ePortfolios for PDP An overview of student and staff perceptions across subject areas Federica Oradini and Gunter Saunders Online Learning Development

Background Blackboard been used for 5 years 13 study skills type modules across UG levels ~2000 students and 25 staff involved All experiencing ePortfolios for the first time All portfolios were assessed

Year 3 SABE Student

PDP and ePortfolio Traditional Portfolio processes include: Collecting Selecting Reflecting Celebrating Bb portfolio’s advantages Shared = show others Comment = peer review, tutor’s feedback Portable= take it away end of course Website format = can be updated Adding tech. allows enhancement through: Archiving Linking Storytelling Collaborating Publishing

ePortfolios across subjects Module nameYearPercentage of Module Mark Submission Method N. Students (2098) N. Tutors Work Placement in a Legal Setting 2100% Assignment function 642 Studying In Higher Education 150% Assignment function 3459 Perspectives of Computer Science 140%Sharing2568 Developing Your Professional Future 2100%CD1965 Employability and Work Placement 2100%CD + Paper172 Cross-Cultural Work Placement 3100%CD + Paper172 The ICT Practitioner 140% Assignment function 1222 Introduction to the Built Environment 150%CD1235 Research Methods 230%CD222 Research Methods 230%CD402 Personal Development 3100%CD722 Interpersonal Skills for Business 115%Sharing41311 Interpersonal Skills for Business 115%Sharing41111

Common content WelcomeWelcome statement Short paragraph – learning points About MePersonal introduction, career aspiration Self AssessLearning Style assessment, skills matrix, swot and swain Career Management Skills Develop self-awareness in the context of career decision making Educational and Career Goals Reflection on education goals Action PlanBased on self-assessment, reflection and action points EvidenceSelected pieces of coursework to demonstrate competencies CVElectronic version of CV Contact Me info

Supporting the students Lecture Workshop 1 (face to face 1hr, 20 students per lab) Workshop 2 (face to face 1hr, 20 students per lab) Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Workshop 4 (face to face 1hr, 20 students per lab) Workshop 3 (face to face 1hr, 20 students per lab) Online support: screenshots + instructions Narrated video guides

The students From 7 subject areas Majority IT literate - 75% said were confident with prior skills Most work at home 63%, at university 37% Generally positive about their e-portfolio. Opportunity to think more/reflect Recognise/understand their achievements Plan for future career or understand job opportunities/career path better Determining strengths and weaknesses

Variation in views across years In Year 1 30% cited value with regard to employment compared to 60% in year 3

Students – the net generation? 66% used images 5% audio 5% video Reasons for not using multimedia: Lack of confidence in the value of using multimedia for assessment Lack of IT skills Prior learning experiences How do you prefer expressing/recording ideas or thoughts % preferred Text72 Drawings/graphs/tables20 Audio1 Video7

Students – one size fits all? Do you prefer expressing yourself in electronic format? 60% computing students 36% social science Should ePortfolio be used more widely? 70% computing students 26% social science Clearly not ! ePortfolio assessment must suit the students tasks and skills to be developed

Year 1, Social Science student Hard to create an ePortfolio? Benefits? PDP useful? Overall thoughts

ePortfolio examples in BB/Web

And….. ePortfolio narrated video, year 3 student

Tutors ePortfolios useful to the course? - 100% Yes Helps monitoring of progress Formative and summative feedback Easier submission for students Students found ePortfolio interesting and motivating The tutor can view and scroll work quickly Save paper work/handouts Reduced paper to carry Accessible from anywhere It provided templates to scaffold students progress Saved time when collecting work Develop students IT skills Enabled students to be more creative Helped identify struggling students for additional support

Assessment Submission On a CD 30% Assignments function 60% Shared in Blackboard 10% Feedback 40% via 10% through BB 10% handwritten on sheets 20% face to face 20% did not say 91% Marked on screen 9% on paper 40% found on screen was challenging, tiring and time consuming

Blog/Wiki Set up by the tutor Visible/accessible from day one Tutors comments on individual pages Easier to see Tutors can see modifications Student actions RSS subscription Monitor easily student updates No submission is required Tutor set deadlines ePortfolio Rely on students sharing their ePortfolio Comment area is separate, students can delete comments No alert mechanism Cannot monitor modification No alerts when the students modify the ePortfolio Cannot freeze an ePortfolio Can submit as zipped files Unzipping is not easy Very careful re-design is necessary Evidencing for ePortfolio is not as straightforward !!!

Overall conclusions Students need encouragement to take advantage of multimedia and its use must be valued and rewarded (e.g. gain marks) Must tailor activities and assessment to students and learning outcomes Flexibility allows students to take ownership 1 size does not easily fit al Some staff and students need a lot of support Both staff and students need more time to understand/appreciate all of the potential benefit Technical failures can mean pedagogic disasters