What’s going on with ePortfolios?

Last week the two Scottish RSCs hosted an ePortfolio conference at the Queen Margaret University Campus newly opened near Musselburgh. Quite apart from the conference itself, it’s always interesting to see a new building and the mix of learning spaces particularly the smaller open areas dotted around the building we were in was interesting. A large suite of rooms seemed suspended in the middle of the large open space was finished in a mix of glass and wood which was quite spectacular – I’m not sure I would sit directly under it though! - view images of QMU.

I’m currently trying to get to grips with how ePortfolios are likely to be used and mainstreamed in FE & HE and what the critical issues are. JISC has a couple of publications that I would draw your attention to – What institutions really need to know and An overview of JISC activities.

There is sometimes an assumption especially in FE, that the term e-Portfolio describes the digitisation of the familiar paper-based portfolios (with perhaps the inclusion of some new media), that have been used to document evidence of achievement and used principally as an assessment tool. An important aspect of lifelong learning is the learners' ability to assemble, demonstrate and reflect on the skills, knowledge and achievement they have built up during their learning experiences. One of the functions of an eportfolio is to support this kind of activity.
There is a shift of emphasis therefore, from the notion of an e-Portfolio being owned by an individual institution, to the notion of the e-Portfolio being owned by the learner for their personal development and personal use. This may include activities aligned to specific learning outcomes or courses but could also involve the learners giving access to relevant parts of their e-Portfolio for different purposes e.g. to a prospective employer. The scope therefore of an e-Portfolio is much broader than a record of achievement for a single course and will be become a personal record of lifelong learning both formal and informal.

As ever the use of new technologies presents challenges for institutions. The main issues as I understand them include:
Interoperability – when learners move between institutions can their portfolio move with them & integration with existing systems and learning technologies used.
Ownership – who owns (and therefore is responsible for) the ePortfolio including the contents, security, privacy & copyright.
Accessibility – how can you ensure that ePortfolios are fully accessible & to what extent do the contents uploaded by learners require to be accessible.

The conference provided the opportunity to focus on this subject and speakers were able to describe how some of the issues are being approached within their own institution and it’s always helpful to see how others overcome obstacles. The Conference Report is now available with presentations available to download.