Defining Your Needs

'Users are at the centre of their e-portfolios... and without tight integration with, and concern for their uses and needs, e-portfolios will not be used.'

ePISTLE project final report (2007)

Undertaking an investigation and analysis before choosing your system in order to ensure that your e-portfolio system meets the requirements of stakeholders is an important process in choosing the right e-portfolio tool.

Selecting the wrong product or one that is not appropriate for institution-wide implementation can limit the impact of e-portfolios. In the Kent PLPP project staff were frustrated by using what they perceived to be an untested product which was in a 'relatively raw state'. (Kent PLPP project Appendix F). The type of language used in the system can become a barrier for learners. For example, in the myWORLD project, an e-portfolio implementation based on Sakai 1.5 found that the system was inappropriate because the interface had been developed for undergraduates in the United States. For non-traditional learners, this created a barrier and alienated users.

A multi-disciplinary approach involving all stakeholders is essential to elicit system requirements. This will help ensure a greater level of engagement from users and that use of the system is maximised. Involving learners at this stage can provide a different perspective on the user interface. A clear set of requirements, including the goals for the project and pedagogic model of e-portfolio, will go a long way to a successful implementation. This approach is recommended by the ComPort project which emphasised that 'it was vital to fit the e-portfolio to the needs of the learners and programme'.

It is important that system selection is not viewed as a technical project or a problem but involves pedagogy and organisational considerations as found in the EPICS project: 'It is clear that the main issues were not just technical, but were about pedagogy, organisation and governance.'

Further Resources

• System Selection infoKit
• JISC-CETIS: Portfolio requirements
• PDP4Life: Simon Grant 'What kind of items might be managed through e-portfolio systems?'
• Kent PLPP Case Study and Resources
• myWORLD Case Study and Resources
• EPICS Case Study and Resources
• EELLS Case Study and Resources
• Implementation Guidance
• Guidance for Selecting a Tool
• ELP Project
• ComPort Case Study

The former DfES (replaced by DIUS and DCSF) in conjunction with Becta and JISC identified the following key features for e-portfolios based on the concept of multi-user and multi-component:

• Users: learners, teachers, employers, examining boards, parents
• Components: learning space, record, plan, CV
• Transactions: planning learning, assessment, admissions
• Features: accessibility, secure, portable
• Requirements: user policy, strategic architectures

The EELLS project listed 5 tools which were the basis of their e-portfolio system:

• File repository: where users can upload, modify and organise documents such as multimedia files, images, photos and files
• Learner records: a non-editable 'transcript' which is downloaded to the e-portfolio from an academic institution's student database
• Showcase and CV builder tools: these allow the user to provide evidence about learning, skills or competencies and to showcase these to a variety of selected audiences
• Personal Development Planning tool: the EELLS project used a PDP framework taken from the Learning Matrix portal
• Course catalogue: this would market courses that were available at the institution(s)

Our Checklist later in this section includes a Technical section for further consideration.