RAPPORT
Volume 3 Issue 1 (2018)
suggests they provide a range of ePortfolio
tools for students to use, including
PebblePad 4 and Mahara 5 ; and this was
confirmed by the various discussions at
the recent ePortfolios & More Conference
(CRA/AAEEBL, 2018) which the authors
attended. Despite this, there is little
information openly available regarding the
effectiveness of each tool in relation to
PDP, and in relation to supporting
language students.
In fact, the term ‘ePortfolio’ can mean
different things. While the overarching
concept from the Joint Informations
Systems Committee (JISC) (n.d.), is that
an ePortfolio is a collection of digital
artefacts created and collected by students
as a record of their learning achievements,
the term ‘ePortfolio’ can also refer to both
product and process (JISC, 2008). Further,
different types of ePortfolio have been
identified such as Showcase,
Development, Reflective and Assessment
(Stefani et al, 2007) and Workspace or
Showcase (Barrett, 2010).
In relation to PDP, the use of ePortfolios
has been understood as a tool or as
vehicle to support the processes involved
in Personal Development Planning, such
as recording, reflection and planning.
Ward and Strivens (2010) suggest that
one development of ePortfolio systems in
relation to PDP has been in the direction of
providing templates to guide the learner
into producing a reflective statement,
record or commentary, although the
templates are arguably not ‘part of the e-
Portfolio itself’ (Ward & Strivens, 2010,
p.10).
4
5
Pebblepad: https://www.pebblepad.co.uk/
Mahara: https://mahara.org/
Taking into account the different types of
portfolios, regarding PDP we were
particularly interested in Development and
Reflective ePortfolios as these match the
main principles and pedagogical
framework of PDP, which is based on a
learner-centred approach (Peters, 2010).
Designing a tailored learning ePortfolio
for PDP: more than a tool
As mentioned above, a theme that often
recurs in the literature is that an ePortfolio
is a tool. This may range from a storage
tool (Grant, 2009) to a more complex
supporting tool (Strivens & Ward, 2010).
To meet the requirements of the OU’s
learning and teaching approach, the
authors felt a tool alone would not suffice.
We needed to enable our students ‘to
develop as an engaged and independent
learner’ as per the OU Student Charter
(Open University, 2018a) and which aligns
with the QAA 2009 definition of PDP.
It has been suggested that ePortfolios
facilitate “deep learning as they allow
students to achieve a contextual
understanding of their learning” (Haverkam
& Vogt, 2015). It has also been suggested
that by fostering connections across
learning areas and learning experiences,
ePortfolios may help students build a more
holistic sense of their learning journey
(Martin 2013).
These pedagogical benefits of using an
ePortfolio were crucial when designing an
ePortfolio to support PDP for OU students.
In addition, the authors needed to enable
their students to ‘learn in a way that meets
their individual needs, providing a flexible
method of learning’ (Open University,
2018c). Being able to access their learning
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