Project meeting

This is just a quick note to catch the learning and action points (see initials below) while they are fresh.

We acknowledge the technical issues that are thoroughly rehearsed in the outputs (reports: AWC, Plumpton, ALT, BLITZ) of the case studies and the very useful summary technical report provided by K-Int. It is not our intention to focus hard on these in the final report, but to recognise that many of the outcomes were of the "unexpected" sort, for example:

• outcomes may be expressed at four orders:1) wider cultural/social, 2) local institutional context, 3) within the case study and 4) with the application; while these are clearly a continuum, it serves the analytical purpose to separate them
• despite the challenges presented by the Sakai/OSP platform there were many valuable learning points
• the CV plus is qualitatively different from a paper CV
• we note that "e-portfolio literacy" issues exist for assessors as well as compilers and presenters
• ePortfolios are about process not tool or product
• the understanding of e-portfolio processes was well articulated and end users clearly distinguished between the potential of e-portfolio processes and the sometimes buggy software
• ePortfolio processes can be generalised as: collect, reflect, select, and present
• these processes might be disaggregated; different tools might serve different processes
• there are many tensions; tension at one order impact upon tensions in other orders
• a local context issue might be, e.g. the college does not have a single sign-on system and students need different log-ins to the College network, the VLE, the UCAS system and the e-Portfolio system; while not an e-portfolio problem it impacts on the perceived usability of the portfolio (the oh-no-not-another-system problem)
• another local context issue might be e.g. the institute needs to maintain anonymity of assessors; assessors do not want to remember anonymous log-ons and personal log-ons
• both these issues point to a wider cultural issue where a higher order identity management layer independent of an eportfolio system might handle identity services which then interact with the eportfolio role management system
• this then raises other wider cultural issues about identity security, privacy, surveillance, etc.
• there may be a tension between institutional interests and individual interests in respect of data security, foi and IP when eportfolio processes are disaggregated
• we note the irony observed by an AWC student in "piloting" a life-long system; behaviour would have been very different if he knew he could rely on having it for life (or longer than one semester, anyway); is this an example of Schrodiger's cat; did we have to open the box?
• and we note the need to recognise real value created by some, particularly Plumpton learners,
• we need an exit strategy for ALT, AWC and Plumpton that preserves the value created by users
• we note AWC needs the system live until July
• NS and GR agreed on how to fund this
• FD in Communication at Work at AWC and Solihull incorporates e-Portfolio learning directly arising from the project
• CV Builder needs to be trialed; looks promising.

There are many dissemination routes:

• GR and RS to draft ALT-C abstract on evaluation
• GR and JR to draft ALT-C abstract on CV builder
• GR to prepare "poster presentation" proposal for JISC on-line conference and ALT-C
• NS to draft papers to CETIS Enterprise SIG, note to Ian Dolphin, comment on recent OSSWatch paper, Sakai Community
• GR note to CETIS Pedaggy Forum, CETIS Portfolio SIG, ePortfolio Reference Model Group
• GR to atted 28 March 0930 1530 JISC Programme meeting in Brum (note reschedule Base Group)
• watch for Eifel call
• GR brief Marje Bolton re payments to partners: invoicing instructions to: Plumpton, AWC, Joe Rosa, K-Int, ALT
• Marje Bolton and GR to begin to prepare completion finance report.

GR to draft report for comment by end March.

Suggest project residuals to be rolled into dissemination funding and carried forward to allow participation in summer and autumn conferences.

Comments please!

Thank you

Comments

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