What’s in it for me? Using the Blackboard e-portfolio in Health & Social Care PDP4XL2

1. What’s in it for me? Using the Blackboard e-portfolio in Health & Social Care PDP4XL2 Personal Development Planning for Cross-Institutional Lifelong Learning Amina Uddin Telling ePortfolio stories: The road to ‘stickiness’ 5th June 2008, Wolverhampton http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/asprojects/pdpxl2/

2. Presentation overview • Project partners • Overall project aims • Specific aims • Why we are working with the health sector • What did we do? • How did we do it? • Gathering feedback • Findings so far • Challenges • Conclusions http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/asprojects/pdpxl2/

3. Project partners • Bournemouth University (Lead institution) • Arts Institution at Bournemouth • Open University in the South West • University Centre Yeovil • University of Gloucestershire • Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust • School of Health & Social Care, BU • Phosphorix http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/asprojects/pdpxl2/

4. Overall project aims Aims to encourage: • Successful lifelong learning by developing a positive attitude towards PDP by learners, academic staff, employers and professional organisations • A willingness to use technology in the PDP process to generate the transferable records that support lifelong learning http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/asprojects/pdpxl2/

5. Specific aims Creative Industries • Continue to embed PDP and e-portfolio use in the SW • Use of employer feedback to inform PDP tools and processes Health Care Professionals • Explore attitudes to and engagement with PDP and e-portfolios for lifelong learning in both academic and practice settings in the SW region South West Lifelong Learning Network Inform (SWLLN) • Inform and be informed by, approaches to PDP and e-portfolios used to support their information, advice and guidance processes Interoperability of learner records and data transfer across institutional boundaries • Contribute to the knowledge base http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/asprojects/pdpxl2/

6. Health Sector Learners Traditionally be less accustomed to using IT but have a professional requirement to maintain their CPD profile, so the transfer of their records and the associated PDP processes into an online environment presents interesting challenges Major area of growth in the South West Why did we work with HSC? http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/asprojects/pdpxl2/

7. What did we do? Limited pilot of Blackboard e-portfolio with AHP students • Meeting with learners to identify their attitudes to and usage of PDP and e-portfolios, including Blackboard e-portfolio • Blackboard pilot • School of Health and Social Care, BU • Occupational Therapists • From January 2008 – May 2008 http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/asprojects/pdpxl2/

8. How did we do it? • Unit Title: Foundations of Continuing Professional Development • Unit aims • Introduction and briefing to pilot for students • Evaluation themes identified and introduced to students • Unit Lecturer used as primary contact for students • Guidance and ongoing technical support provided http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/asprojects/pdpxl2/

9. Gathering feedback • Evaluation themes • Summary reports from students prior to commencing pilot • Focus groups • Case studies • Final report is yet to be submitted http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/asprojects/pdpxl2/

10. Findings so far • IT competency levels play a big part in student attitudes towards the tool • Students perceptions are that the health care sector is not ready for ePortfolios • There is not enough time to have a paper based portfolio and to use to use the tool at the same time • Self reflection is vital but why use Blackboard for this? • Students only used the tool to submit work before deadlines • Further guidance on what PDP is and why it is so important may encourage students to use the tool more • In depth IT support required for many • PDP is important but where is the room for an e-portfolio tool in this process? • The placement of the CPD unit as an ongoing one throughout the year combined with the students heavy workload makes them ‘forget’ about CPD and PDP though they know its Important • What is the incentive for using this tool? http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/asprojects/pdpxl2/

11. E-portfolios “ I went to a job interview and they were so impressed when I did a presentation on Power Point. They were asking me how I did it. How will they ever get used to e-portfolios in a job application process? They are not ready for this” “ Why do we have to use this (e-portfolio tool) when we have always had a paper based portfolio? I can see it in front of me and can trust nothing will go wrong with it” “ I don’t have the time to understand how the tool works. It’s too complicated and I don’t know what I am doing even though I have been shown how to use it” http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/asprojects/pdpxl2/

12. Challenges • Encouraging regular usage of the ePortfolio rather than just prior to submission dates • Overcoming technical barriers so students feel more confident in using the tool • Changing attitudes of students who have had little experience or no experience of using computers • The range of IT literacy amongst students vary • Moving away from paper based portfolios • What is currently being used in the health care sector? http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/asprojects/pdpxl2/

13. Conclusions • Some positive attitudes towards the process of PDP • Why should learners change from paper based to e-portfolios? • Overcoming technical barriers • E-portfolios can be seen as instruments to support reflective practice • Encouragement/Motivation http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/asprojects/pdpxl2/

14. Contacts Amina Uddin PDP Project Manager auddin@bournemouth.ac.uk http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/asprojects/pdpxl2/