About 18 months ago while working on a project at York University, I met by accident an extraordinary person, Karina Sumner Smith
When I say by accident - I was meant to meet someone else but Karina was filling in. We talked and I felt that I had bumped into a very special person. She is remarkably present, a keen blogger and a published Sci Fi Writer. I had such a strong reaction, I decided to check out whether I was dreaming and asked her College President about her. As far as the President was concerned Karina walked on water. Mature, literate, hard working, prescient and modest were words that I heard.
The idea of ePortfolios was just coming on the table then and I suggested to the powers that be that Karina, being a new grad and very blog literate might be a good candidate for exploring this. They all met and agreed and Karina started quite a journey. Within 6 months she had become a a major contributor to the global debate on ePortfolios. Her site at York became a must read destination for all of us thinking about the future of university education.
But a few months ago, I sensed a strain. I could tell that there were powerful forces that wished an ePortfolio to reflect the credential status quo, a kind of folder where you parked your papers and marks, versus the idea that an ePortfolio could be a reflection of the student's learning and personality. I was not therefore surprised to read a month ago that York had decided to end the project.
Since this public withdrawal an interesting process has begun. With the ePortfolio off the table, interest in it is now emerging. so long as it was a corporate project, it was blocked. Now the corporate support has been withdrawn, there is a bubbling up for maybe a more appropriate approach.
