- The document discusses student and staff perceptions of using ePortfolios across different subject areas at a university where Blackboard has been used for ePortfolios for 5 years. Over 2000 students and 25 staff were involved. - Generally, students found ePortfolios useful for reflecting on their learning and achievements and planning their careers. However, use of multimedia features varied, and not all students saw the value of ePortfolios for assessment. - Tutors found ePortfolios useful for monitoring student progress and providing feedback but noted that careful redesign is needed to address issues around evidencing work and technical failures. Flexibility is important to allow student ownership but support is still needed.

1. ePortfolios for PDP An overview of student and staff perceptions across subject areas Federica Oradini and Gunter Saunders Online Learning Development

2. Background Blackboard been used for 5 years 13 study skills type modules across UG levels ~2000 students and 25 staff involved All experiencing ePortfolios for the first time All portfolios were assessed

3. Year 3 SABE Student

4. PDP and ePortfolio Traditional Portfolio processes include: Collecting Selecting Reflecting Celebrating Bb portfolio’s advantages Shared = show others Comment = peer review, tutor’s feedback Portable= take it away end of course Website format = can be updated Adding tech. allows enhancement through: Archiving Linking Storytelling Collaborating Publishing

5. ePortfolios across subjects Module name Year Percentage of Module Mark Submission Method N. Students (2098) N. Tutors Work Placement in a Legal Setting 2 100% Assignment function 64 2 Studying In Higher Education 1 50% Assignment function 345 9 Perspectives of Computer Science 1 40% Sharing 256 8 Developing Your Professional Future 2 100% CD 196 5 Employability and Work Placement 2 100% CD + Paper 17 2 Cross-Cultural Work Placement 3 100% CD + Paper 17 2 The ICT Practitioner 1 40% Assignment function 122 2 Introduction to the Built Environment 1 50% CD 123 5 Research Methods 2 30% CD 22 2 Research Methods 2 30% CD 40 2 Personal Development 3 100% CD 72 2 Interpersonal Skills for Business 1 15% Sharing 413 11 Interpersonal Skills for Business 1 15% Sharing 411 11

6. Common content Welcome Welcome statement Short paragraph – learning points About Me Personal introduction, career aspiration Self Assess Learning Style assessment, skills matrix, swot and swain Career Management Skills Develop self-awareness in the context of career decision making Educational and Career Goals Reflection on education goals Action Plan Based on self-assessment, reflection and action points Evidence Selected pieces of coursework to demonstrate competencies CV Electronic version of CV Contact Me Email info

7. Supporting the students Lecture Workshop 1 (face to face 1hr, 20 students per lab) Workshop 2 (face to face 1hr, 20 students per lab) Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Workshop 4 (face to face 1hr, 20 students per lab) Workshop 3 (face to face 1hr, 20 students per lab) Online support : screenshots + instructions Narrated video guides

8. The students From 7 subject areas Majority IT literate - 75% said were confident with prior skills Most work at home 63%, at university 37% Generally positive about their e-portfolio. Opportunity to think more/reflect Recognise/understand their achievements Plan for future career or understand job opportunities/career path better Determining strengths and weaknesses

9. Variation in views across years In Year 1 30% cited value with regard to employment compared to 60% in year 3

10. Students – the net generation? 66% used images 5% audio 5% video Reasons for not using multimedia: Lack of confidence in the value of using multimedia for assessment Lack of IT skills Prior learning experiences How do you prefer expressing/recording ideas or thoughts % preferred Text 72 Drawings/graphs/tables 20 Audio 1 Video 7

11. Students – one size fits all? Do you prefer expressing yourself in electronic format? 60% computing students 36% social science Should ePortfolio be used more widely? 70% computing students 26% social science Clearly not ! ePortfolio assessment must suit the students tasks and skills to be developed

12. Year 1, Social Science student Hard to create an ePortfolio? Benefits? PDP useful? Overall thoughts

13. ePortfolio examples in BB/Web

14. And….. ePortfolio narrated video, year 3 student

15. Tutors ePortfolios useful to the course? - 100% Yes Helps monitoring of progress Formative and summative feedback Easier submission for students Students found ePortfolio interesting and motivating The tutor can view and scroll work quickly Save paper work/handouts Reduced paper to carry Accessible from anywhere It provided templates to scaffold students progress Saved time when collecting work Develop students IT skills Enabled students to be more creative Helped identify struggling students for additional support

16. Assessment Submission On a CD 30% Assignments function 60% Shared in Blackboard 10% Feedback 40% via email 10% through BB 10% handwritten on sheets 20% face to face 20% did not say 91% Marked on screen 9% on paper 40% found on screen was challenging, tiring and time consuming

17. Very careful re-design is necessary Evidencing for ePortfolio is not as straightforward !!! Blog/Wiki Set up by the tutor Visible/accessible from day one Tutors comments on individual pages Easier to see Tutors can see modifications Student actions RSS subscription Monitor easily student updates No submission is required Tutor set deadlines ePortfolio Rely on students sharing their ePortfolio Comment area is separate, students can delete comments No alert mechanism Cannot monitor modification No alerts when the students modify the ePortfolio Cannot freeze an ePortfolio Can submit as zipped files Unzipping is not easy

18. Overall conclusions Students need encouragement to take advantage of multimedia and its use must be valued and rewarded (e.g. gain marks) Must tailor activities and assessment to students and learning outcomes Flexibility allows students to take ownership 1 size does not easily fit al Some staff and students need a lot of support Both staff and students need more time to understand/appreciate all of the potential benefit Technical failures can mean pedagogic disasters