Lessons Learned

What are the lessons learned from the project?

In order to successfully engage staff it is important that line management are on board with initiatives. For instance, it was found that staff were reluctant to use the Personal Learning System (PLS) for appraisal if they anticipated resistance to its use from their line manager. This was a major reason for non-engagement cited by those staff who had the opportunity to use the PLS for appraisal, but chose not to. Thus the attitude of the e-portfolio recipient was critical to whether users adopted this technology to support their appraisal.

The introduction of a PLS for staff Continuing Professional Development (CPD) does encourage academic staff to use an e-portfolio with their students.

The Project found that there was a tension between transferring existing processes into an electronic environment and the necessity for some staff to learn new skills in order to do this.

Transferring processes from one medium to another should be viewed as an opportunity to revise and enhance existing processes.

Introducing and embedding a PLS into a professional course can substantially change the learning activities, leading to re-design of activities and in the long term a revision of the learning outcomes.

Encouraging habitual use for a variety of activities has to be cultivated over a period of time. Flourish was funded for two years and it was only in the final months that the Project staff felt that their work had taken root and started to grow in strength.