e-Portfolios Informing and Supporting Teaching, Learning and Evaluation

Lead Contact: Dr P Brett, P.Brett@wlv.ac.uk

JISC Programme: DeL Regional Pilot Projects

Lead Institution and Partners: University of Wolverhampton (L), Birmingham New Technologies Institute/Birmingham City University (formerly University of Central England), Telford College of Arts and Technology Wolverhampton City College, Rodbaston College, Kidderminster College, Shirelands Language College, Leasowes Community College, Midlands Leadership Centre, Black Country Pathfinder 14-19 Networks for Excellence

Project Dates: April 2005 - July 2007

This case study illustrates Access, Application, Application to Education, Application to Employment, Assessment, Assessment within Evidence-Based Disciplines, Authentication, Implementation, Interoperability, IPR, IT Skills, Misuse, Plagiarism, Perspectives, Employer Perspectives, Learner Perspectives, Storage, Widening Participation, Technical Support

Background & Context

What is the background to the e-portfolio initiative?

The ePISTLE project implemented the use of e-portfolios in two schools and three further education colleges in order to explore the integration of e-portfolios into the curriculum, the issues with the use of e-portfolios for transition and progression, the issues of access and storage and the factors which influence the use and non-use of e-portfolios.

Many Higher Education institutions are experimenting with different ways of delivering Personal Development Planning (PDP), a significant feature of the progress file promoted by the QAA. e-Portfolios present one such option with the potential to celebrate all forms of learning: formal and informal; institutional and non-institutional; structured and eclectic. They offer something for all kinds of learner whether at some stage of transition between levels of learning, moving to or seeking employment, or simply recording achievement for the purposes of self-knowledge and self-worth.

The University of Wolverhampton is the lead HEI for the recruitment of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, with more than 50% of its entrants from this group. It has been working to improve the performance indicators relating to its retention and recruitment of these students. Alongside this, it has been working closely with feeder colleges and with the schools who provide the students to the colleges. The e-portfolio is emerging as a key tool which may assist both with the retention and progression of students to higher levels of learning.

What were the aims and objectives of the initiative?

The three main aims of the project were to understand how e-portfolios are used by learners and assessing bodies when submitted as a means of assessment to understand how best e-portfolios can be embedded in the curriculum and what classroom processes, training and materials might best assist this and observe and evaluate if, and how e-portfolios support the process of transition and progression between different educational institutions and/or employers.

These were to be achieved by a number of objectives including to:

• set up the technical infrastructure to support learners at the partner institutions
• develop and implement the support mechanisms (training, materials and guidelines) necessary for teachers and learners to best embed e-portfolio use in the curriculum
• evaluate the factors which motivate learners to commit evidence to their e-portfolio
• research the skills or abilities suitable for recording at each level of learning and evaluate how these competencies are most appropriately (or most widely) evidenced
• appraise the processes designed to manage applicational e-portfolios in educational or work contexts
• organise and describe the kinds of evidence that institutions or employers value in a learner's e-Portfolio
• evaluate how institutional mechanisms can be modified to accredit diverse forms of learning

How was the initiative implemented?

The overall approach was to integrate the use of e-portfolios into the curriculum of groups of school and college students. This involved working with partners to identify tutors, groups and curriculum areas. The tutors were then trained in the pedagogic aspects of e-portfolio use as well as the software features of e-portfolios used in the study. Tutors and learners received on-going support during the project.

The early months of the project in 2005 involved the selection of the two e-portfolios to be used (ePET and PebblePad), the hardware purchases and installations of the software. It also involved working closely with the Kidderminster team on understanding and starting to install Shibboleth.

Following significant problems with the implementation of Shibboleth, technological and pedagogic training of all key staff across the partner institutions took place. A key element of this was integrating the use of e-portfolios into the curriculum. During the same period, students were introduced to e-portfolios.

Once the use of e-portfolios was underway, research was carried out to gather and analyse data for the project. Research methodologies included interviews, focus groups and questionnaires to provide a range of data sets.

The project was extended to examine the project aims over a longer period and broaden the user base in certain partner institutions. Leasowes Community College, for instance, extended their project by 250 students which included the whole of the year 10 cohort.