Guest speakers

Dr. Helen Barrett has been researching strategies and technologies for implementation of electronic portfolios since 1991. She has maintained an internationally-recognized website http://electronicportfolios.org, contributed chapters in several books on Electronic Portfolios, and numerous articles. A former Staff Development Coordinator for the Fairbanks, Alaska School District, she was a pioneer in Alaska on the early implementation of technology in education. She was on loan to the International Society for Technology in Education between 2001 and 2005, providing training and technical assistance on electronic portfolios for teacher education programs throughout the U.S. At the European ePortfolio Conference in Maastricht, October 2007, Dr. Barrett received the first EIFEL Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to ePortfolio research and development. Dr. Barrett is currently doing research for a book on Interactive ePortfolios to be published online.Presentation: Know Thyself: ePortfolios and Reflective Stories of Deep Learning

 

 

Presentation will focus on integrating the themes of ePortfolios, digital skills and lifelong learning, also covering identity development, metacognition and reflection.

 

Yves Punie is senior scientist and Deputy Head of Human Capital and Employment Unit at the European Commission Joint Research Centre in Seville. Since 2005 he is leading research and policy activities on “ICT for Learning and Skills” with the aim to provide evidence-based policy support to the European Commission on harnessing the potential of digital technologies in innovation of education and training practices, improve access to lifelong learning and to deal with the rise of new (digital) skills and competences. More than 20 major studies have been undertaken on these issues with more than 100 different publications. Before joining the IPTS in 2001, Yves Punie was interim Assistant Professor at the Free University of Brussels (VUB). He holds a Ph.D. in Social Sciences.

Deirdre Butler, a professor in DCU’s Institute of Education is internationally known as a leading scholar and creative practitioner of methods supporting teachers’ professional development and students’ learning.

 

Deirdre has extensive experience in developing sustainable, scalable models of teacher professional learning, and has managed projects and school based initiatives which focus on creative uses of digital technologies.

Deirdre’s passion in life is exploring what being digital in learning can mean and how we can meaningfully use the extensive range of digital tools available in the 21st century. As a recognised thought leader in the area of new pedagogies, she advises ministries of education around the globe on redesigning education systems for the challenges that face the world now and in the future.

 

A universal challenge for educators is how to describe the transversal skills, design learning experiences that will help develop these skills, and demonstrate the development of these skills based on evidence. Digital technologies can empower learners to demonstrate their developmental progression of transversal skills, which enables educators to capture evidence of significant learning moments. This evidence iteratively informs the learning design cycle over an extended period of time, while also documenting the development of transversal skills.