Introducing & developing the use of e-portfolio Barbara Plimsaul Employer Engagement Manager

Introduction – why e-portfolio? College purchased Blackboard (VLE) several years ago – WBL use it for delivering some learning + as a resource library but limited for NVQ assessment Awarding Bodies encouraging centres to offer e-portfolio route College developed a strategic ICT plan Reviewed WBL + produced ICT plan

E-portfolio selection process We needed to : identify key people who we required ‘buy-in’ from look at benefits & possible issues of introducing e-portfolio to justify expenditure & need agree criteria for selection review existing technology /equipment arrange demonstrations compare and select

Identify key people who we needed ‘buy-in’ from It is essential to have the key people on board to support the introduction of any change & help with implementation: Assessors & IV IT department Course co-ordinators Key managers

Benefits of the e-portfolio & possible issues A report had to be produced to justify the expenditure & key benefits: Learner achievement & retention rates Savings against traditional methods Flexibility Quality Ease of use or not Cost of set up – equipment, training and running

Agree criteria for selection Awarding bodies recognised the e-portfolio Cost – initial outlay and subsequent cost of licences etc Savings – benefits of e-portfolio Presentation – what the portfolio looked like and how easy was it to use Flexibility in the programme – be able to adapt or add to History – case studies from satisfied customers

Demonstrations We selected 3 packages to review – this was through being suggested them, seeing them at events & research: Forward plus - eNVQ - Learning Assistant But there are many more that are available now

Compare and select All were very similar in what they could offer but there were differences that we had to weigh up in how important they were to us: How many of the awarding bodies recognised/endorsed it At what stage of development was the system What the e-portfolio looked like What the company would offer cost/support

Benefits of e-portfolio Learners complete 30-60% faster – dependent on occupation area Savings – cost of assessor & IV travel time, paperwork, reprographics Flexibility of when to work on the portfolio – IV can look at it & not hold up candidates progress or be under pressure No more bulky folders or lost evidence Increased motivation and quicker completion, reduce drop out rates Transparency at all stages Audit trail through communications

Challenges As always it is never plan sailing, there will always be challenges: Operational issues - speed of opening the evidence, especially photos, scanning documents, file size Change way of working – positive & negative Find out system cannot always do exactly what you can with paper, but then can do more Constant review of technology

Development – e-portfolio Learning Assistant has responded to our requests and made improvements without loosing the simplicity of the system Evidence wizard – speed of referencing IV tracking for part sampling Ability to annotate on a piece of evidence Messaging

College development Staff have laptops with internet connection – looking at upgrade Updated digital recorders – could compress size of file Looking at purchasing work books/ pads for those students who do not have easy access at work – support SME’s Continuing looking at relevant staff training to roll it out, support & encourage Venture into new occupational areas Make more use of reports

Demonstration of Learning Assistant

QUESTIONS? Over to you, but do not ask too many technical questions!!!! Contact details –