It seems a little ethereal to be attending this symposium so far from home, at QUT, whilst fires are raging in my home state. So to keep my focus I am reflecting on events here today.
There are international and interstate delegates here today and we are looking forward to hearing about ep practices in their spheres of influence.
First up we have Marij Veugelers and Wijnand Aalderink form the Netherlands to talk about ‘Creating sustainable e-portfolio development’ in their country. Marij is from the University of Amsterdam and will provide an overview of their ep community in higher ed. 60 universities in NL are supported by the SURF foundation – the Dutch platform for IT in higher education – for whom Marij is community manager. Wijnand is from the University of Groningen where he is head of Education and Communication Services.
Topics: create a community around e-Portfolio and explore the dynamics of ep concept building. They wish to develop a good story and design for the future of ep. EP is a journey – for each of us the path varies – but the end goal is similar. Student perspectives are paramount.
Q. What is your eportfolio goal? The auditorium was buzzing for a few minutes as we exchanged our goals.
Well I imagine a myriad of answers here – from the simple to the complex – mine is to consolidate my digital identity.
The story from NL spreads across a decade of growth in eportfolios useage with influences from such people as Dr Helen Barrett. Primary functions of an ep are stated as: showing, planning reflecting. Many tools are available to enable different functions, approaches, solutions – one size does not fit all. Attention areas in ep implementation include: infrastructure, people, management, learning environment, learning activites and goals. We listen to both speakers from NL who take it in turn to present and facilitate.
Marij asks us to collect from our satchel the Eportfolio Concepts brochure – this places a focus on the ep for employability and business practices – a great synopsis of the purpose and benefit of eps for those entering the workforce. Check out the aep URL at: http://www.eportfoliopractice.qut.edu.au
Our presenters are working together as an entertaining team as they explain and explore their experiences with eps (activities in the mud – the early days of development of an ep ecosystem) – 75% of students in universities are now using eportfolios.
I am distracted as I learn from the ABC coverage that fires are threatening towns closer to my home town – I will return in a little while.
Coach Carole Ramblings 