Lessons Learned

What are the lessons learned from the project?

Working directly with other e-portfolio systems developers worked well. From this project's perspective, it was beneficial to the whole project that such a wide range of systems were involved, thus proving that interoperability could be achieved within various different scenarios.

In terms of moving forward, for developers, clear examples of the standard as well as best practice would be helpful for easing the learning process in using a new standard.

When developing specifications it makes sense to work with systems developers as they will be the ones who implement it.

Using a wiki to enable open development works well but it can very easily become complex. At some stage, maybe at the end of the project, the wiki needs to be 'cleared out' and made into a clean and easy-to-use implementation area with supporting documentation easily reachable. See the LEAP2A specification pages on the CETIS website for an example of this.

Extremes of implementation need to be catered for, from large systems such as PebblePad or Mahara to statement-based Individual Learning Plans (ILP) such as myProgressFile. This saves valuable time for smaller adaptations while providing whole solutions for larger systems.

In parallel to developing a specification such as LEAP2A it is advisable to provide clear reasons as to why the standard should be used, together with examples of use for the benefits of learner or institution.