Ticket to rideEngaging students in personal
learning journeysThe role of e portfolios
Alan Howe
Andrea Collins
Structure of the SW Degree
• Year 1 – two semesters in university
• Year 2 – semester one in practice 100 days– semester two in university
• Year 3– semester one in university– semester two in practice 100 days
Problems we experienced with paper based portfolios
• Lack of opportunity for formative feedback
• Lack of personalisation or ownership
• Poor evidence of use of a practice log
• Little evidence of development of learning between placements
• Dull and boring to read leading to possibility of poor decision making
• Assembly of portfolio stressful for students (2 x A4 copies of 100 + pages)
• Admin time approx 2 days needed
• Moving and handling– 100 portfolios per cohort
• Printing and postage costs
• Sustainability
Traditional portfolio – e portfolio
e portfolios on SW Degree
• pebblePad e portfolio – introduced to students in year one – forms basis for reflecting upon and recording
Personal Development Planning (PDP) throughout three years of degree
– to be used by students to reflect upon and record their learning journeys
• Students can take their e portfolios with them, when they complete their SW degree, as the foundation of their Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Year Two Practice Placement
• We ran a pilot with 8 students and 4 practice assessors/educators 08/09
• Students reflected on and recorded their learning experiences in practice
• Student’s e portfolio (webfolio) shared with practice educators and tutors during placement
• Assessment was on line
Exampleshttp://pebblepad.glos.ac.uk/gateway/gateway.aspx?gatewayoid=50999
The student’s voice - Carly
The student’s voice - Paul
The practice educator’s voice - Sharon
The practice educator’s voice - Barbara
Student Evaluation 1
• Students welcomed the opportunity to personalise their webfolios
• Most found the blog tool (practice log) useful in recording their practice experiences
• Able to link to web sites and make links between blog and National Occupational Standards (NOS)
• Easier to organise their material compared to paper based portfolio
Student Evaluation 2
• Built their webfolio as the placement evolved rather than wait until last few weeks
• Shared their experiences more readily with practice educators
• Felt more supported and received more formative feedback
• For students with dyslexia, easier to organise and to write
Practice Educator Evaluation
• Access to Blog facilitated Practice Educators’ ability: – to be better informed about the students’ daily
activities on placement– to observe continuous development– to monitor student performance
• They felt the students actually took more responsibility for their own learning on placement
• Found webfolios saved them time and it was easier to complete their assessment
Problems experienced with paper based portfolios
• Lack of opportunity for formative feedback
• Lack of personalisation or ownership
• No evidence of use of a practice log
• No evidence of continuity or development of learning
• Dull and boring to read leading to possibility or poor decision making
• Assembly of portfolio stressful for students (2x A4 copies of 100 + pages)
• Admin time approx 2 days needed
• Moving and handling– 100 portfolios per cohort
• Printing and postage costs
• Sustainability
Advantages of e portfolios
• Students received formative feedback from practice educators and tutors
• Greater sense of personalisation and ownership
• Student learning was recognised to be enhanced and deepened
• Practice blog used extensively to reflect upon and record practice
• webfolios were readily shared with practice educators, tutors and others
• Created a community of learners
• Assessment was made easier• Reduced workload of
assessors• Webfolios were easier to read
and navigate • Reduced stress and cost for
students• Saved admin time• Students enjoyed using them
and eager to build on their use for year 3 placement
Future Plans
• Year 2 – Roll out of pebblePad webfolio for all level 2
students and assessors September 2009
• Year 3– Plans to use webfolio for Jan 2010 placement
Post Qualifying Award
• Opportunities to develop pebblePad for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) beyond qualification as part of life long record of learning
Thank You
• Questions?
The End
• Contacts