Evaluating a transition ePortfolio

Phil Harley 14-19 Transition Strategy Manager

City of Nottingham Local Authority, UK

ePortfolio CETLs & DeL projects seminar University of Nottingham–July 20th 2006

Functional Definition

A collection of authentic and diverse evidence (drawn from a larger archive)

Representing what a person/organisation has learned over time (after reflection)

Designed for presentation to one or more audiences for a particular purpose

Process and Product

Key priorities for Passportfolio Improving transition Personalised Learning Improved advice and guidance Improving and tracking progression Encourage partnership working Recognising all achievement

Passportfolio

Learners

Achievement Zone

Reviewing Zone

Presenting Zone

TeachersInformation Zone

Student Zone

Achievement ZonePersonal dataWork RelatedCurriculumWork ExperienceAchievementTranscript

Reviewing ZoneStudent Self ReviewCEG ProgrammeSkills AssessmentIndividuallearning plan

L

I

F

L

O

N

G

L I F E W I D E

Presenting ZoneApplication formsTranscriptCurriculum Vitae

Enquiry Application Induction

Passportfolio

Messaging service Work – a multimedia online

space Diary – personal reflection

area Research space Reminders of targets Ask Aardvark advice &

support function

Reviewing Zone

STEP 1: About Me

STEP 2:

My Skills

STEP 3: My

Learning Styles

STEP 4: My

Ambitions

STEP 5: Getting Started

STEP 6: Getting There

STEP 7: Setting Goals

Individual Learning Plan

A checklist for schools and colleges Technical capabilities e.g. storage Interoperability with other services Usability e.g. navigation Possibilities for social interactions Differentiated materials Links with MIS Can impact be measured

What could we evaluate? Quality of applications Effect on induction & retention Social interactions What it adds to the curriculum Usability Enjoyment, engagement & motivation Raising self-esteem, self-awareness &

empowerment Its effect on learning

What we did evaluate?

Meeting stakeholder needs Usability Reviewing zone activities The process of writing a personal statement The personal statement Levels of enjoyment Levels of self-awareness

How did we evaluate? (1)

Methods Focus groups Observation Questionnaires

Pre activity Activity Post activity

How did we evaluate? (2)

Four institutions

11-16 city school – year 9 11-18 county school – year 10 11-18 city school – year 12 FE college - level 2

Findings (1)

Perceived usefulness 93% said e-portfolio would be useful and gave

reasons

Usability 88% felt confident with software

Findings (2)

Activities 84% said they were enjoyable and 88% said they

helped in writing a personal statement

Enjoyment 86% enjoyed using Passportfolio whilst 57%

found it stimulating!

Findings (3)

Self-awareness 76% learned more about themselves using the e-

portfolio

Personal statement 91% were happy with personal statement and

95% felt it reflected the kind of person they were. 84% wanted examples

What they said (1)

“I like this because no one has ever asked me what I’ve achieved before”

“I realise that I have achievements even though it isn’t in school”

“It would be good for jobs, colleges and university applications”

“It would be useful to keep track of all my work and what I want to do”

What they said (2)

“I get to look over what I’ve achieved in life” “It will store all my information I’II need for

jobs or college” “I’ve written down things about myself that I

usually wouldn’t have thought of” “I liked writing about myself because I never

realised how much I have achieved” “It made me look at myself”

Some difficulties in evaluation Evaluation as part of the design process Many other factors influence a personal

statement Impact will need to be determined by

longitudinal studies Decide what to evaluate, incorporate in

project before use

Success factors

Identifying institutional priorities and offering to solve problems

Recognising cultural differences Championing and enabling partnership and

collaboration within an independent framework Supporting the varying levels of awareness and

technical knowledge

Issues around future developments Students need ULN early E-portfolio as private and public document Moving portfolio across and around institutions Single sign on Accessing qualification databases/verification Links with e-assessment Ownership issues Transition data e.g. reports from schools and

progression data back to schools Linking to other web services

References The original e-portfolio can be found at

www.cityofnottinghampassport.com Details of the Centre for International e-portfolio

Development at Nottingham at www.nottingham.ac.uk/eportfolio

An article giving more detail on Passportfolio ferl.becta.org.uk/

www.becta.org.uk National policies at www.dfes.gov.uk Definition at www.eife-l.org