Regional Interoperability Project on Progression for Lifelong Learning

Lead Contact: Sandra Winfield, sandra.winfield@nottingham.ac.uk

JISC Programme: Distributed e-Learning programme

Lead Institution and Partners: University of Nottingham (L), Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham Passport, Ufi/learndirect (East Midlands), Nottingham LEA FE institutions, Connexions Nottinghamshire, Local employers

Background & Context

What is the background to the e-portfolio initiative?

This project built upon work completed for the University of Nottingham-led JISC MLEs for Lifelong Learning project, 2003-2005, Specifying an ePortfolio. The earlier project trialled interoperability between online personal development planning (PDP) systems in 14-19 education and HE, demonstrated by transferring sample data from the City of Nottingham Passport (CoNP) and University of Nottingham ePARs system. This was carried out in conjunction with work with UCAS on interoperable data transfer between post-16 education providers, UCAS and HEIs to facilitate learners' application to HE, with special reference to the need for enhanced Personal Statements in the context of the Schwartz recommendations for fair admissions.

RIPPLL was designed to build on this work by studying the requirements of a much wider range of users, including learners on vocational pathways and work-based learners, in order to inform the ongoing development of technical specifications. The existing CoNP-University of Nottingham partnership was extended to include the second Nottingham HEI, Nottingham Trent University (NTU).

With strong track records in Progress Files, widening participation and student inclusion, the partnership felt that it had the potential to establish in Greater Nottingham a national demonstration site for cross-sector collaboration in PDP technology to support widening participation and retention, with outcomes which would be transferable regionally and nationally. Nottingham's early practice in linking school-based learning (from Key Stages 3 to 5) into and through HE was identified by European SchoolNet as being of prime interest in the European context.

The project sought to build on earlier work on interoperability standards developed through the Specifying an e-portfolio project by extending its use and application between different institutions and for transitions between study and employment. As an early adopter of Shibboleth, the project wanted to explore the important implications for verification and authentication issues inherent in e-portfolio work.

What were the aims and objectives of the initiative?

The aims of the project were:

• To support progression to HE for widening participation by making all major existing electronic systems in use in the Nottingham area for study-based Progress Files interoperable, using the UK LeaP interoperability standards
• To pilot the transfer of data directly from the main post-16 PDP system (City of Nottingham Passport - CoNP) into HE PDP systems (University of Nottingham ePARs; Nottingham Trent University PDP) to support learner admissions and transitions, thus joining up successive phases of study, pre-HE and HE
• To develop understanding of further transition processes between study and employment (in both directions) and consider connections with issues of graduate retention in the region
• To contribute to the building of interoperability specifications for systems supporting lifelong learning by providing further development of the UK LeaP open standards and proving their applicability in a number of different environments

For the extension phase we identified the following aims:

• To extend our successful data-transfer model of lifelong learning to begin to build a sustainable knowledge architecture across the region, accommodating as far as possible the principles of a service-oriented architecture within the e-Framework
• Through continuing regional collaboration, to build consensus and capacity in the pedagogy and technology of interoperable e-portfolios across representatives of education and employment, improving understanding of transition to and from employment in the region
• To offer a reference point for national policy development and implementation

How was the initiative implemented?

Scenarios and use cases

This work built on the experience and expertise of key project staff in the 'Specifying an e-portfolio' project, which made use of the scenario and use case building resource pack produced by Peter Rees Jones as part of the Lifelong Learning Support Project of the JISC Managed Learning Environments programme. We used this resource as a basis for a series of workshops to gather information from those with knowledge and expertise in specific areas, beginning with academic project staff at NTU, who were inducted into the methodology through a 'learning-by-doing' approach, guided by University of Nottingham staff, and produced scenarios and use cases on progression from HE to part-time work and to work placement. The development of scenarios and use cases was a major activity on the pedagogic side of the project.

Interoperability

Mapping and transfer work within the project used the methodology developed and tested by University of Nottingham technical staff in earlier interoperability pilots. This uses the following stages of development:

1. Research systems at both ends
2. Map proposed outputs from generating system to UK LeaP
3. Produce mapping document
4. Generate source XML
5. Produce XSLT file to convert output data
6. Load into destination system using transformation code

In parallel with pedagogic work, technical staff from both HEIs conducted site visits to partner institutions to draw on local expertise about systems and infrastructure in order to scope possible data transfers and to build mappings between systems as a basis for writing code.

Mappings and transfers

As a training and familiarisation exercise, the technical team at NTU carried out an initial test transfer of data from the Nottingham Passport, replicating earlier work to move this same data from the Passport into the University of Nottingham system. This was a valuable experience which exposed a number of misunderstandings about the nature of the work and requirements of UK LeaP, and established the necessary level of dialogue between team members.

FE applications process

The project team collaborated with the City of Nottingham Passport team and representatives from FE colleges in the region to progress the implementation of the electronic application to FE via an agreed common application form to be located within the Passport's successor, Passportfolio. The FE Admissions Working Group of the Greater Nottingham 14-19 Strategy Group identified criteria for admissions to FE colleges and devised a common application form, supported by Principals of all FE colleges in the Greater Nottingham area, thus giving a major political drive to the development.