another free eportoflio event in Bristol January 21st 2010
kev.brace
Hi All-
Hope you've all enjoyed/are enjoying the Festivities!
Could you please forward the e-mail below and the attachments to your
lists - I'm running a FREE e-Portfolio in the Professions Conference
early in the New Year and would like to open this up to the national
community.
Cheers, Dan
Higher Education Support Coordinator,
JISC Regional Support Centre South West, Babbage 316, University of
Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth,
PL4 8AA
Tel: (07834) 678160
(01752) 587030
E-Portfolios and Education for the Professions
A conference organized by Bournemouth University and the
JISC Regional Support Centre South West
January 21st 2010
Venue: @Bristol
http://www.at-bristol.org.uk/ourspaces.html
Time: 09.30-16.00
A growing number of professional organisations are introducing e-
portfolios to enable their members to record and reflect on continuing
professional development activities.
What implication does this have for further and higher education
institutions who are preparing students for these professions through
their pre- and post qualifying education programmes?
How are the professional bodies’ e-portfolio designs and technologies
influencing those used by the education providers? How are education
providers influencing the professional bodies’ use of e-portfolios?
This conference, organised by Bournemouth University and the JISC
Regional Support Centre South West, provides a forum to explore these
issues in a range of professional education contexts.
The main speakers, who will provide contrasting experiences of two
different professional areas, are:
Dr Cheri Logan, Director of Evolve, Centre for E-learning Research
and Development, University of Cumbria
Tricia Ellis, Head of Knowledge Management and E-learning, NHS South
West
Who should attend?
Curriculum managers, E-Learning and e-portfolio managers, placement
support officers, careers guidance professionals, learning development
support staff, academic and professional staff responsible for
implementing PDP and e-portfolios.
First call for presentations
Proposals are invited for presentations that illustrate how e-
portfolio and PDP initiatives in institutes of further or high
education are being influenced by the approach to e-portfolios adopted
by professional bodies. A wide range of perspectives is welcomed,
including those about design, content, approach or interoperability.
For a copy of the Abstract Proposal Form, please e-mail:
danmcc...@rsc-south-west.ac.uk
Registration
A full programme will be made available shortly, but in the meantime
if you would like to book online you can do so at the RSC website:
http://www.rsc-south-west.ac.uk/index.php?p=14
There is no charge for this conference.
Programme :
Time Activity Presenters
9.30 Registration/Refreshments
10.00 Keynote 1
Keynote Presenter profile
Dr Cheri Logan, Director of Evolve, Centre for E-learning Research and
Development, University of Cumbria
Dr Cheri Logan has led several national research projects in e-
Learning for Art, Design and Media subject areas. She is Deputy Head
of the Centre for the Development of Learning and Teaching at the
University of Cumbria, where she leads a team responsible for ensuring
high quality educational delivery through e-Learning.
Cheri's other research interests include situated learning and
knowledge, art and design pedagogies and practice-based knowledge. She
is a published author in these fields.
Keynote title
Portfolios and e-Portfolios: the creative challenge.
This presentation will consider the findings of a national research
project on the use of e-portfolios in art, design and media. Key
issues include: benefits and functions of e-portfolios; barriers and
opportunities for employer engagement; student and other stakeholder
perceptions; role of e-portfolios in bridging students into
employment.
