Lead Contact: Sandra Winfield (sandra.winfield@nottingham.ac.uk)
JISC Programme: JISC e-Learning Programme
Lead Institution and Partners: University of Nottingham Centre for International ePortfolio Development (L), City of Nottingham Children's Services, Connexions Nottinghamshire, Top Valley School & Engineering College, Castle College Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University School of Architecture, Design and Built Environment, LEAP AHEAD (Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire Lifelong Learning Network), Toyota/Lexus Academy, Edexcel
Project Dates: October 2006 - March 2009
Case study tags: online learning, e-portfolios,university of nottingham, e-portfolios for assessment, employability drivers for e-portfolios, e-portfolios considerations - interoperability, lifelong learning drivers for e-portfolios
Background & Context
What is the background to the e-portfolio initiative?
JOSEPH arose as the result of several needs:
- The UK Government agenda at the time was placing an increased emphasis on skills development and encouraging and increasing participation in vocational HE courses (part of the agenda for setting up the Lifelong Learning Network infrastructure in the UK and the development of the 14-19 Specialised Diplomas). The Diplomas represented a major move towards opening access to Higher Education to a wider range of students following vocational pathways
- The JOSEPH project was initiated as the Diplomas were about to be introduced and it was recognised that study programmes would require interaction across a range of institutions, providers and locations and would place new demands on Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) to support the needs of students
- As a consequence there was a growing recognition of the potential for e-portfolio use to support cross-institutional working. This technology would need to be learner-centred, institution free and support the personalisation and integration of learning for individuals
- JOSEPH aimed to explore the use of e-portfolios and e-portfolio-enabled services, specifically in the area of Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) to support learners following Engineering pathways both during their course and at points of transition
- Specialised Diplomas were a new area for practitioners as well as learners and the intention of the project was to contribute to the growing body of knowledge about the needs of learners following this pathway and support this as a route into higher education -consequently supporting widening participation in the region
- The JOSEPH project built on previous work undertaken, including: RIPPLL, eP4LL, partnership working with Passportfolio (and now Connexions), LEAP-AHEAD Lifelong Learning Network
- The project coincided with the formation of the Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire Lifelong Learning Network (LLN), LEAP-AHEAD (http://www.leapahead.ac.uk/), for which the University of Nottingham Centre for International ePortfolio Development has led the eSystems work. IAG services for adult learners formed an important part of this work
What were the aims and objectives of the initiative?
JOSEPH set out to explore the use of e-portfolio and e-portfolio-enabled services, specifically in the area of IAG, to support learners following Engineering pathways both during their course and at points of transition. JOSEPH aimed to:
- Support providers and learners piloting the Specialised Diploma in Engineering in the region through use of e-portfolio
- Scope the interaction between e-portfolio and IAG services
- Conduct a baseline evaluation of how learners in Engineering begin to use an e-portfolio in combination with online and face-to-face IAG services to develop an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) focused on progression to the next stage of learning
- Identify web services to enhance IAG for students following the new Engineering Diploma in local schools and colleges, taking account of the need to link to the new regional 14-19 online prospectus
- Examine how far web services for IAG for progression from a level 1 or level 2 Diploma course prove to be reusable at other progression points, establishing a pattern of reusability where possible
- Through dialogue with stakeholders, identify changes to processes required for learners on vocational pathways to integrate cross-institutional learning (including work-based learning), develop ILPs and create Personal Statements for application to FE, HE and employment
- Explore the Diploma as a progression route into HE and enable central admissions staff and admissions tutors in HE to establish how they would use the wider range of learner information provided from the Diploma to assess the achievements, aptitude and potential of WP applicants both within the admissions process and, for successful applicants, at induction
- Test the 'thin' e-portfolio model and web service definitions for developing a Personal Statement proposed by the e-portfolio Reference Model project
- Strengthen and extend the regional partnership established by the RIPPLL project
- Develop a key test bed activity for e-innovations planned by the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire Lifelong Learning Network
How was the initiative implemented?
