Gender and ePortfolio practice - presentation delivered at the ePIC Conference 2012, London, 10th July 2012

1. Gender
Differences
in ePortfolio
Practice
Prof. Dr. Ilona Buchem
Digital Media Studies
Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin, Germany
ePIC Conference 2012, London (UK), 10th July 2012

2. About
Mentoring programs
for female students
>>> ePortfolio?
21% female professors
29% female students

3. Agenda
• Gender and ICT
• Gender and media practice styles
• Context and method of study
• Three case studies
• Conclusions

4. Gender &
the Internet
some facts and figures ...

5. Gender gap before 2000
occupational differences
use at home/work
http://www.frbatlanta.org/filelegacydocs/wp0210.pdf

6. Towards gender balance 2011
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-11-066/EN/KS-SF-11-066-EN.PDF

7. Gender
& Social Media
some facts and figures ...

8. http://www.iab.net/media/file/womenontheweb.pdf

9. http://www.iab.net/media/file/womenontheweb.pdf

10. Women prefer Social Networking
http://www.iab.net/media/file/womenontheweb.pdf

11. No matter what region,
women spend more time on Social Media
http://www.iab.net/media/file/womenontheweb.pdf

12. ? Gender balance or gender gap?

13. http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/chicks-rule/

14. http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/chicks-rule/

15. ? Why do men and women
participate differently?

16. Women and men have different
motivations and interests

17. female motives:
social interaction
passing time
entertainment
companionship
communication
http://www.uvvg.ro/revad/files/nr7/10.%20sharifah.pdf

18. April 2012
Cohen (2011) reported
the dominance of male http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia_editors_are_predominantly_male.png
editors in Wikipedia
with 87% male editors,
based on the 2009 Male and female focus on different
Wikimedia Foundation topics, “female” topics (art, people,
survey of the English
Wikipedia. health) coverage is inferior to “male”
topics. Females are more likely to be
blocked by admins.

19. www.hansardsociety.org.uk

20. Men dominate political participation
on Social Media
http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/blogs/press_releases/archive/2011/07/07/why-are-political-blogs-dominated-by-men.aspx

21. Men write blog posts or comment on blogs,
women sign online petitions -
do women avoid conflicts and public exposure?
http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/blogs/press_releases/archive/2011/07/07/why-are-political-blogs-dominated-by-men.aspx

22. http://shesconnectedmultimedia.com/pdf/report.pdf

23. ? Are there gender-specific
digital media practices?

24. Gender and Media Practice
Six styles of digital media practice (Buchem, 2012):
• Intensive - Extensive
• Apprehensive - Expository
• Expressive - Instrumental
http://thetangential.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Woman-Blogger.jpg

25. intensive - extensive practice
• Intensive: valuing deeper, • Extensive: valuing broader,
vertical experience horizontal experience
• Communicating with a close • Communicating with a broader
circle of friends and family range of persons
• Looking for information on a • Looking for information on a
narrower list of interest topics wider variety of topics
• Participating in smaller number of • Participate in a greater number of
activities related to key interests online activities

26. apprehensive - expository practice
• Apprehensive: valuing • Expository: valuing
privacy, restricted access exposure and publicity
• Preference for a protected • Preference for an open
environment environment
• Concerns about security, data • Preference for blogging (e.g.
misuse and online risks politics) and video sharing
• Reflect more on ethical issues • Tendency to edit, remix and
such as piracy, copyright mash-up

27. expressive - instrumental practice
• Expressive: valuing self- • Instrumental: valuing
expression and self- problem-solving and
reflection decision-making
• Engaging in reciprocal • Engaging in posting and reading
communication information (e.g. Twitter)
• Strengthening interpersonal • Asking for advice to solve
relationships problems (e.g. forums)
• Self-expression through design • Self-expression through multimedia

28. Gender & ePortfolio Practice
Six risks of ePortfolio practice (Reinmann, 2011):
• Over-complying
• Over-reflecting
• Over-acting
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/%24(KGrHqUOKi0E3G%2BDF3EfBN75Khp(t!~~_35.JPG

29. Over-complying & ePortfolio
• Strong compliance with external
specifications
• Taking a “strategic approach”, i.e.
adhering to pre-defined guidelines
and requirements, but neglecting
personal criteria and judgments
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/%24(KGrHqUOKi0E3G%2BDF3EfBN75Khp(t!~~_35.JPG

