Implementation: key principles for success

e-Portfolio 

implementation principles 

The key issues from a practitioner perspective

Statements of effective practice with links to examples from the e-portfolio implementation case studies

1. Purpose needs to be aligned to context to maximise benefits.

The diversity of purposes for e-portfolios can lead to misunderstandings and ineffective implementation. There needs to be clarity over this at the start the implementation.

• The e-portfolio purpose is clearly linked to programme or course objectives; it meets a defined need and supports the learning outcomes.  In most of the examples in this toolkit, there is both a formative feedback process involved and a summative assessment purpose - for examples of ways they can be integrated into courses see the exemplars taster of e-portfolio use .
• There is transparency of purpose for learners. This can be achieved through: 

• A course specific purpose such as achievement of competences/standards (Teacher Education, Midwifery, Clinical Practice ,Dentistry, NVQ course), CV creation (Journalism) development of academic and employability skills(Psychology).

• A whole university focus on personal development planning (University of Wolverhampton) employability or graduate attributes (University of Edinburgh) the latter being a key focus for Australian Higher Education (see Australian Case Studies).

• Benefits are made transparent to learners and are demonstrated. They need to be outlined when the e-portfolio is first introduced.  A video involving past students can be effective such as this one from the Business studies course at Birmingham City University and this Introductory video by Southampton Solent University describes the potential of e-portfolios to support undergraduate students for both assessment and CPD/employment purposes.

2. Learning activity needs to be designed to suit the purpose.

Familiarity with the e-portfolio tool is needed in order to understand what learning activities it can support. 

This enables:

• conscious pedagogic decisions to be made about use ;
• an understanding of the scaffolding students need to carry out the e-portfolio based learning activity.

• Staff ideally should develop a pilot e-portfolio themselves to understand its potential for learning. Some institutions encourage staff to use an e-portfolio themselves to support their continuing professional development and this can develop an understanding of appropriate application  with students (Thanet College) others make its use compulsory on the new lecturers course (University of Bradford) .
• Learning occurs from effective practice within the institution or elsewhere by seeking advice provided by:
• Central support staff, for example the Institute for Learning Enhancement at the University of Wolverhampton .
• Champions/mentors - the use of early adopters to support staff was a common feature of most case studies, eg Birmingham City University and Southampton Solent University.

• Attending e-portfolio conferences such as  epic ,  Mahara  and PebbleBash. 

• Accessing events and resources such as those provided by JISC , and the Centre for Recording Achievement.  

• Participation in  internal/external projects, eg JISC projects and the  Inter/National Cohort for Electronic Portfolios Research network. 

3. Processes need to be supported technologically and pedagogically.

Support for the technology can be offered centrally and e-portfolio tools may offer some generic  pedagogic support, e.g. for action planning.

However what is required for processes such as reflection and presentation may vary across courses and so there is a need for course specific support.

It is important not to underestimate the level of support needed for both staff and students who may lack technical and/or the 'new' learning skills such as reflection.

• An effective central support team is in place. This was a common element in all the case studies where implementation was established across the institution - see  the governance sections within the case studies. 

• The e-portfolio tool chosen has the necessary functionality to support the processes involved, such as information capture & retrieval and presentation - see How do we decide which e-portolio to use, and technical support is also provided centrally. This functionality and support is particularly important in  work based learning contexts.

• Completed example e-portfolios are provided and there are many examples within the cases studies, eg  Fine Arts, Business Studies. This could be a draft example or template with instructions .

• Pedagogic support is in place for reflection, peer review, information selection, presentation etc - see University of Bradford example and Southampton Solent University case study.

• e-safety aspects of what is shared in an e-portfolio are introduced, for example as part of an Internet Safety module .

4. Ownership needs to be student centred.

Both learners and those they need to share their e-portfolios with, need to access the e-portfolios to support the learning activity and understand the expected learning outcomes; but the e-portfolio in process needs to be private to the individual learner.

How can the learner understand the value of the learner centred part of this process until they have experienced it?

How can access be provided in all contexts including work based learning ones?

• It is recognised that, even though the purpose within a taught course will have been defined by the lecturer rather than by the learner, the e-portfolio is a personal and private space whilst in construction, and elements of it are shared only when the learner decides to share them. It is also recognised that this aspect of e-portfolios has implications for some students with learning difficulties - see Thanet College case study .

• The e-portfolio is made available to all students and staff for use during their studies alongside the careful integration in courses - there is evidence that this results in rapid uptake  by students, e.g.,  Birmingham City University and Southampton Solent University, that provides a learning environment that encourages peer support. 

• The ability to use the e-portfolio and/or export this to other e-portfolios beyond the period of study is provided for.

• Student voice should be used to promote effective use - see the Business studies at Birmingham City University student video, also this video of students on a construction course at Dumfries and Galloway College  and this  University of Wolverhampton student reflection.  

5. Transformation (disruption) needs to be planned for.

The benefits and implications of using the e-portfolio in a particular context are unlikely to be fully understood by others outside that context.

This means that in spite of all the guidance and support that is available, a careful consideration of the ways the context may be unique and ongoing feedback from users is needed to ensure effective implementation.

• It is understood that each particular instance of e-portfolio use is likely to mean new practice will need to be developed  by learners and those who are supporting them.

• The implications of this ‘new’ practice are planned for. This has been covered in 1, 2 and 3 above and the case studies provide examples of carefully thought through implementations.

• Evaluation of practice needs to be ongoing. This was a key feature within the case studies  and wider evaluation of pilot use of e-portfolios was common, in some cases more formal evaluation occurred - see the University of Bradford and Southampton Solent University case studies.