The project began from an existing successful partnership with the team who originally developed Passportfolio, and with whom the JOSEPH project team had previously worked on a number of projects. The beginning of the project coincided with the transfer of responsibility for the Passportfolio system used by Nottinghamshire schools (along with a key member of staff) from Nottingham City Council to Connexions Nottinghamshire, so the team was involved in some initial work supporting establishment of the system as part of Connexions' IAG offering.
The first year of the project consisted of an extended set up and development phase accompanied by exercises scoping current provision and mapping existing technology. The project established dialogue with IAG advisers about use of both online and face-to-face services and how these could best articulate with e-portfolio usage. The Diploma qualification was still in early stages of development and implementation, and the team spent time working with local HE Engineering admissions tutors to see how institutions might approach accepting the qualification as a pathway to HE.
The second half of the project involved a full range of stakeholders (including tutors, advisers and students) in both parallel iterative development and testing of a pilot implementation of a tool to articulate IAG provision and further workshops used as a basis for scenario and use case building. The project recognised that the major outcome lay in the promotion of the decision-making process and supporting technology, rather than the tool per se. They therefore developed a CMS facility to support easy customisation of the tool for use with other lines of learning and with other audiences, including adult learners.
Technology Used
What technologies and/or e-tools were available to you or did you seek to develop?
From early on in conversations with IAG professionals, it became clear that a purely electronic approach to IAG is not an ideal solution. What the project sought to achieve was provision of a tool that could be used as part of a blended approach, empowering learners to access resources that had been quality assured by IAG staff and use them as part of a structured decision-making process which could then maximise the effectiveness of face-to-face interactions, on which there is so much time pressure.
The project looked to repurpose existing technology where possible. The project began by building a module that could be coupled with the Passportfolio system, but the intention was always that the JOSEPH tool itself could, with minimal further work, be linked to other e-portfolio systems and web services, increasing its flexibility and further potential.
The current stand-alone module, developed in .NET, has scope to be included in a broader ecosystem linking e-portfolio, IAG, course discovery and application via a common application form and FE MIS systems.
The tool could also be developed stand alone as a SCORM learning object, or the prompts themselves exported in the QTI (Question Test Interoperability) standard for inclusion in a VLE.
The tool is able to take a feed from the Nottinghamshire 14-19 online prospectus to allow the user to live search course information in the area; with minimal further work this could incorporate other XCRI feeds.
Success Factors
What are the key outcomes of the initiative?
The JOSEPH project:
- exemplified the importance of building and sustaining mutually beneficial partnerships. It demonstrated the value of a mature core partnership with the flexibility to add new partners to meet the needs of a project
- developed a pioneering tool to support the career development and hence help realise the potential of young people
- delivered a workable and practical model which can be used flexibly, both as a standalone and also capable of interoperating with an e-portfolio
- started out as a project to support learners into engineering in higher education, but developed to become a model which could support the whole range of vocational and pathways, not just at 14-19
- demonstrated that IAG processes proved to be generic in terms of type and age of learner
- showed that an institution-free e-portfolio was viable and popular with learners, advisers and institutions
- showed how e-portfolios can interoperate with a variety of online resources and online and/or face-to-face advice services provided by IAG organisations (primarily Connexions, but also FE/HE/workplace mentors)
- identified a set of generic core processes for decision-making and preparation for transition, identifying the key resources to support those processes
The JOSEPH tool:
- has become an integral and sustained part of the core work of Connexions Nottinghamshire
- acted as a hub for a series of identified and tested web services required by IAG processes
- by providing the IAG tool with a content management system JOSEPH has given it the capability to support customisation and flexibility
- a set of scenarios show how JOSEPH could be used at a variety of transition points as the IAG processes are similar
In addition, JOSEPH encompassed the use of XCRI (eXchanging Course Related Information) to link successfully to the local 14-19 online prospectus: work used to develop this feed has now been taken further by taking standardised course information feeds from a number of East Midlands area prospectuses into a single reference point (the AimHigher Progression Pathways site). JOSEPH has thus been able to demonstrate integration of this information into a wider IAG framework, showing the added value that this can offer prospectus data.
What follow-up activity will be/has been carried out as a result of the project?
As Diplomas gather more momentum and further lines of learning are offered to students, it is recognised that more work is needed in this area. The first learners with Diploma qualifications are expected to enter higher education in late 2010.
