Student e-Portfolio

Queensland University of Technology

CRICOS No. 000213J

Student e-Portfolio

Wendy Harper

ePortfolio Project Manager

Intranet Services Manager

[email protected]

Col McCowan

Head, Careers & Employment

[email protected]

Kim Hauville

Technical Team Leader

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]




CRICOS No. 000213Ja university for the worldrealR

Purpose of the QUT Student e-Portfolio

To enable students to record, reflect on, catalogue,

retrieve and present their experiences, activities,

and things they produce both inside and outside of

university life as evidence of the skills developed

while at QUT that contribute significantly to their

lifelong learning and career development.


Steps to Introduction at QUT

• Took a ‘project management’ approach

• Sponsorship – DVC (TILS) with buy-in from all Executive

• Integrated into QUT wide existing systems - QUT Virtual

• Linkages with existing systems and data

• Obtained QUT-wide acceptance

• Addressed key issues before building the system

• Planned & introduced in manageable pre-determined stages

• Trialled with sub-groups and used feedback

• Identified and addressed key future developments


Features of QUT’s Student e-Portfolio

• Available to all students and staff

• Student-centred

• Automatically appears on each student’s Intranet “Home” page

• Similar features and feel to all other activities they perform in the Intranet such as Class Allocations, Enrolment, Field Placement

• Linked to QUT Virtual functionalities eg photo, Academic History

• Mapped/linked to specific student capabilities

• Tailored to suit Faculty / Industry issues

• Legitimised activities undertaken outside QUT

• Easy to use– Form based– Limited number of steps– Lots of tips, help buttons, word count guides– Lots of self-help resources


Key Activities in Student e-Portfolio

Add Experiencesto the portfolio

Add Artefacts

to the portfolio

Create aView

of the portfolioRelease

a portfolio View

Students can add:• Academic History• Resume• Photo

Students can:• Export their View• Check visits to

their View

Students can:• Undertake a self-assessment • Upload files to their web-accessible space• Learning objects


Three Styles of Student e-Portfolios

QUT aims to incorporate all three recognised styles

• Structured

– predetermined framework of objectives to meet external / internal needs

• Learning / Dynamic

– opportunity for self-audit, recording, reflection, feedback and on-going development

• Showcase

– collect together, organise and present accomplishments


QUT Student Capabilities

• In the mid 90’s QUT developed a set of Student Capabilities

in response to:

– a need to consolidate specific lists from individual Faculties/Schools

– a need to respond to business and industry requirements

– a need to meet industry specific accreditation processes eg IEAust

– a need to infuse into teaching & learning documents and practice,

and

– a desire to get ATN agreement on student capabilities across like universities in Australia.


Examples of QUT Student Capabilities• knowledge and skills pertinent to a particular discipline or professional area

encompassing:

– coherent theoretical and practical knowledge in at least one discipline area at the level of entry to a profession – technological skills appropriate to the discipline

• critical, creative and analytical thinking, and effective problem-solving including:

– the ability to critique current paradigms and contribute to intellectual inquiry – the capacity to exhibit creative as well as analytical ways of thinking about questions in at least one discipline – the ability to identify, define and solve problems in at least one discipline area

• effective communication in a variety of contexts and modes including:

– effective written and oral communication with discipline specialists and non-specialists and in cross-cultural contexts

• the capacity for life-long learning including:

– searching and critically evaluating information from a variety of sources using effective strategies and appropriate technologies

• the ability to work independently and collaboratively including:

– managing time and prioritising activities to achieve goals – demonstrating the capacity for self-assessment of learning needs and achievements – being a cooperative and productive team member or leader


Mapping of QUT Student Capabilities

QUT has mapped its Student Capabilities to

• Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry /

Business Council of Australia Employability Skills Framework

• Specific Professional Association listings eg for Nursing, Teaching

• Specific Faculty/Schools listings for curriculum purposes eg Business –

Port of Brisbane Corporation, Law, Nursing, Education TPA’s…

• The e-Portfolio Skills Areas


COMPARISON OF STUDENT e-PORTFOLIO SKILL AREAS / QUT STUDENT CAPABILITIES / BCI / ACCI EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS / FACULTY SPECIFIC

SKILLS

e-Portfolio Skill Areas used at QUT

QUT Student Capabilities (MOPP)

Business Council of Australia /Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry Employability Skills

Skills of Business Graduates Skills of Law Graduates

Communication Listening, speaking, writing,understanding, presenting, reading, editing, interpersonal relations.

