ISLE PDP/ePortfolios Practice

The ISLE PDP/ePortfolio practice template – Phase 2

This template is designed to encourage you to reflect on how you implemented PDP activities supported by the ePortfolio system and then to share the outcomes with other practitioners across the UK tertiary sector. Some depth of analysis is required in order for others to engage with the experiences described; it is advised that practice descriptions submitted for use by the ISLE project are approximately 750 words in length.

Tutor name / Marie Ferguson
Student group
Course title and SCQF level. Include the module/unit if appropriate. / Advanced certificate in Business SACB Group
SCQF level 5
Institution name / Dumfries and GallowayCollege
Background
Give brief details of the learners’ age profile, mode of attendance and learning environment in which the implementation took place, e.g. what ePortfolio was used, did the students attend scheduled sessions, what resources were used, how was the activity assessed? / Learners age profile from 17 – 35 who attend full time.
Students were allocated PDP and ePortfolio as a discreet subject for a 10-week period. Wordpress ePortfolio was used and learners attended a one hour session per week.
No specific assessments were allocated, application/evaluation and monitoring was overseen by tutor on a weekly basis. Group were timetabled to a computer lab.
Intended outcome(s)
Describe the objective(s) behind the implementation of PDP, e.g. Improving the learning experience, preparing for transition between levels or to another institution, integrating PDP into the curriculum, use of diagnostic testing, changes in student support models / The main objective was to involve the students in using a range of diagnostic testing tools and to use an ePortfolio as a reflective and evaluating experience and to expose them to this tool to see how they could use this for the future.
Another key objective was to integrate employability concepts into the ePortfolio experience.
The challenge(s)
Describe any issues that presented barriers to implementation and what steps you took to over come or circumvent them? / Time element was the challenge as the group only had a short experience of the ePortfolio, would have benefited from more time on the project in order to see the major benefits with this group of learners. As ePortfolio was not part of the course at the beginning and was introduced at a later stage so learners did not see it as an integral part of their course
Established practice
What practices would you now consider to be established in your own practice following the PDP implementation, i.e. what are you doing now that you will definitely want to do again or would be useful for others to replicate / Students were encouraged to maintain reflective blogs. Group would have benefited by having ePortfolio embedded into tutorial slots as well.
Integrate other course work completed into the e Portfolio.
The ePortfolio advantage
Describe the benefits in the use of an ePortfolio or similar tool in the support of PDP experienced by learners, yourself and other staff members. / Allowed learners to take responsibility for learning using new technology to engage them and the ability to electronically communicate with learner/tutor and learners benefited from the ePortfolio framework which helped on self evaluation and reflection. One key advantage of ePortfolio was in storing various resources and hyperlinks and web activities from classroom activities.
Learners were able to access and use ePortfolios from home.
Key points for effective practice
Summarise briefly the most important points described above in the case study for other practitioners – these may include risks as well as benefits / Scheduled time slots for ePortfolio is vital and having a timeslot for this group was advantageous.
Further staff training and development time required at start and during the project would be beneficial.
Important that learners see that ePortfolio and PDP is part of their overall course.
The assumption that all students are experts in IT Applications needs to be considered.
A whole team approach across course curriculum should be considered as effective practice so that there is linkage and evaluation between various team members
Conclusions and recommendations
A summary of how and why the practice outlined here has been effective / Wordpress model used was easy to navigate and user friendly and majority of learners very positive when using the ePortfolio tool. Students engaged across a variety of activities and most were able to reflect on their learning. Overall the ePortfolio experience with this group has been positive and beneficial and hopefully they will continue the development of their site for the rest of the session.
Additional information
Use this optional section to add related materials or content e.g. example PDP activities or ePortfolio structure diagram, examples of support materials provided to staff or students / A wide range of web links are included on each learners ePortfolio and the following key resources were used to supplement PDP and ePortfolio activities.
Mindmapping activities as learning strands , especially with employability.
There were a lot of resources used to supplement the PDP and eportfolio process, a couple of examples listed:


Wordpress student reference packs

Further information: Web: Based on the JISC case study template