A report on the KEYPAL Open Seminar held at the University of Edinburgh

 on 1st June 2006

On the afternoon of 1^st June 2006, Edinburgh University Settlement (EUS) kindly hosted the 2^nd  KEYPAL project open seminar. The main objective of the seminar was for the KEYPAL partners to present the results of their pilots using ePortfolios with young disaffected adults and to have the feedback from the invited participants on these pilots.

Bonnie Dudley Edwards from EUS welcomed some 25 participants to the seminar followed by a presentation by Angela Baker from EIFEL  (KEYPAL Coordinator) providing an overview of the project as well as an overview of ePortfolio initiatives in Europe and beyond.

The aim of Key-PAL is to establish the relevance and potential impact of the ePortfolio on the development and assessment of key-skills (basic skills / key competencies), a critical issue for Europe. KeyPAL is exploring how the ePortfolio can support and valorise self-managed learning and development for the acquisition of key-skills. We are also examining the ability of the ePortfolio to support young adults in interacting with all the actors that can contribute to their development and learning (careers centres, employers, training organisations etc.).

The main activity of the project has been the ePortfolio pilots carried out in 6 different EU countries. Partners are using a variety of ePortfolio tools (elgg, Careers Wales online, blog tools, Skillup portfolio…) and in a variety of settings: second chance schools, youth centres, drop in day centres… with the common aim of exploring how the development of an ePortfolio can contribute to the development, acquisition and valorisation of key skills.

Angela Baker presented some definitions of ePortfolios from US and EU perspectives (see presentation here) which opened up a debate amongst the participants as to how to define an ePortfolio. In any case there seemed to be some unanimity that defining an ePortfolio in all its potential forms and uses is an almost impossible task!

Before the KEYPAL pilot presentations, Jen Ross and John Davis from the University of Edinburgh presented the findings of their ePortfolio experience with a group of students on a BA in Childhood Studies vocational course. The students are using ePortfolios first and foremost as a ‘reflexive’ tool to  enable them to keep a record of their reflexive journey throughout the course. Jen Ross tells us that they hoped that the ePortfolio would help their ‘techno reticent’ students realise their own identity. Jen cited research from the University of Dundee which suggests that it is beneficial to have formative assessment early on in the ePortfolio process.

Jen and John presented some conclusions from this experience with ePortfolios: 

§         has to be personally meaningful to learners in their own particular context;

§         not just an easy technical/rational solution to issues of diverse learning;

§         WE need to be clear why we want to encourage e-portfolio use

§         is there a question that comes before “how do we get learners to engage with e-portfolios”?

§         are we giving choice at the right stage and making our students co-creators of the learning experience if we dictate that they should use a particular tool/technology which may not fit with their learning approaches?

These conclusions were echoed by several of the participants. Colin Stuart from the Royal College of Nursing underlined that in his experience for users to be motivated the ePortfolio has to offer some clear ‘added value’. The RCN portfolio for example has an interesting function which is a ‘CV button’ which generates a CV from the information contained in the ePortfolio which users find very motivating. He stressed that students need to see the utility of the ePortfolio and access/links to good and useful resources can be very motivating. It seems that it is this ‘added value’ of the ePortfolio that motivates most. Colin also pointed out the need for users to understand the concept of what an ePortfolio is and that time should be spent on the ‘concept’ itself. “Let them use paper or a CD Rom version, pointing out the benefits of an eformat but let them stay with a paper version if that is what they prefer” , he said.

Several of the participants supported this point of view saying that ePortfolios clearly need to empower at a deep not a shallow level for them to be motivating. Ian Martin pointed out that ePortfolio is most often perceived as a tool whereas Colin Stuart insists on the lifelong learning ethos and using ePortfolio as a vehicle (rather than a tool) for capturing learning in all facets of life and that there is evidently still a gap between tutor and tutee expectations.

Sarah Jones Morris from Careers Wales North West presented the Careers Wales online ePortfolio portal and showed a sample ePortfolio. She pointed out that it is important to simplify registration and to spend time explaining the tool to users before they get started. Basic problems such as access to internet (and PC) and firewalls also need to be checked otherwise they can lead to early frustration.

You can see Sarah’s presentation here

Other participants agreed on the need for an efficient induction in context to ensure that the initial ePortfolio experience is a positive one. Furthermore there seems to be a consensus amongst the partners that it is essential for tutors or teachers to have their own ePortfolio before supporting others to develop theirs.