10.40 Keynote 2
ePorfolios: What they are, Where they’ve been and Where they’re going-
a JISC Perspective
Lisa Gray, JISC Programme Manager, e-Learning
11.00
Refreshments
11.15 Session 1
Session Themes: Teacher education, Medical Imaging and Psychology
Exploring the potential for e-portfolio tools to support the
professional and personal development of trainee teachers: some tutor
and trainee perspectives
Dr Sue Martin, Senior Lecturer in Education, School of Education,
University of Bath
The Teacher e-portfolio for Northern Ireland: Issues and Challenges
Catherine Gormley, eLearning Adviser, JISC RSC Northern Ireland
PDP versus evidence of professional competence: an e-solution
Martin Leveridge, School of Health and Social Cre, University of
Teesside
eFolio: A combined effort
Dr Alex Furr, eLearning Systems Consultant, School of Psychology,
University of Southampton
12.45
Lunch
13.30 Keynote 2 Tricia Ellis, Head of Knowledge Management and E-
learning, NHS South West
Details to Follow
14.00 Session 2
Session Themes: Public Services & Social Work
E-portfolios supporting employee development in Public Services
Foundation Degrees: Evidence based research outcomes
Dr David Croot, Teaching Fellow and Senior Lecturer, University of
Plymouth
Ticket to ride: Engaging students in personal learning journeys-The
role of e portfolios
Alan Howe, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, University of
Gloucestershire
14.45
Refreshments
15.00
Session 3
Session Themes: Selection of e-portfolios and reflection on use
e-Portfolios at Yeovil College and the University Centre Yeovil
Geoff Rowland, Senior Lecturer and eLearning Developer, Yeovil College/
University Centre Yeovil
A Servant to Two Masters: managing CPD through an e-portfolio to meet
organisational and professional body requirements
Virginia Havergal, eLearning Adviser, JISC Regional Support Centre
South West
15.45 Closing Keynote James Bartlett, University of London
Details to Follow
16.15 Close
Session Abstracts:
Session 1 – Teacher Education, Medical Imaging and Psychology
Exploring the potential for e-portfolio tools to support the
professional and personal development of trainee teachers: some tutor
and trainee perspectives
This presentation reports on a project which is exploring the extent
to which e-portfolios facilitate and enhance the development of
trainee teachers. The project focuses on whether [and how] the
process of developing e-portfolios i] encourages and supports trainees
in learning how to teach and ii] provides the necessary evidence to
support judgements with respect to professional standards. Data
collection methods draw on trainees’ and tutors’ perspectives
including through on-line surveys for trainees and focus groups for
trainees and their tutors.
In this presentation we will explore some of the findings about the
extent to which e-portfolios can encourage and support trainees to
think reflectively about their professional development and whether e-
portfolios can provide a formative as well as a summative means of
assessment. That is, can the use of e-portfolios play a significant
role in developing trainees’ learning? An early finding is that it is
clear to tutors that the quality of trainees’ reflections have
improved and, notably, that these emerged significantly earlier in the
course than is usually the case. We will conclude with some of the
drivers and barriers for developing e-portfolios together with
recommendations for their future use in promoting the professional
learning of trainee teachers.
The Teacher e-portfolio for Northern Ireland: Issues and Challenges
"The Te-PNI is a career long, career wide e-portfolio for students,
teachers and teacher leaders" .
The Te-PNI project has been supporting teacher professional
development in Northern Ireland for over three years and seeks to
explore effective e-portfolio-based professional development for all
Northern Ireland's teachers in areas such as:
• Initial Teacher Education
• Induction EPD
• PRSD and Teacher Leadership.
The key aims of the project are:
To develop the concept of a career-long and career-wide developmental
e-portfolio;
To ensure that software systems used will meet users' different
appraisal needs at each career stage;
To ensure that the Te-P will enable and support Professional
Development Planning, by building upon the spine of the NI Teaching
Competences;
The presentation will outline the development of this project and
report some of the major professional and policy issues facing
professions as they seek to bring professional learning into the 21st
Century.
PDP versus evidence of professional competence: an e-solution
For students on Health and Social Work programmes in the School of
Health and Social Care at Teesside, ‘portfolio’ has two meanings: the
PDP element of the Progress File; and the collection of evidence of
professional competence. Naturally the latter takes precedence in
students’ minds, especially as, in my research for the School, PDP
appeared for students to duplicate many aspects of the professional
file. Following this research, I proposed a merger of the two
portfolios, using a notional ‘storage box’ from which elements could
be selected for different purposes. The design of a specific
electronic system, rather than using the various ‘off-the-shelf’
designs, was taken up by the School as a system for storing,
cataloguing and reproducing for various purposes evidence of
professional competence, reflections and other artefacts.
The e-portfolio system developed using existing School systems is
easily accessible. It is being piloted this year with first year
Medical Imaging students, and will be evaluated to inform the roll-out
across the School. To assist and encourage students in the use of
the e-portfolio system, each student has been given a wi-fi netbook.
This presentation will outline the factors involved in design and
implementation, with some illustrative material.
eFolio: A combined effort
The University of Southampton has a track record of delivering
innovative web applications such as an eAssignment system, an ePrints
repository for published research, an EdShare system for the sharing
of good practice for learning and teaching, and more recently, an
iSurvey system for the delivery of online web-based questionnaires.
