8/14/2019 Abstract for designing ePortfolios for post graduate music study

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Abstract

Title: Designing ePortfolios for music postgraduate study. A practice-led inquiry.

In this research I have examined how can ePortfolios be designed for Musicpostgraduate study? through apractice led research enquiry. This process involveddesigning two Web 2.0 ePortfolio systems for a group of five post graduate music

research students. The design process revolved around the application of an iterative

methodology called Software Develop as Research(SoDaR) that seeks to

simultaneously develop design and pedagogy. The approach to designing these

ePortfolio systems applied four theoretical protocols to examine the use of digitised

artefacts in ePortfolio systems to enable a dynamic and inclusive dialogue around

representations of the students work. The research and design process involved an

analysis of existing software and literature with a focus upon identifying the

affordances of available Web 2.0 software and the applications of these ideas within

21st Century life. The five post graduate music students each posed different needs inrelation to the management of digitised artefacts and the communication of their work

amongst peers, supervisors and public display. An ePortfolio was developed for each

of them that was flexible enough to address their needs within the university setting.

However in this first SoDaR iteration data gathering phase I identified aspects of the

university context that presented a negative case that impacted upon the design and

usage of the ePortfolios and prevented uptake. Whilst the portfolio itself functioned

effectively the university policies and technical requirements prevented serious use.

An analysis of this negative case revealed that Access and Control and

Implementation, Technical and Policy Constraints protocols where limiting user

uptake. Feedback from the students revealed that whilst not using the ePortfolio I

designed each student was employing Web 2.0 social networking and storage

processes in their lives and research. In the subsequent iterations I then designed a

more ideal system that could be applied outside of the University context that draws

upon the employment of these resources. In conclusion I suggest transferable

recommendations about their design that consider what the applications of the

theoretical protocols reveal about creative arts settings. To address the mobility of

ePortfolio design between Institutions and wider settings I have also designed a

prototype for a business card sized USB portal for the artists ePortfolio. This research

project is not a static one it stands as a dynamic and evolving design for a Web 2.0

ePortfolio that seeks to respond to users needs, institutional and professional contextsand the development of software that can be incorporated within the design. What it

potentially provides to creative artist is an opportunity to have a dialogue about art

with artefacts of the artist products and processes in that discussion.