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Student e-Portfolio. Wendy Harper ePortfolio Project Manager Intranet Services Manager w.harper@qut.edu.au Col McCowan Head, Careers & Employment c.mccowan@qut.edu.au Kim Hauville Technical Team Leader k.hauville@qut.edu.au. Purpose of the QUT Student e-Portfolio.
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Student e-Portfolio Wendy Harper ePortfolio Project Manager Intranet Services Manager w.harper@qut.edu.au Col McCowan Head, Careers & Employment c.mccowan@qut.edu.au Kim Hauville Technical Team Leader k.hauville@qut.edu.au
Purpose of the QUT Student e-Portfolio To enable students to record, reflect on, catalogue, retrieve and present their experiences, activities, and things they produce both inside and outside of university life as evidence of the skills developed while at QUT that contribute significantly to their lifelong learning and career development.
Steps to Introduction at QUT • Took a ‘project management’ approach • Sponsorship – DVC (TILS) with buy-in from all Executive • Integrated into QUT wide existing systems - QUT Virtual • Linkages with existing systems and data • Obtained QUT-wide acceptance • Addressed key issues before building the system • Planned & introduced in manageable pre-determined stages • Trialled with sub-groups and used feedback • Identified and addressed key future developments
Features of QUT’s Student e-Portfolio • Available to all students and staff • Student-centred • Automatically appears on each student’s Intranet “Home” page • Similar features and feel to all other activities they perform in the Intranet such as Class Allocations, Enrolment, Field Placement • Linked to QUT Virtual functionalities eg photo, Academic History • Mapped/linked to specific student capabilities • Tailored to suit Faculty / Industry issues • Legitimised activities undertaken outside QUT • Easy to use • Form based • Limited number of steps • Lots of tips, help buttons, word count guides • Lots of self-help resources
Key Activities in Student e-Portfolio Add Experiences to the portfolio Add Artefacts to the portfolio Create a View of the portfolio Release a portfolio View • Students can: • Undertake a self-assessment • Upload files to their web-accessible space • Learning objects • Students can add: • Academic History • Resume • Photo • Students can: • Export their View • Check visits to their View
Three Styles of Student e-Portfolios QUT aims to incorporate all three recognised styles • Structured • predetermined framework of objectives to meet external / internal needs • Learning / Dynamic • opportunity for self-audit, recording, reflection, feedback and on-going development • Showcase • collect together, organise and present accomplishments
QUT Student Capabilities • In the mid 90’s QUT developed a set of Student Capabilities in response to: • a need to consolidate specific lists from individual Faculties/Schools • a need to respond to business and industry requirements • a need to meet industry specific accreditation processes eg IEAust • a need to infuse into teaching & learning documents and practice, and • a desire to get ATN agreement on student capabilities across like universities in Australia.
Examples of QUT Student Capabilities • knowledge and skills pertinent to a particular discipline or professional areaencompassing: • coherent theoretical and practical knowledge in at least one discipline area at the level of entry to a profession • technological skills appropriate to the discipline • critical, creative and analytical thinking, and effective problem-solvingincluding: • the ability to critique current paradigms and contribute to intellectual inquiry • the capacity to exhibit creative as well as analytical ways of thinking about questions in at least one discipline • the ability to identify, define and solve problems in at least one discipline area • effective communication in a variety of contexts and modesincluding: • effective written and oral communication with discipline specialists and non-specialists and in cross-cultural contexts • the capacity for life-long learningincluding: • searching and critically evaluating information from a variety of sources using effective strategies and appropriate technologies • the ability to work independently and collaborativelyincluding: • managing time and prioritising activities to achieve goals • demonstrating the capacity for self-assessment of learning needs and achievements • being a cooperative and productive team member or leader
Mapping of QUT Student Capabilities QUT has mapped its Student Capabilities to • Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry / Business Council of Australia Employability Skills Framework • Specific Professional Association listings eg for Nursing, Teaching • Specific Faculty/Schools listings for curriculum purposes eg Business – Port of Brisbane Corporation, Law, Nursing, Education TPA’s… • The e-Portfolio Skills Areas
COMPARISON OF STUDENT e-PORTFOLIO SKILL AREAS / QUT STUDENT CAPABILITIES / BCI / ACCI EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS / FACULTY SPECIFIC SKILLS
Helping students to reflect on their experiences S ituation Situation is where you had the experience. Describe the environment, and the type of people or equipment you worked with. This gives employers background information and puts the experience into context. T ask The task is what was required of you. When addressing a Task, it may be the project itself, a presentation you had to deliver, or a problem that arises within a project, such as personal differences. A ction When addressing Action, think about what you did to resolve a problem or perform a task. Ask yourself “what did I actually do?” R esult When addressing Result, think about how your actions affected the outcome of the situation and the status of the task. L earnt When addressing the things learnt, highlight skills that came out of the process and how they can be applied in other situations. This will show employers growth in your personal development as well as the skills you possess.
Accessing Student e-Portfolio • On the main page of QUT Virtual students can access: • Student Portfolio application • Resume Builder tool • QUT Virtual File Manager where they can upload 128MB of their files (annual review) • Once graduated have lifelong active access to the ePortfolio via an alumni view of QUT Virtual
Uptake • Over 20,000 Student ePortfolios • All 9 QUT Faculties use the ePortfolio • QUT Learning & Teaching plan 2007 -2011 • Professional Staff ePortfolio to be released in December
Usages Business Advantage(4 x 2hour course): • Self Assessment and e-Portfolio Module, Career Planning Module First Year: • introduction, requirement, pre-assessment Work Integrated Learning: • Nursing, Education, Co-op & Internships, Paramedic , Pharmacy Post – grad: • professional course, pre-employment preparation, supervision journal Discrete elements only: • Resume, Artefacts (eg dance clip), Self-assessment Year 11 & 12’sin a Secondary College Creating and monitoring development of Learning Objects
Major purposes • Collecting and recordingin a single structure • Knowingabout the generic skills employers seek • Connectingskills and experiences to the curriculum • Learning through reflecting and evidence-based writing • Understandingand self auditing skills and experiences • Planning where and how to develop skills • Reviewing content and progress by self and others • Showcasing slices of personal evidence • Preparing evidencefor academics and employers • Preparing and building confidencefor applications & interviews
Findings Students • find easy to manage IT • Can allocate to 10/11 Skill Areas easily • find it difficult to write first experience • After first experience, others follow easily • Liked working with 1500 character limit • Good for self-audit, selection criteria, interview preparation • Good for storing wide range of artefacts Staff • accepted matrix, good for work integrated learning activities, improved communication skills Employers • students better organised / prepared, good access to artefacts, increase in confidence
Some key considerations • Institutional versus free-form expression • Privacy • Emotional engagement • Purpose – first year versus third year • ‘Bubbling along’ / mentoring • Short term versus Long term (life-long) • Multiple purposes, multiple audiences • Inter-operability before and after QUT eg My future, Ed Queensland, Qld Learning Accounts….