Technology Used

What technologies and/or e-tools were available to you or did you seek to develop?

The tools used were PebblePad at Bradford and Leeds Metropolitan Universities and Bodington Logbook at Leeds University.

The project required software that was easily adapted, had stringent security protection, enabled interaction between learners and could be hosted and supported quickly and at minimum cost. The technical work covered a number of areas:

• System integration and user authentication
• Configuration of the tools to host the portfolios (original paper or newly developed)
• Interoperability - transfer of students' portfolios from one system to another.

Issues arising from this use of technology include access and authentication, external firewalls and security, lack of technological expertise in participating external organisations, providing technical support to external institutions, usability, organisational issues regarding allowing access to partners' institutional systems and to learners under the age of 18 and the legal and cost implications of non-standard users accessing university systems.