ePortfolios by DesignWhat’s the big idea?

Some definitionsKey terms and differences

ePortfolio in academia means:

PebblePad Blog

Portfolio in design land means:

A portfolio A website

PDP: International research

Australian e-Portfolio ProjectInstitution: Queensland University of TechnologyPublished: 2008Conditions for summative portfolio assessement in medical educationInstitution: Utrecht UniversityPublished: 2006e-Portfolio, Life Long Promises for Learning?!Institution: Windesheim UniversityMaking Student Learning VisibleInstitution: Penn State UniversityPublished: 2006

PDP and e-portfolio: UK

University of Hull Dissertation Direct: a PebblePad learning space for finalist students

University of Central Lancashire“we aim to produce easy-to-use guides for academic staff, focussing on the embedding of reflection in the formal curriculum, and for personal advisers, focussing on helping students with personal reflection, self-awareness, skills analysis, and career planning.”

Buckinghamshire New University Effective implementation of PDP and ePortfolio across curricula with a professional, employment and academic focus.

The Centre for Recording Achievement UK

e-portfolios can be used for:• Integration of formal, informal and work-based

learning into a coherent whole.• Accessibility – learning can be demonstrated

in the way most appropriate to an individual’s situation.

• Personal Development Plan• Academic Tutorial• Monitor and support• Portability and ownership of personal learning.• Behavioral management • save students’ time in assembling and

presenting work¨

Benefits for the teaching team:• make students’ work accessible from

anywhere• easy to check on progress for

individual students for three years• improve the monitoring of progress

(struggling students can be identified more quickly)• Assist team communication and

speedy responses.

Student use of ePortfolios

ePortfolios are supposed to be a processScrapbook / Ideas / Collaboration

Submitted pieces

Final selections (CV)

And there are different audiences for each stage

Scrapbook / Ideas

Submitted pieces

Final selections

And the tools they may useBlog > PebblePad > Website/Email

Scrapbook / Ideas

Submitted pieces

Final selections

Case studies show that…• Good use of web media empahsises the use of

interaction and commenting and can break down the top down aspect of teaching

• Referencing & research is far better in those students that use blogs vs paper based (Simply as it is so easy)

• Students are much more into this technology than we realise (caveat is more mature students get left behind)

• We should embrace the mashup principle of the web 2.0 – the essence of research

Design students simply use different media

The real world equivalent at Worcester Digital Arts

Learning Journal (sketchbook)

Assessed artwork (eg. Poster) and or text (Learning report)

Portfolio for big wide world

And the tools they may usePrivate Blog > Blog > ePortfolio

Scrapbook / Ideas

Submitted pieces

Final selections

Which is also what happens in industry

Moodboard / Research - Pinterest Final Piece

Why are we not using such a system?• Students (such as me) find their own tools if the

provided ones are not good enough• If the provided tools aren’t intuitive• If they serve different purposes to what is being

asked• If technology has moved on

• If the teaching of such tools is not in the cirriculum some students will not explore the possibilities

• Tutors generally use blogs as do some students• Should embrace the fact that they use different

systems

So Why are these needs not served?

Are designers that different?• As far as we can tell there is no one product that

design students use.• We think the reasons are:• The stepped process of learning• Web ‘things’ move much too fast

• Tools out there, such as blogger, tumblr, flickr, deviantArt do one thing and do it very well

• Plus there is a new cool thing every year

The solution?The Question mark is important

Wordpress• Has reached a mature state and become many

things to different people• IS the industry standard and looks like being for at

least a couple of years• Has the ability to be a blogging collaboration tool

as well as a portfolio, and can switch by the flick of a theme

The big idea

Design led blogging

tool

Portfolio of pieces

The real world equivalent at Worcester Digital Arts

Learning Journal (sketchbook)

Assessed artwork (eg. A Book cover) and or text (Learning report)

Portfolio for big wide world

An ecosystem of sites

Class of ’14

portfolio

Student 1

Student 4

Student 5

Tutor 1

Tutor 2

Student 3

Student 2

Worcesterdegreeshows.co.ukThe first, simple, prototype portfolio site

Worcesterdegreeshows.co.ukThe first, simple, prototype portfolio site

FolioPress.meBranding and name

A couple of examplesHow will this thing work

“LAURA”Example of a less techy, more arty student

Laura3434.worcdigital.co.uk• Gets a blog setup for her on the above address,

with pre-made module categories, links to tutor blogs and fellow students

• First week, first module, she is shown in class how to.

• She is given some tasks• Find an example graphic piece, write 100 words and

post article.• Find a fellow student’s blog, write a comment

Laura also gets a sketchbook decides that this blogging stuff is not for her. She continues to use paper for the rest of her time. Her blog remains waiting for her.

“DAVID”Example of a digital learner

David3434.worcdigital.co.uk• Gets the same blog and is given same tasks.• Continues to use the blog as a learning tool, and

expands the use to other modules throughout his three years at Uni.

• During his second year he needs to show his portfolio to the wider world. He uses this tool to do so and sends the link around to employers.

• He updates the look an content of his outward portfolio throughout.

• He buys his own domain and uses the same blog.• After university he gets a job but continues to use

his own webspace, domain and blog for his needs.

So what do we want from this?And who is we?

Learning• Students well versed in digital with confidence• Better referencing and research (Mashups)• Different way of working more like industry and

social• Central took for their studies rather than modular• Help with PDP for each student • as the things they do are all in one place – a current

problem with the modular system

Tools

Scrapbook / Ideas

Submitted pieces

Portfolio

Marketing

Class of ’13

portfolio

Student 1

Student 3

Student 2

Longevity• Keep track of work, have digital copies – a

university portfolio• URLs matter for Search, as does cross linking of

content• These will build up over time and be used again and

again• Students do some of the marketing for us, including

a network of Alumni.

The whatOur big plan

When is all this happening• Degree show site was a prototype – May ‘13• Trial with students September ’13 – built into new

module map• Iron out problems, create report and larger

release Jan ’14

• Productise and package with industry partnerships?

What will a student get?• Webspace• FTP access to their blog folder

• Domain name• With instructions on how to mask their URL

• Wordpress blog with some default settings • Categories for module codes• Portfolio led themes• Privacy settings• Blogroll to fellow students and tutors• Useful plugins already installed

• Some documentation

URLS = longevity

Studentname.worcesterarts.ac.ukStudentcrazyname.com

Maintenence• We see this as a multisite wordpress system• http://codex.wordpress.org/User:Beltranrubo/

BitNami_Multisite• Tutors and IT will have superadmin rights

Privacy – a big issue• Posts should be marked as private, unpublished or

public• Private posts can be seen by select folk including

tutors

• This is not only because of privacy but also copyright

• Portfolios should be the public facing area

Legals• Blogs need to be the responsibility of individual

users and not attributed to the University• Flags should be put up for copyright etc.• In the same way as Social sites

Official vs unofficial• The joy of Facebook is that it is deemed to be

“uncontrolled”• A university publication has the air of officialdom

and of top down that school kids are used to• FB groups that evolve organically are more useful

to students in “Getting stuff done on time” and can be academically useful.

• If we demand they do a blog and interact with peers and tutors, will they lose this?

• In order to succeed our tools must engage and use their existing ones – for example posting to FB wall and Twitter

Thank YouSam Collett / Ree HanReferences and files can be found:stage.phenotype.net/samcollett