pages on your site a search engine is a necessity not only for your user but for yourself.
Links to some of the people, sites, or tools I mentioned in LMD and this post