30. Over-reflecting & ePortfolio
• Exaggerated self-reflection and
self-analysis
• Examining oneself or own
situation in-depth, and at the
same time neglecting the
reflection of the subject-matter
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/%24(KGrHqUOKi0E3G%2BDF3EfBN75Khp(t!~~_35.JPG

31. Over-acting & ePortfolio
• Excessive hoarding of
ePortfolio artifacts
• Collecting larger numbers of
artifacts as evidence of own
expertise, but failing to
meaningfully relate artifacts to
learning goals
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/%24(KGrHqUOKi0E3G%2BDF3EfBN75Khp(t!~~_35.JPG

32. Context
• Research-based learning in
peer-groups
• ePortfolios to document
the research process and
outcomes
• ePortfolios created in
Mahara

33. Method of the Study
In-depth interviews Case study narratives Interpretative analysis
+ +

34. 8 research categories
ePortfolio
ePortfolio
experience
media use
ePortfolio ePortfolio
value specs
ePortfolio ePortfolio
privacy artifacts
ePortfolio ePortfolio
communic. reflections

35. ePortfolio experience
ePortfolio
ePortfolio
experience
no prior experience with media use
ePortfolio
little experience with ePortfolio ePortfolio
digital media value specs
self-perception as
technically skilled
ePortfolio ePortfolio
privacy artifacts
need support to
overcome initial ePortfolio ePortfolio
technology hurdles communic. reflections

36. ePortfolio media use
ePortfolio
ePortfolio
experience
strong focus on the media use
design of ePortfolio
focus more on content ePortfolio ePortfolio
inquiry than functions value specs
used different media,
mostly text and photos
ePortfolio ePortfolio
privacy artifacts
value design and
content inquiry ePortfolio ePortfolio
communic. reflections

37. ePortfolio specifications
wanted to comply with ePortfolio
ePortfolio
specifications for grades experience
media use
complied with specifications
for orientation
ePortfolio ePortfolio
value specs
needed specifications as
guidance
appreciated freedom to
design ePortfolios ePortfolio ePortfolio
privacy artifacts
ePortfolio ePortfolio
value specifications communic. reflections
and tend to over-
comply

38. ePortfolio artifacts
did not collect many ePortfolio
ePortfolio
artifacts experience
media use
selected artifacts to match
topics
ePortfolio ePortfolio
value specs
decided about ePortfolio
artifacts choice as group
ePortfolio ePortfolio
privacy artifacts
may need support in
choosing artifacts
ePortfolio ePortfolio
communic. reflections

39. ePortfolio reflections
liked to reflect on own ePortfolio
ePortfolio
learning goals experience
media use
took time in-between for
own reflections
ePortfolio ePortfolio
value specs
appreciated reflection at
the end of the course
ePortfolio ePortfolio
privacy artifacts
value reflection but
do not over-reflect
ePortfolio ePortfolio
communic. reflections

40. ePortfolio communication
thought communication ePortfolio
ePortfolio
was very important experience
media use
wished there was more
communication
ePortfolio ePortfolio
value specs
wished students supported
each other more
appreciated feedback from
peer and instructor ePortfolio ePortfolio
privacy artifacts
ePortfolio ePortfolio
value communication communic. reflections
and peer-feedback

41. ePortfolio privacy
enjoyed putting Mahara ePortfolio
ePortfolio
views online experience
media use
did not want to disclose
private information
ePortfolio ePortfolio
value specs
considered public profiles
as way of shaping identity
ePortfolio ePortfolio
privacy artifacts
value privacy but
create professional
identities
ePortfolio ePortfolio
communic. reflections

42. ePortfolio privacy
valued ePortfolio for ePortfolio
ePortfolio
creating online identity experience
media use
valued ePortfolio as
assessment method
ePortfolio ePortfolio
value specs
could present their skills
better in ePortfolio
experienced less stress at
the end of semester ePortfolio ePortfolio
privacy artifacts
ePortfolio ePortfolio
value and enjoy communic. reflections
working with
ePortfolio

43. Designing ePortfolios
Female students may ...
• have less experience in using digital media
• need additional technical support at the initial stage
• need additional design features and communication opportunities
• need more methodological guidance and feedback in the process
• need additional support in creating professional identities

44. Thank you!