Initial development of an ePortfolio, in which users are able to
demonstrate their academic and life-based skills, has however
presented a bigger challenge. Here we describe the development of
such a system which is capable of bringing together the existing web
applications, but is also capable of linking to traditional teaching
resources such as Blackboard, as well as University-wide services such
as career planning and cv feedback. This system is being trialed
within the School of Psychology and critically, has the advantage of
ensuring user engagement through being embedded within the
curriculum. The potential for such a system to be delivered across
subject disciplines, and moreover, for such a system to grow with the
student across their period of study and as an alumnus of the
University, underpin the eFolio as a tool which encourages evaluation,
demonstration, reflection, and career planning in a meaningful way.
Session 2-Public Services and Social Work
E-portfolios supporting employee development in Public Services
Foundation Degrees: evidence based research outcomes
Large public sector organisations such the police, fire service and
health care professions are strongly committed to workforce
development. This is manifested in a number of ways, but this paper
focuses on the context of employees who are seconded to undertake an
HE programme of study (a Foundation Degree) whilst continuing in their
mainstream work role. In this case study, the employees are seconded
to study at one of 19 colleges which form the University of Plymouth
Colleges Faculty. In all cases employees are engaged in formal CPD
processes in their working context.Three formal elements support the
individuals learning and progression: the employer, the HEI and, in
the cases we explore, a web-based e-portfolio hosted by the
Institution.Using a sample of individuals engaged in this learning, we
explore the successes and challenges of this mediated learning through
focus groups and individual interviews with stakeholders. Our research
shows that e-portfolios can be highly successful instruments in
mediating learning, but are only successful when a range of conditions
are met.
Ticket to Ride: Engaging Students in personal Learning Journeys-The
role of e-Portfolios
This presentation focuses on a presentation of a pilot which ran at
the University of Gloucestershire last academic year using an e
portfolio (Pebblepad) for second year Social Work students to present
evidence to meet the National Occupational Standards in Social Work.
The aim was to develop this portfolio system to include post
qualification requirements and eventually for students/graduates to
take this
portfolio with them into their future careers as social workers.
Session 3 - Selection of e-portfolios and reflection on use
e-Portfolios at Yeovil College and the University Centre Yeovil
Yeovil College is a Tertiary College offering a range of sixth-form,
vocational, adult learning and, through the University Centre Yeovil,
higher education courses.
We started evaluating e-Portfolio systems in an HE context through
JISC-funded PDP4Life and PDP4XL2 (PDP for Cross-Institutional
Learning) projects. The focus was on the vocational areas of Heath and
Care, Computing and the Creative Industries. This led to a preferred e-
Portfolio model with an emphasis on reflection, collaborative spaces,
providing a ‘shop window’ for student work, and as an alumnae site.
We initially considered a number of capable systems including Elgg,
ioPortal, and Mahara. However, we have settled on Mahara, not least
because of its superb integration with our institutional VLE, Moodle.
Recently, we have begun to use Mahara with sixth-form students and for
staff Continuing Professional Development (through a custom Mahara CPD
Resumé Artefact).
Given the wide range of educational contexts at Yeovil College, we are
now using Mahara as one of a set of e-Portfolio ‘tools’ (Moodle
Courses, Moodle Gradebook, Moodle ILP module) offering a range of
capabilities in terms of ownership (institutional v personal),
assessment, and functionality.
A Servant to Two Masters: managing CPD through an e-portfolio to meet
organisational and professional body requirements
As a Fellow of the Institute for Learning (IfL) and an Associate
Member of the Chartered Institute for Learning and Information
Professionals, I am required by both organisations to provide clear
evidence of the CPD that I undertake. In addition, working as part of
the JISC RSC-SW team through the University of Plymouth I am also
required to provide CPD evidence.
I have been using the Reflect e-portfolio provided through the IfL to
record my CPD for the last 18 months. Reflect uses the Pebble Pad
Personal Learning Environment (PLE).
The session will discuss my personal use of the PLE and the
difficulties of presenting evidence to satisfy ‘two masters’. I will
illustrate how I balance these requirements, explain how reflective
practice has helped me in my working roles and why I believe that this
is important and share my experience of the PLE in assisting me in
building and capturing evidence.