Embedding e-portfolios for effective lifelong learning:a case study

Lifelong learning is a ‘keystone’ of educational policies (Faure, 1972) where the emphasis on learning shifts from teacher to learner. Higher Education (HE) institutions should be committed to developing lifelong learning, that is promoting learning that is flexible, diverse and relevant at different times, and in different places, and is pursued throughout life. Therefore the HE sector needs to develop effective strategies to encourage engagement in meaningful learning for diverse student populations. The use of e-portfolios, as a ‘purposeful aggregation of digital items’ (Sutherland & Powell, 2007), can meet the needs of the student community by encouraging reflection, the recording of experiences and achievements, and personal development planning (PDP). The use of e-portfolios also promotes inclusivity in learning as it provides students with the opportunity to articulate their aspirations and take the first steps along the pathway of lifelong learning. However, ensuring the uptake of opportunities within their learning is more complex than the students simply having access to the software. Therefore it is argued here that crucial to the effective uptake and engagement of the e-portfolio is embedding it purposefully within the curriculum. In order to investigate effective implementation of e-portfolios an explanatory case study on their use was carried out, initially focusing on 3 groups of students engaged in work-based learning and professional practice. The 3 groups had e-Portfolios embedded and assessed at different levels. Group 1 did not have the e-Portfolio embedded into their curriculum nor was the e-Portfolio assessed. Group 2 had the e-Portfolio embedded into the curriculum and formatively assessed. Group 3 also had the e-Portfolio embedded into the curriculum and were summatively assessed. Results suggest that the use of e-Portfolios needs to be integral to curriculum design in modules rather than used as an additional tool. In addition to this more user engagement was found in group 2 where the e-Portfolio was formatively assessed only. The implications of this case study are further discussed in terms of curriculum development

Implications of Identity Negotiation Research for the Design of the TRAILER e-Portfolio

Janssen, J., Berlanga, A. J., & Sloep, P. B. (2012). Implications of Identity Negotiation Research for the Design of the TRAILER e-Portfolio. In Proceedings of the ePortfolio and Identity Conference (ePIC) 2012 (pp. 78-82). July, 9-11, 2012, London, UK. For the presentation, please see also: http://hdl.handle.net/1820/4598This paper focuses on the question how to design an e-portfolio so that it optimally enables learners to gain credit (either literally or figuratively speaking) for competences attained through informal learning starting from the premise that this process can be considered an identity negotiation process. It provides a review of research findings in the area of identity negotiation and online identities in light of the implications they hold for the design of an e-portfolio that is meant to facilitate identity negotiation.Tagging, Recognition and Acknowledgment of Informal Learning ExpeRiences project (TRAILER) that is funded by the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme. Ref. 519141-LLP-1-2011-1-ES-KA3-KA3MP [http:// trailerproject.eu]. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein

E-portfolios in lifelong learning

Brouns, F., Vogten, H., Janssen, J., & Finders, A. (2013). E-portfolios in lifelong learning. In F. J. García-Peñalvo (Ed.). Proceedings of the 2013 Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality, TEEM2013 (pp. 535-540). November, 14-15, 2013, Salamanca, Spain. "© [Brouns] [2013]. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Proceedings of the 2013 Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality Conference Proceedings, http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2536536.2536618."The current knowledge society requires its citizens to continuously maintain and update existing knowledge and competences and thus engage in lifelong learning. Acquiring key competences, such as digital, intercultural and communicative competences is crucial to keep up with the fast changing ways of society. As people need to combine their competence development with work and family life, they need flexibility in content and logistics. Consequently, informal learning and social learning in networks play an important role in this. However, it might be difficult to get their informally acquired competences recognized. In this paper we describe how an e-portfolio could assists learners in gathering, maintaining and organizing their informal learning and competences in order to show and share this with others and present how this is implemented in the TRAILER e-portfolio.Tagging, Recognition and Acknowledgment of Informal Learning ExpeRiences project (TRAILER) that is funded by the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme. Ref. 519141-LLP-1-2011-1-ES-KA3-KA3MP [http:// trailerproject.eu]. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein

PDP4XL2: Personal Development Planning for Cross-Institutional Lifelong Learning. Final Report.

