Not Just Flashy!! Shane Sutherland ePortfolio Project Director University of Wolverhampton

The Project in brief The Issues PDP in place in different forms across the institution Looking for an efficient and effective way of supporting PDP for all Identified the surge in interest in ePDP and ePortfolio No obvious fit – so let’s go bespoke Developed as University and Spinner joint venture. 23,000 students, 10 Schools, 200 subjects, 4 campuses, overseas provision, diverse population… Accessibility, interoperability, usability, transferability Ownership? Students ~ Institution ~ IT services ~ Careers ~ Student Support ~ Academic tutors ~ CeLT Time in terms of planning, building and testing; evolutionary state of eportfolios Most ePortfolio systems are designed for specific groups of students, undertaking specific courses, at particular types and are expressly concerned with students addressing a pre-described or pre-determined organisation of competencies. Our extensive experience of working with Virtual Learning Environments led us to believe that the administrative burden involved in such an approach was not sustainable and that any approach which added to the existing teacher burden would serve only to detract from the personal tutoring element of an ePortfolio designed to support (and celebrate) the twin processes of learning and of learning about learning. When starting work on a personal development system for our students our research identified the surge of interest in electronic portfolios and we believed that it was possible to develop a system which was uniquely user-centric and which allowed users to record, reflect, review, discuss and share their thoughts, feelings, achievements and plans related to any aspect of their learning: formal or informal; structured or serendipitous; institutional or community. It doesn't matter how technically clever a system is, if it is dull, uninspiring or just difficult to use then users won't be motivated to engage or to maintain engagement once any compunction is removed. This notion has underpinned the design approach to the project and led to us using Flash for the user interface - though this has not been without its critics. The critics tend to be much more comfortable with standard web pages; they're familiar with those. But the users? They love it. Importantly the design is not just concerned with form, it's also incredibly functional. The design lends itself to use from a PDA or smart phone and users will be able to add new entries to a desktop version which will synchronise when they are next online.

What is an ePortfolio? …a collection of authentic and diverse evidence, drawn from a larger archive, that represents what a person or organisation has learned over time, on which that person or organisation has reflected, designed for presentation to one or more audiences for a particular rhetorical purpose NLII A systematic and organized collection of evidence used by the teacher and the student to monitor the growth of the student's knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Cole et al, 2000 What is produced when persons collect, select, reflectively interpret, and/or present their own evidence to support their assertions about what they have learned, know, and can or should do. Cambridge, 2003 These definitions were used to indicate how many people relate eportfolios to a simple product – a digital impression of the portfolio’s creator. I recognise that these quotes have been used selectively and that further thought lies behind their purpose. The NLII material is drawn from the Educause/NLII website http://www.educause.edu/nlii/ where there is a range of ePortfolio related material. Try this link first http://www.educause.edu/E%2DPortfolios/948

What is an ePortfolio NOT? …a haphazard collection of artifacts (i.e. a scrapbook) but rather a reflective tool which demonstrates growth over time Barrett, 2000 Paper and e-portfolios are inherently limiting Love et al, 2004 Webfolios are static Web sites where functionality derives from HTML links. ePortfolio therefore, now refers to database-driven, dynamic web sites, not static, HTML-driven sites. Batson, 2002 An ePortfolio is a personal digital collection of information describing and illustrating a person’s learning, career, experience and achievements. ePortfolios are privately owned and the owner has complete control over who has access to what and when. the digital portfolio… is even more interesting for its contribution to the learning process EIfEL, 2005 This slide was used to illuminate not only the plethora of types of eportfolio systems and definitions but also that the language itself is challenging. It is telling that we are investing significant effort into developing common technical/interoperable standards when we might gain far more from a common language – semantic interoperability!

a portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that tells the story of a student's personal self and a student's achievement or growth characterized by strong vision of content, skills and processes addressed, built on student selection of work going in and referenced to criteria. Portfolios may demonstrate a wide range of student work. Students control the selection of portfolio content and material. Unlike standardized tests portfolios are direct indicators of a student's learning experiences. Portfolios allow teachers and parents to share real display of a student's performance without interpretation of test scores. Portfolios provide a natural medium for teacher-pupil discussions and the customization of individual learning experiences and goals. Comprehensive portfolios, maintained over a period of time, can exhibit comparisons of student work and illustrations of growth. Portfolios can grow and carry into the learners work life beyond the school environment. An increasingly self-reliant work force is evolving at an ever increasing pace. Today's technology allows electronic portfolios to be one career tool for life long learners in today's workplace. Bergman This quote came from Bergman at Mt Edgecombe High School - http://www.mehs.educ.state.ak.us/portfolios/definition.html I used it to springboard my discussion into how eportfolios are discussed in the context of life long learning but are often limited to collecting forms of evidence to prove a particular set of competencies for a very particular purpose.

Shane’s definition A system which allows users, in any of their learning identities, to selectively record any abilities, events, plans or thoughts that are personally significant; it allows these records to be linked, augmented or evidenced by other data sources and allows the user to integrate institutional data with their personal data. It facilitates self-awareness, promotes reflection, supports enrichment through commentary and feedback from the recipients of shared assets. It grows, develops and matures as the user accesses it, without constraint, over time. It provides tools for aggregating assets in multiple forms; for telling myriad stories to diverse audiences and ensures absolute user-control over what is shared, with whom, for what purpose and for how long. It is a personal repository; a personal journal; a feedback and collaboration system; and a digital theatre - where the audience is by invitation only. Not sure if this is quote worthy but if it is then it’s Sutherland, 2004

Asset Create Edit Review Ability Achievement Shared Action Plan Comment Shared Create Action Plan Copy Published Collaborate Experience Asset Edit Printed Meeting Linked together Thought Review WebLog WebFolio Scans Pictures Files Movies Sounds Files can be added to the system in support of any input type or can be independently added to the eportfolio repository. Files may be owned by the user or may be ‘pulled’ or ‘pushed’ by an external system e.g. the student information management system. One of the system outputs is the WebFolio which is created through an intuitive wizard and which offers the user a wide choice of templates, colour schemes and image options. The wizard allows the user to choose any number of pages which are named according to the user’s preference. Multiple WebFolios can be created and can be shared, commented and reviewed in the same way as the individual assets. As well as being able to share an Output to a person, the user is able to publish an Output to a place – called a Gateway. Gateways are created by a teacher and allow them to manage the WebFolios of a defined group. Where a gateway is defined by the teacher as an assessment gateway it is possible to restrict the dates between which users can either publish to, or view work on, the gateway. At the close date all of the assessment WebFolios are locked and archived to preserve the validity of the assessment. Individual users will also be able to create their own gateways and invite others to publish to them. Gateways themselves can be protected by passwords and a range of permissions applied. ePortfolio Asset Store Transcript Transcript (pushed or pulled) to add authenticity © Sutherland, 2004

Growing Asset Store Placement CV Action Plan Placement Experience Reflections Report Reflections Module 1 Feedback Abilities Audit Module 1 Officer SU Initial Diagnostic Assessment Presentation Module 4 Personal Stuff Work Experience My Thoughts Careers Meeting My Thoughts Transferred From College Careers Action Plan Personal Tutor Meeting Feedback Module 5 Growing Asset Store

ILP WebFolio Module WebFolio Progression WebFolio Career WebFolio