Lessons Learned
What are the lessons learned from the project?
Whilst the project was primarily constructed and envisaged as a technical development project, it has become evident that the technical issues are inextricably linked within a range of other issues and it is vital that any activity surrounding the use of technical portfolio and personal development planning processes, particularly in a collaborative or regional context effectively address all of these dimensions.
As is true with many other areas of the application of technology to support learning and teaching, the most effective implementations occur where staff have a clear sense of the ways in which technology can effectively support the curriculum, and where it adds real benefit to the student learning experience rather than being seen as an additional activity with no perceived benefit to the learner. By promoting the ownership of learning technology by both teachers and learners, signs that a process of real change has started to occur.
From a technical perspective, MANSLE has shown how a range of e-portfolio web services, as well as those created specifically to support functionality identified within the project can be aggregated within a user interface. This approach allowed an extremely rapid software development phase to be undertaken and has effectively demonstrated the utility and power of this service oriented approach to software development.
The technical approach has highlighted a number of issues relating to the design and aggregation of web services, and more specifically clarification of what constitutes a portfolio web service. The project has clearly demonstrated that this model inherent in the JISC e-framework is effective in enabling the rapid creation of a useful tool. One the other hand, the extension phase has been able to explore the opportunities and educational benefits of social software as an alternative to institutional systems like MANSLE.
An effective network was created to support the ongoing work of the GMSA lifelong learning network, specifically in the area of student progression and recording achievement through the use of portfolio and PDP approaches. Sharing of practice across members of the project team was significant and contributed to the effective implementation of the project within very tight time constraints. All members of the project team gained considerable insight and greater understanding of the ways in which technology may be able to support these aspects of curriculum activity and hence inform their own institutional agendas.