This collaborative project PDP4XL2 built on the strengths and successful outcomes of PDP4Life and took as its principal focus the use of personal development planning and e-portfolios to develop and sustain favourable learner attitudes towards lifelong learning and to understand the role that technology plays in supporting that process. Project objectives included identifying student and employer attitudes to and usage of PDP and e-portfolios in the creative industries and health cares. This final report documents the outcomes of the project

EFL pedagogy students' self-directed learning: use of edmodo and e-portfolio

Tesis (Pedagogía en Inglés)This study aims at exploring how Edmodo and E-Portfolio affect EFL Pedagogy Students’ Self-Directed Learning (SDL). The theory is framed within the concepts of Self-Directed Learning and online platforms. This mixed type of research (qualitative and quantitative) considered 3 different instruments to collect data: questionnaires (PRO-SDLS), interviews, and a focus group. The participants were 26 freshmen in an English Pedagogy program. From the data obtained and analyzed, the study showed that there is a statistically significant difference in the participants’ SDL between the pre and posttest. At the same time, students perceived that E-Portfolio is more useful than Edmodo in their learning process.Este estudio tiene como objetivo explorar cómo Edmodo e E-Portfolio afectan en el aprendizaje autodirigido en estudiantes que aspiran a ser profesores de EFL. La teoría se enmarca en los conceptos de aprendizaje autodirigido y plataformas en línea. Este tipo de investigación mixta (cualitativa y cuantitativa) consideró tres instrumentos diferentes para recopilar datos: cuestionarios (PRO-SDLS), entrevistas y un grupo focal. Los participantes fueron 26 estudiantes de primer año en un programa de Pedagogía en Inglés. A partir de los datos obtenidos y analizados, el estudio mostró que existe una diferencia estadísticamente significativa en el SDL (siglas en Inglés del Aprendizaje Autodirigido) de los participantes entre el primer cuestionario y el segundo. Al mismo tiempo, los estudiantes percibieron que E-Portfolio es más útil que Edmodo en su proceso de aprendizaje

PDP4Life: personal development planning for lifelong learning. Final Report.

Many HEIs have developed electronic Personal Development Planning (e-PDP) systems that support the learner through the processes of personal development planning, however, little attention appeared to have been paid to developing frameworks within these systems to enable learners to merge formal and informal records of learning into a single database, to transfer records from one institutional learning environment to another, and to access and manipulate their learner records when not registered within a place of study. PDP4Life attempted to address these issues. This final project report outlines the outcomes of this JISC project

Teacher competence development – a European perspective

This chapter provides an European perspectives on teacher competence development

Transferability of e-Portfolios in Education

This is a project funded by JISC DELL II and undertaken by Dr Derek Young and Kylie Lipczynski of ESCalate / University of Stirling. The aim of this project is to undertake an investigation of existing e-portfolio models and their use within the field of Education which will: Review existing motivational strategies; Identify alternative implementation models for PDP in Education departments; Explore the potential for cross-fertilisation of models and strategies between Education and other professional disciplines

A Learner-Centred Approach for Lifelong Learning Powered by the Blockchain

The emergence of Blockchain technology promises to revolutionise not only the financial world, but also lifelong learning in many different ways. Blockchain technology offers opportunities to thoroughly rethink how we find educational content and training services online, how we register and pay for them, as well as how we get accredited for what we have learned and how this accreditation affects our career trajectory. This paper explores the different aspects of lifelong learning that are affected by this new paradigm and describes an ecosystem that places the learner at the centre of the learning process and its associated data. More specifically, we outline the ways that ePortfolios, accreditation and tutoring can evolve within this learner-centred ecosystem and we discuss the various benefits that this evolution bears for lifelong learners