Derek Tay’s name comes with many titles – online curriculum designer, course manager and online content specialist, all of which confirm he is the technology wizard behind CFAME’s on-line delivery system. His ability to introduce and explain complex high-tech systems to others is recognised and appreciated by students and professors.
Technology has transformed CFAME’s delivery system. Many will recall sending in assignments via fax, courier and email. Now MBA students have the advantage of virtual classrooms, discussions, course dropboxes and progress reports via Brightspace. The latest innovations: profile enhancements and ePortfolio.
Derek explains how students use Brightspace to customize and share their information.
Like most online “communities” these days, Brightspace has a profile section where each community member (students in the case of Brightspace) are able to customize their personal information that is displayed to the other community members. This can easily be done by simply clicking their name in the right corner of the site and choosing profile. There are several items that can be changed and edited at the discretion of the learner.
There is also a location on Brightspace called ePortfolio. This is a bit more complicated than the Learner Profile. Here students can add details from specific classes to save for other classes. Additionally, they can share items from their ePortfolio with other members of the community not unlike one would share items from their Facebook page. The goal of this portion of Brightspace is to help foster Communities of Learners.
Based on current research, one of the main ways to improve student learning is to ensure that students feel that they are part of a community. ePortfolio strives to make that happen by providing another way for students to connect that is not entirely course related. The other advantage of ePortfolio is that it is cumulative over the student’s life at the university, which means items that are placed in it at the beginning of a program remain until they finish the program. This allows students to go back to critical items from previous classes and easily access them.
On a personal note, I enjoy helping students learn and explore new technology. I genuinely hope that my efforts make the student experience better and technology easy.