Rose Papworth Charlie Papworth Hull College

1. Higher Education Learning Portfolio for Placements HELPP Rose Papworth Charlie Papworth Hull College

2. Hull College JISC Project - HELPP • JISC e-learning capital programme • HE in FE strand • Elgg • (We also use Moodle at Hull) • Today we will • Give you a brief overview of background/rationale • Use so far, after a year, and what we’ve found • Work-based learning • What we’re doing now • Work-based learning / personal development planning (PDP) e-portfolio • Some issues with Elgg!

3. HEA ICSHE in FE Mini-Project • 2006 / 2007 • Foundation Degree Software Design and Development (full-time) • One-day-a-week work placements • Regular, but infrequent tutor visits

4. HEA ICSHE in FE Mini-Project Issues: • Limited support/feedback for students and mentors • Hard to keep track of project progress • Personal Development Planning • Standard documents = chore • Blogs can = diaries rather than reflection • Non-traditional students

5. HEA ICSHE in FE Mini-Project Project rationale - use an online environment to: • Facilitate tripartite conversation between learner, employer and tutor • Increase support for all parties via online provision • Provide an online placement contract to keep track of progress • Develop personal reflection via blogs and mentor/tutor comments (PDP) • social constructivist perspective • Use an e-portfolio to facilitate widening participation via personalisation

6. HEA ICSHE in FE Mini-Project Elgg environment – free-to-use, open source: • Individual and community blogs with comments • Flexible e-portfolio space • Access controls – important for sensitive developments • Open source to develop an online work placement contract • Good feedback on Elgg usability

7. HEA ICSHE in FE Mini-Project Elgg environment – online placement contract: Check boxes to sign off progress by each party

8. HEA ICSHE in FE Mini-Project Elgg environment in use: • 11 second year students as focus group • Work placement project • At least 12 blog entries during placement (weekly) • Entries not graded • Employers and tutors read posts and commented - students responded via comments • E-portfolio space used to share documents as required rather than assessment

9. HEA ICSHE in FE Mini-Project Encouraging reflection via comments: Probing questions to facilitate reflection

10. HEA ICSHE in FE Mini-Project Conclusion - evaluation of use: • Most students posted regularly • Harder to get employers to comment • Students enjoyed using blogs as more immediate and aided reflection – better than standard PDP documents • E-portfolio helped share documents • Outcomes and progress more easily monitored • Enabled better communication and support

11. HEA ICSHE in FE Mini-Project For the future!: • Students indicated that employers needed reminding to comment and that the quality of employer comments varied • Better mentor training on the use of comments to aid reflection • Led to the JISC-funded project • Using Elgg in a similar manner with other subjects at Hull College

12. JISC Project - HELPP How we’re using Elgg this semester: • Work-based learning for first year FD’s • Part-time FD Business Information Technology - distance unit • Full-time FD Software Design and Development – face-to-face • Use of community to seek help / store ‘tasks’ • Small tasks build into assessment • Blogs enable sharing of knowledge via compulsory comments • Use of blogs and e-portfolio for assessment

13. JISC Project - HELPP How we’re using Elgg this semester: • Personal and Professional Development • Third year BSc Computing • Reflection assessed via blog entries • Enhanced via comments • Use of Elgg presentations to evidence individual contributions • First year FD Business and Management • Four blog entries for reflection enhanced via comments • Induction/training materials developed

14. JISC Project - HELPP How we’re using Elgg this semester: • Blogs and e-portfolio work must be chosen for assessment • Some private entries may not want to be used • Interoperability issues • Download system developed • Files chosen, zip file created • When unzipped, an HTML-based interface to view files is created • Still being tested!

15. JISC Project - HELPP How we’re using Elgg next semester: • HE Research Group • Document active research via blogs • Create a community for information and support • Teacher Education • EE mentioned a need for innovative use of technology • Wants to use blogs for reflection • Health and Social Care • Has a module on reflective practice • Wants to use blogs and comments • Art and Design • Would like to be able to choose ‘themes’ for the download • Would like to be able to showcase student work

16. JISC Project - HELPP Elgg issues: • Google • College log in pulls full name into Elgg profile • Can be searched on in Google • The link takes you to the profile page where name and photo can be seen • An issue for identification purposes • Stopped Google indexing Elgg pages • System only pulls first name into profile • Prevented non-logged-in users from seeing photo

17. JISC Project - HELPP Elgg issues: • After this, more issues! • Cannot search for a friend who has a name of three or less characters • Need to change name!

18. JISC Project - HELPP Elgg use: • Communities important for tutors to ‘organise’ classes • Communities also help students limit access • Access controls on profile and assessed work important to explain • Students who already use social software (e.g. MySpace, Facebook) pick up Elgg easily • However, some get very confused between community and personal file storage

19. Hull College JISC Project – HELPP Further information: • HEA page: http://www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk/HEinFE/HullCollege_MP.htm • JISC page: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/programme_elearning_capital/el_heinfe/helpp.aspx • JISC Project web site: http://helpp.hull-college.ac.uk/ Thanks for having us!