ePEARL

(Electronic Portfolio Encouraging Active Reflective Learning)

Welcome to the GVSD ePEARL support page! This page will feature news items related to ePEARL, and serve as a resource page for GVSD teachers using ePEARL. ePEARL is being used province-wide in Manitoba as part of the Literacy with ICT initiative, In addition to having been adopted by 24 out of 37 Manitoba school divisions, ePEARL is currently being used in about a dozen countries around the world.

What is ePEARL?

ePEARL is a bilingual web-based process portfolio developed by Concordia University in Montreal. ePEARL is an acronym for Electronic Portfolio Encouraging Active Reflective Learning, and is designed to facilitate and support self-regulated learning for students from Kindergarten to grade 12. There are three levels in the software: Level 1 (grades 1-2); Level 2 (grades 3-6) and Level 3 (grades 7-12). Level 1 is intended for K-3 and focuses on reading and writing skills. Level 2 is intended for grades 4-6 and supports more complex work. Level 3 is intended for grades 7-12, and has all the same features as level 2, while using higher level language and more sophisticated images. Self-reflection and conferencing on work are important components in all the ePEARL levels. ePEARL version 3.0 was released in the summer of 2008, and made available by MERLIN on September 30, 2008.

Why use ePEARL?

A portfolio is a collection of work done by a student, and typically contains highlights of a student's progress in a subject are, and in the areas of critical and creative thinking. A portfolio may also contain works-in-progress that are in various stages of development. An electronic portfolio, like ePEARL, is an online space where students can interact (reflectively) with their work and post assignments and projects. ePEARL electronic portfolio items can be shared with classmates, and can also be accessed by teachers and parents. ePEARL provides a way for students and teachers to collect evidence of the development of  multiple literacies. ePEARL is an electronic portfolio that connects and supports many of the principles and the big ideas in the Literacy with ICT developmental continuum.

GVSD ePEARL Pilot Project

In the 2008-09 school year, a group of GVSD teachers will use ePEARL as part of a pilot project to see how e-portfolios can be used in our division. Two teachers in each GVSD school have been asked to participate in this pilot with their students. ePEARL can be hosted by school divisions on their own servers, or hosted by MERLIN for an annual fee. The user experience of ePEARL may depend on the Internet bandwidth available to GVSD, as the ePEARL interface is entirely Web-based. Our plan for 2008-09 is to have MERLIN host ePEARL and our student portfolios for us. Our teachers and students will access their portfolios through the Web, and the portfolio data will be stored on MERLIN's servers. There will be space limitations on the portfolios that we will have to work with. The plan is to actively evaluate what our bandwidth requirements will be to provide a rich ePEARL experience to our students. It is hoped that in the future, all teachers and students wishing to use ePEARL might be able to do so.

The GVSD teachers participating in the ePEARL pilot in 2008-09 are:

• Neal Remple (Border Valley)
• Patrick Derksen (Border Valley)
• Jackie Neufeld (Plum Coulee)
• Kath Penner (J.R. Walkof)
• Linda Wall (J.R. Walkof)
• Anny Froese (Southwood)
• Leslie Kasdorf (Southwood)
• Bryan Matthews (Emerado)
• Karyn Klassen (Emerado)
• Darren Crane (Emerado)
• Louise Fultz (WES)
• Cindy Hamilton (WES)
• Brian Apperley (Parkland)
• Val Harder (Parkland)
• Richard Krahn (Parkland)
• Jeff Osinski (GVC)

ePEARL Training Sessions

Two separate half-day training sessions for the ePEARL pilot participants have now been organized and delivered. Both sessions covered the same material, and teachers could attend either session. The ICT Coordinator covered the costs of one person per school unit. The sessions took place on:

• Monday, December 15. 1:15 - 3:30 pm  Location: Division Office East Board Room
• Tuesday, January 13. 1:15 - 3:30 pm  Location: Division Office East Board Room

ePEARL Resources

ePEARL Web site - http://grover.concordia.ca/epearl/en/epearl.html

ePEARL promotional video - http://doe.concordia.ca/cslp/Downloads/Promo/ePearl.html

ePEARL Virtual Tutorial - http://grover.concordia.ca/epearl/tutorial/index.php

ePEARL Teacher Resources page - http://grover.concordia.ca/eportfolio/epearlhelp/resources/home_en.html

ePEARL Wikispaces site - https://cslp-epearl.wikispaces.com/

How to Create an e-Portfolio - http://electronicportfolios.com/portfolios/howto/index.html

Portfolios and Assessment - http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/tech/lict/let_me_try/assess.html

St James-Assiniboia School Division - http://www.sjsd.net/~amckiel/epearl

HRSDC Essential Skills List - http://srv108.services.gc.ca/english/general/Understanding_ES_e.shtml