Keynote Speaker

Dr. Helen Barrett, a world renown expert in electronic portfolio, is invited to be the keynote speaker of the Capstone Seminar.

Bio

Dr. Helen Barrett recently retired from the faculty of the College of Education at the University of Alaska Anchorage and is living in the Seattle area. She has been researching strategies and technologies for electronic portfolios since 1991, publishing a website (http://electronicportfolios.org), an Apple Learning Interchange exhibit (http://ali.apple.com/ali_sites/ali/exhibits/1000156/), chapters in several books on Electronic Portfolios, and numerous articles. She was on loan to the International Society for Technology in Education between 2001 and early 2005, working as the Assessment Coordinator for ISTE's National Educational Technology Standards and providing training and technical assistance on electronic portfolios for teacher education programs throughout the U.S.under a federal PT3 grant. In 2005, Dr. Barrett became the Research Project Director for The REFLECT Initiative, an international research project, underwritten by TaskStream, to assess the impact of electronic portfolios on student learning, motivation and engagement in secondary schools. She is currently working on several book projects on electronic portfolios. She is also an Apple Distinguished Educator and a George Lucas Educational Foundation Faculty Associate.


Speech Title: Digital Storytelling for Reflection and Deep Learning in ePortfolios

Abstract
The ancient art of storytelling can be a powerful tool for deep learning and reflection; add today's multimedia technology and you have a highly motivating project-based learning activity as well as a powerful artifact in an electronic portfolio. This presentation will focus on the role of reflection in electronic portfolios and tools for scaffolding reflection: blogging and digital storytelling. After a brief overview of the literature on reflection and learning (Schon, Dewey, Moon), some new perspectives will be shared on storytelling as reflection on experience to improve learning (McDrury & Alterio), and on the role of reflection in brain-based learning (Zull). This presentation will provide some of the pedagogical and theoretical justification for integrating digital storytelling into the curriculum.