JOSEPH recommended that:
- Further work should be done on combining e-portfolio use with further web-based IAG services to enhance a learner's experience, especially where that experience is gained across a range of institutions/learning situations including workplaces
- The full potential of aggregating the IAG tool, e-portfolios, 14-19 prospectuses, XCRI, Common Application Forma and college MIS systems should be explored further in a variety of contexts and settings
- Further testing and implementations of the 'thin e-portfolio' model should be done with real users and real systems in different practical situations
- Links should be made with LEAP 2A interoperability work which could connect the existing tool with other sets of services and e-portfolio systems
- Work should be carried out around the use of the Common Application Form and its integration into wider systems, especially IAG and induction, to provide a seamless experience for the learner
- MIAP services, including the ULN, should be factored into all of the above landscapes
Next steps
In collaboration with the CIePD, Connexions Nottinghamshire is planning further work to explore demonstration and practical adaptation of the tool to other lines of learning.
Other work is exploring how JOSEPH might join the IAG, e-portfolio and XCRI work to support the use of a standard Common Application Form and a linkage to the MIS systems of FE colleges. This is an exciting prospect and reflects the value and practicality of the JOSEPH work and would realise some of the early developments explored by the RIPPLL project. It will also facilitate cross-border access to data to increase choice for learners who currently only have access to information within regional boundaries.
Lessons Learned
What are the lessons learned from the project?
In 2007 the Project team reported that if they could start again they would have a much better understanding of the landscape. Even at that stage the 14-19 agenda had moved on significantly since initiation of the project and it was recognised that, given an emphasis on young apprenticeships and vocational routes to HE in the post-Leitch era, IAG provision was more crucial than ever before for individuals facing a bewildering array of choices.
The 3 major lessons learned by the Project Manager during the process were:
- Be vigilant to avoid project creep
- Keep good records, it helps when it comes to report writing, especially when working with a wide range of stakeholders and potential stakeholders
- Be prepared to bring in help when you need it
- The novelty of the Diploma qualification, while an initial brake on project progress, proved to be an advantage as it encouraged the project to work with a wider range of pathways and qualifications, and to explore generic IAG processes and the support these would need
Further Resources
Website - http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/eportfolio/joseph/index.shtml
Dissemination Activity includes
- Article in D-Lib magazine, January 2007
- Presentation by Angela Smallwood to Action on Access event, Feb 2007
- Presentation at HEA ePortfolio SIG, May 2007
- Presentation at Becta/QIA Excellence Gateway launch event, Coventry, June 2007
- Presentation at University of Nottingham meeting for LLNs interested in ePortfolio, July 2007
- Workshops at EIfEL international ePortfolio conference, Maastricht, October 2007, October 2008
- SSAT conference, London, March 2009
- Becta conference, 'Next Generation' London, March 2009
- ICT in CEG Conference 5th March 2009
- Progression Pathways Aimhigher Employer Engagement meeting (including LSC rep, Aimhigher, both LLNs)
- Lifelong Learning Network Leap Ahead Team (initial OMG meeting)
- Wider LLNs (via eSystems event July 07 and via the eSystems report )
- North Nottinghamshire area Diploma ASG
- JISC EM RSC eFair, 24th June 2008
- Mention in JISC ePortfolio briefing paper Sept 2007
More informal dissemination has also taken place with the following:
- emda Skills team
- Nottinghamshire County Council 14-19
- Nottingham City Council 14-19
- Derby City 14-19
- EdExcel
- QIA
- Wider Connexions team (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire)
- FEs via Passportfolio Steering Group
- JISC community including programme meetings and CETIS SIGs
- JISC RSC Through conversations with the team and RSC eFair
- NEBA
- SummitSkills
- Construction Action Group of Employers (CAGE)
- Aimhigher East Midlands Progression Pathways Employer Steering Group
- Chesterfield College
- Skills Set
- UoN Widening Participation
- Schools (Djanogly, Top Valley, Kimberley)
- Engineering Subject Centre
- SEMTA
- Action on Access
- Becta
- JCB Academy
