VET e-portfolios Showcase 09: Learning for Life

16th October, 2009

E-portfolios for lifelong learning

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Overview

• Review of SICTAS report ‘e-Portfolios beyond education and training’

• Better support for lifelong learners• Focus on ACE sector

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SICTAS Research: Overview

• Globally, e-portfolios are being used beyond traditional formal education environments in a number of areas including:• supporting workers facing redundancy• Career development• Workforce development and planning• Continuing professional development (CPD)• Lifelong learning• Articulation of skills and experience• Developing competencies with ICT

• This research looked at some of these areas and investigated their potential for use in Australia• Did so by reviewing existing regional implementations and interviewing

implementers

• Looked at challenges for e-portfolio providers and owners from a lifelong learning perspective

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The e-portfolio epidemic• Non-institutional eportfolios

• Generally fit into two categories• Industry specific• Regional

• Regional ones don’t seem to be a global phenomena• Cultural issues• Not ‘pandemic’

• Greater adoption in Europe, parts of USA and Australia / New Zealand

• Difficult to accumulate a wide body of evidence to support claims of the value that they provide

• (only a small number of large-scale implementations)• Careers Wales• NedCar• eFolio Minnesota• Europass

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Career Development and Lifelong Learning• Careers Wales

• Part of Welsh Government’s lifelong learning agenda• Over 250,000 users• 75% - 80% registered users are students• Customised versions to support specific user groups• Tools to support users at different stages of their careers

• Myfuture • Australia’s career information and exploration service• Contains a great deal of career/employment information• Most students in our schools use this as their career exploration service – have an identity

on it• Perform a number of e-portfolio functions• Except gathering evidence, selecting and publishing

• Findings• JISC has investigated a number of (localised) eportfolio opportunities/challenges• Need to fund similar projects looking at addressing local (Australian) challenges• Integrating e-portfolio with other career development tools and services has yielded

positive results in Wales

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Workforce development and planning/workforce adjustment• eFolio Minnesota

• Regional implementation for all Minnesota residents• Also being used for development and planning

• The Netherlands• ‘Towards a future that works’

• NedCar• Shift from employment economy to an ad hoc project economy• Goal: flexible, mobile and transparent labour market

• What can we learn from NedCar?• Local, large-scale redundancies

• E-portfolios may play a supportive role in strategies developed to address this type of scenario

• Are we offering similar services?

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Lifelong learning for an individual

• An example: a lifelong learning story (so far)• A degree• Working for a long time

• Pre-date the Web

• Adult education• Other

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My ‘Web’ presence

• Can it be the basis of an eportfolio?• I have a presence on the Web

• You can find quite a bit of the digital ‘me’ with Google but….• Not all of me• Don’t confuse me with others• Can you verify the accurateness and authenticity of anything you

find?• If you are checking up on me as part consideration for hiring me

what you are doing might be illegal

• There’s a lot of stuff missing• I have no control• Processes that support reflection (from an eportfolio

perspective)

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An aside: legal implications

• We have all heard stories warning of placing photos, views etc on social networking sites but….• Recent CareerOne article highlights dangers to the

employers as well as employees (Southam, 2009)• Privacy Act

• Must inform candidate they have collected personal information• Reason for gathering that information• Let them know who else will see the information

• General Protections section of Fair Work Act• ‘Cannot treat someone adversely for exercising a workplace right’

• Eg unfair dismissal claim, workers compensation

• Maybe the ‘Web’ is not such a good place for employers to be researching job candidates

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Some other problems• What is lacking on general web services from a lifelong learning e-portfolio perspective?

• Depends on what your intent is but possibly..• The process

• Collect• Select• Reflect• Publish

• Support

• However, don’t dismiss the cloud• Insidious design? (Lane 2009)

• Must be very simple to use• Yet scaffold each of these activity areas effectively• To template or not to template?

• I cannot control effectively who sees (parts of) my e-portfolio, when and how they see it• Sharing

• Communities of interest or communities of trust?• Google juice

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Challenges for lifelong learners and eportfolios

• Reflection• Where do I start?• Is it intuitive, easy to do for all?• Presents design and support challenges

• Multiple portfolios over time• How can you support a lifelong perspective

• Stuff just disappears (online and in the cupboard)

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Lifelong Learning: on a national scale

• Lets have a look at the ACE sector• ACE is:

‘... all educational and training activity (i.e. vocational and non-vocational) which is delivered by community-based or community-managed organisations that provide learning opportunities for adults; and non- vocational educational and training activity which is delivered by TAFE institutes and other VET providers.’ (Choy, Haukka, 2006)

• 1,027 providers catalogued in 2006• Over 55% were also registered training providers (RTOs) providing

vocational courses• What are we doing to support lifelong learners and the ACE

sector?• Would a national e-portfolio service be useful to ACE and the many adult

learners that it delivers to?• Should eportfolio services belong in institutions or operate independently to

support lifelong learning? (Heinrich, 2008)

Questions?

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References

Choy S, Haukka S, 2006. National database of ACE providers: Preliminary Analysis. Adult Learning Australia

Southam K, 2009. The dangers of using social networks on the job hunt. http://www.careerone.com.au/advertisers/resource-centre/recruiting-hiring-advice/dangers-of-using-social-networks-on-the-job-hunt-20090812. Retrieved from Web 13/10/09

Barden B, 2006. Community Education and National Reform: Discussion Paper. DEST

Bowman K, 2006. The value of ACE providers: A guide to the evidence base. Adult Learning Australia

Leeson J, Williams A, 2009. e-Portfolios beyond education and training. Education.au Limited

Heinrich E, 2008. Contrasting approaches: Institution or individual ownership in e-portfolio systems. Massey University

Lane L, 2009. Insidious pedagogy: How course management systems are impacting teaching. http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2530/2303. retrieved from Web 12/10/09

Thank you