My entire career has been about the enhancement of learning and teaching. It began in graduate school when I noticed that how we teach does not necessarily match what we say we believe about learning. It was as if we unconsciously imitate the teaching we have received, rather than exploring the learning we yearn for.
In the early 90s I became a business expert for what was to become the Open Source Portfolio (OSP) in Sakai. Since then I have interacted with a great many institutions experimenting, succeeding, and in some cases failing, with ePortfolios. The failures seem to happen when leadership expects the tool to create the transformation, rather than understanding that transforming how we foster learning requires continued strategizing for change.
Since the 1950s and more recently on National Public Radio, a series of This I Believe essays have helped us separate what truly matters from what does not.
I believe that portfolios, used well, are transformational.
