Using COVA+CSLE to Empower Learners to Make Connections

Rhondda. (2013). Learning [Photograph]. Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC 2.0).

As we move through the DLL program, we have been introduced to concepts such as COVA (Choice, Ownership, and Voice through Authentic learning), and CSLE (Creating Significant Learning Environments). (Harapnuik, Thibodeaux, & Cummings, 2018). These concepts build on the research and work of constructivist theorists, and focus on the importance of learners taking responsibility for their own learning (ownership). When learners are given opportunity to choose how they are going to learn, they have a greater tendency to feel a sense of ownership for their own learning, and make the needed connection. Learning becomes relevant and meaningful.

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Why Do Learners Need ePortfolios?

Forsythe, G. (2011). e-Portfolio. Licensed under Creative Commons (CC 1.0, Public Domain).

What  Is an ePortfolio, And Why Does It Matter?

ePortfolios are, at the most basic level, an electronic repository… a collection of evidence of student learning (Harapnuik, 2015). They are a place where learners can store their work. But they can be so much more than just a longitudinal repository of learner work. According to her article, “The ePortfolio as an educational resource and its impact on job search,” (Ciesielkiewicz, 2015), Monika Ciesielkiewicz identifies the following purposes for developing and maintaining ePortfolios:

Where Did All The Questions Go?

Macrovector/Freepik. (n.d.) Question Mark Made of Mobile Travel Application Icons.

Last Spring, I had an interesting experience with a part-time faculty member and a student in an online class. The student found her way to my office to ask for technical help with her class. The instructor had told the learners they had until Sunday to post to the discussion board in the learning management system, and to respond to peers.

Engaging Learners in the Digital Age

Bleimling, Cédric. (2017). FabLab, SXSW 2017.

Today’s learners are different than learners of the past. Many have grown up with computers at their fingertips; Internet access in their homes and schools. Smart phones and other connected hand-held devices are readily available to very young children. They become a tool for play, for work, for research. And they provide immediate access to the virtual world. Today’s learners crave educational opportunities that move at the pace their minds move.