Who owns the ePortfolio?

I love this idea of ownership. It’s empowering when something uniquely belongs to you. However, sometimes the wide-open space creates a sort of paralyzing effect requiring some form of structure.

I remember an analogy my early childhood professor, Dr. Burrow, used to describe the importance of structure. She said that there was a wide open space for children to play, but instead of using the entire space, they just stayed in the same area, all grouped together. When a fence was placed along the perimeter of the same space, the children felt more free to explore every inch of that space, and used more of that space independently. Without the structure of the fence in place, the children did not go beyond the space they felt comfortable in. Once the structure of the fence was visible, the space was defined. Only then did they feel safe and confident to fully explore the open space. (This is very roughly paraphrased, but I hope illustrates the point!)

Every learner needs a safe place to take the risks that learning requires. The ePortfolio has the potential to be that place and space for learning-where there is just enough structure for people to feel free and safe to explore every crevice or inch of an idea, thought, plan, reading, video, webinar, discussion, etc. without the strict confines of an essay, worksheet, assignment, etc.

Who owns the learning? Other than being the title of one of my favorite books by Alan November, STUDENTS need to "own" the learning. Meaning, they are the ones that need to do the heavy cognitive lifting, the productive struggle, the figuring out... with teachers facilitating that journey in an environment that allows for all to take risks and be vulnerable in the beautiful chaos called "learning".