Questions for Focus Group of High School Students

Developed by Dr. Helen Barrett for TaskStream, 2005-2006

Name ________________________ Location _________ Date____________

These are the general research questions that I want to answer:

- Under what conditions can e-portfolios be successfully used to demonstrate assessment for learning and assessment of learning?

- Under what conditions do students take ownership of their learning and work?

- What are the benefits of developing e-portfolios as perceived by students

- What are perceived obstacles to implementing e-portfolios with secondary school students and how can they be overcome?

Let’s talk for a few minutes about your participation with the TaskStream program and the EP purposes and procedures
1.    What year are you in school?  
2.    Can anyone tell me what a portfolio is?
3.    You have been using TaskStream since last year. Can anyone describe what you have been doing with TaskStream?
4.    Can anyone tell me what an electronic portfolio is? What do you put into your electronic portfolio?
5.    What were the [required and optional self-selected] items that you included in your EP? (Has this changed over time?)
6.    What methods did you use to get your artifacts into the computer? (scanned, uploaded)? Was this process straightforward?
7.    When you began, what did you see as the main purposes of the EP? Did that change for you? (N2, N1)
8.    Did you receive feedback about your work in TaskStream? From your teachers? From your fellow students? Was it helpful? How did it help your learning?
9.    What, if anything, did you learn from that process?  What did you think you were supposed to learn?
10.    Have you ever done a paper portfolio? Do you think using TaskStream was the same, less, or more work than doing a paper portfolio?

Now let’s talk about some of the technology issues.
11.    How do you store and use artifacts from classes you’ve taken in the past?  [prompt:  computer files, papers, data, research, etc.]
12.    Do/Did you have sufficient access to computers and other technologies to complete your portfolios in a timely manner?
13.    What is the level of support available to you for EP use? What support would be helpful to you? To other students?
14.    In what ways did your teachers support your portfolio development?
15.    How well prepared do/did you feel to complete the EP? How well prepared are/were the other students?
16.    What problems came up when using Taskstream? How did you get support for its use?  
17.    Did you or your fellow students have problems in putting together the EPs? Has this changed over time?
18.    What technical issues did you have in creating your work?  
19.    Did you develop any new skills as a result of portfolio preparation?
20.    Where did you gain the skills you needed to complete an ePortfolio?
21.    In what other ways did your teachers use TaskStream  How was it integrated into your courses?  What did you gain from using it?  Did you collaborate with your classmates more regularly?  Review their work more regularly than in other courses?  Other benefits?
22.    Do you use any other Internet websites to publish information about yourself? MySpace? Others?
23.    How does TS compare?
24.    What do you see as the benefits of having a portfolio?
25.    What are the advantages or benefits resulting from putting together an EP?
a.    Follow up –How has the EP allowed you to see the big picture of your learning, connecting courses and experiences?
26.    What are the disadvantages or concerns resulting from putting together your EP?
a.    (Follow-up -How much time did it take for you to complete the EP?
b.    Are the portfolio tasks, requirements and evaluation clear?
27.    What was the role of reflection in the EP process? Within each class? For benchmarks? And now has that changed?
28.    How do you think reflection helps you to learn?
29.    Tell me about “reflection” in your program.  Do teachers ask you to reflect on your learning?, How? What role, if any, did formal reflection play in your portfolio development?
30.    Do you want to continue using the TaskStream portfolio system?
31.    Do you plan to use a portfolio after you graduate? Add to it?
32.    As you look back on the EP experience so far, has it been worth your investment of time and effort?
33.    What advice would you have for students who were just beginning the EP program?
34.    Anything else that you’d like to add?