Jen Ross pointed out that we should encourage students to use ePortfolios but if they don’t want to do it we shouldn’t insist. She said, “ePortfolios are often too ‘flat’ and the question is how to give them depth. We need to open spaces and tie into the embedded learning in the course”.

Other participants echoed the need to evaluate the meaningfulness of ePortfolios to students versus their meaningfulness to staff – it will not be perceived in the same manner.! And as one participant added, “The role of academia needs to be reviewed: are we using academia for measuring a line or are we trying to provide value-add?”

Carsten Floemer and Katharina Kracht presented the German Red Cross (DRK) pilot groups and outcomes. They also reinforced the need to have a good induction with the users (and tutors!) and to spend time explaining the concept and purpose of an ePortfolio before asking students to start to use it. Furthermore they added that the expectations of students should be well understood before launching into the implementation to avoid disappointment and consequent lack of motivation.

You can find the DRK presentation here

Terry Ward from EUS presented the outcomes of their pilot with a group of disabled adults. They had some difficulty finding a suitable ePortfolio tool as many of those on offer were too ‘academic’ for their groups. They opted for the Axia Skillup ePortfolio tool to enable their users to demonstrate their skills and achievements in the ePortfolio, to track progress as well as for proving professional competence. Terry told us that “the ePortfolio has given a real boost to disabled learners as they believe that they are competing on a level playing field. The tool doesn’t know that they are disabled. “

You can find Terry’s presentation at here

The next KEYPAL pilot presentation came from the Second Chance School in the Paris suburbs. Valérie Albaladejo reported on their initial experiences using a blog tool as a means of getting students to reflect on their learning and progress. The choice of a blog tool was due to the difficulty of finding an ePortfolio tool with a French interface. The students were quite enthusiastic about this initial experience particularly as they saw it as a means of expressing themselves, although their motivation soon dropped if they had no comments or feedback from the tutors or peers. Valérie hopes to continue on from this first experience but with a more ‘structured’ tool that would enable students to showcase themselves more than in a blog.

The final presentation at the seminar was given by Ynternet from Switzerland. Théo Bondolfi and Raphaël Rousseau showed us examples of ePortfolios developed by a group of students in Lausanne who are looking to change profession and need to update their skills. Ynternet.org use their own ePortfolio platform cooperation.net with this pilot group and have given clear guidelines to the students as to the structure of their ePortfolio i.e. the nature of the articles to be included. Students however are free to create their own graphic design or to host the ePortfolio on their own personal websites if they prefer. Ynternet have also developed an evaluation grid for assessing the content and pertinence of these ePortfolios as well as ensuring that students have followed the basic rules of ‘netiquette’.

Some comments from the participants on the seminar

§         The afternoon sparked interest about ePortfolios although it is still not entirely clear what an ePortfolio is.

§         ePortfolios and blogging is a more attractive approach than what is done in current practice

§         The practical examples given of ePortfolios were very useful

§         We need to think about what will happen in 10 years’ time

§         The ethical aspect of developing one’s image on the web is interesting and important. It is important to guide and support students in creating such an image. An ethical framework is needed however.

§         A widened view of the ePortfolio was gained and a new way of presenting oneself.

§         We might feel a little sceptical of use of the ePortfolio in a country like Greece where ICT skills are particularly low. It is a cultural issue (UK most advanced) and a generation issue.

Thanks to Carsten Floemer from DRK for these event photos.

Presentations

1. Opening presentation on ePortfolios and introducing KEYPAL by Angela Baker KEYPAL Project Coordinator (EIFEL)

2. Presentation "ePortfolios and the BA in Childhood Studies" by Jen Ross and John Davis from University of Edinburgh.

3. Presentation of the German young adult ePortfolio pilot by Katharina Kracht and Carsten Floemer from DRK Bremen.

4. Presentation of the Career Wales online ePortfolio pilot by Sarah Jones Morris from Career Wales North West.

5. Presentation of the Edinburgh University Settlement pilot by Terry Ward.

6. Presentation of the French pilot at the Second Chance School by Valérie Albaladejo and Leila Touat.

7. Presentation of the Swiss Pilot by Théo Bondolfi and Raphael Rousseau

Seminar Participants