Effective communication in a variety of contexts and modes including: effective written and oral communication with discipline specialists and non-specialists and in cross-cultural contexts.

Communication skills that contribute to productive and harmonious relations between employees and customers.

Listening and RespondingInvolves being attentive when others are speaking, and responding effectively to others comments, during a conversation.

Oral CommunicationInvolves the ability to present information verbally to others, either one-to-one or in groups.

Written CommunicationInvolves the effective transfer of written information either formally (eg business reports, correspondence) or informally (eg memos, notes).

Interpersonal SkillsInvolves working well with others (superiors, subordinates and peers), understanding their needs, seeking feedback and being able to negotiate effectively.

CommunicationClearly and accurately communicating, both orally and in writing, through listening, non-verbal communication, speaking, presenting, reading, writing, editing, drafting, negotiating, interviewing, advocacy, mooting and report writing; using appropriate language for a variety of contexts; interpersonal interaction.Specific Skills:Oral communication (Communication) Written Communication (Communication) Oral presentation (Communication) Advocacy (Communication) Interviewing (Communication) Mooting (Communication) Negotiating (Communication) Drafting (Communication) Report Writing (Communication) Interpersonal interaction (Relational)


The Student e-Portfolio Skill Areas

SKILL AREAS(ACCI/BCA/QUT):

Communication

Teamwork

Problem Solving / Critical Thinking

Life Management / Life-long Learning

Technical / Professional / Research

Managing / Organising

Social / Ethical Responsibility

Leadership

Creativity / Design

Initiative / Enterprise

(Plus one skill area of your own)


The Student e-Portfolio Matrix of Skill Areas and SettingsSETTINGS:


Academic Work Community Personal

Communication

Teamwork

Problem Solving / Critical Thinking

Life Management / Life-long Learning

Technical / Professional / Research

Managing / Organising

Social / Ethical Responsibility

Leadership

Creativity / Design

Initiative / Enterprise



A sample student’s matrix of Skill Areas and SettingsSETTINGS:


Academic Work Community Personal

Communication 5 experiences 2 experiences 1 experience

Teamwork 4 experiences 2 experiences 1 experience

Problem Solving/Critical Thinking 1 experience 1 experience

Life Management Life-long Learning 1 experience 2 experiences

Technical / Professional / Research 2 experiences 1 experience

Managing / Organising 2 experiences 1 experience

Social / Ethical Responsibility 1 experience 1 experience 2 experiences

Leadership 2 experiences 1 experience

Creativity / Design 1 experience 1 experience

Initiative / Enterprise 2 experiences 1 experiences



Helping students to reflect on their experiences

S ituation

Situation is where you had the experience. Describe the environment, and the type of people or equipment you worked with. This gives employers background information and puts the experience into context.

T ask

The task is what was required of you. When addressing a Task, it may be the project itself, a presentation you had to deliver, or a problem that arises within a project, such as personal differences.

A ction

When addressing Action, think about what you did to resolve a problem or perform a task. Ask yourself “what did I actually do?”

R esult

When addressing Result, think about how your actions affected the outcome of the situation and the status of the task.

L earnt

When addressing the things learnt, highlight skills that came out of the process and how they can be applied in other situations. This will show employers growth in your personal development as well as the skills you possess.


Sample Student e-Portfolio – Introduction Page


Sample Student e-Portfolio - Experiences


Sample Student e-Portfolio – Artefacts page


Sample Student e-Portfolio – display Artefact


Sample Student e-Portfolio – Resume


Sample Student e-Portfolio – Academic History


Accessing Student e-Portfolio

• On the main page of QUT Virtual students can access:

– Student Portfolio application

– Resume Builder tool

– QUT Virtual File Manager where they can upload 128MB of their files (annual review)

– Once graduated have lifelong active access to the ePortfolio via an alumni view of QUT Virtual


Student e-Portfolio Maintenance


Uptake

• Over 20,000 Student ePortfolios

• All 9 QUT Faculties use the ePortfolio

• QUT Learning & Teaching plan 2007 -2011

• Professional Staff ePortfolio to be released in December


UsagesBusiness Advantage (4 x 2hour course):• Self Assessment and e-Portfolio Module, Career Planning Module

First Year: • introduction, requirement, pre-assessment

Work Integrated Learning:• Nursing, Education, Co-op & Internships, Paramedic , Pharmacy

Post – grad: • professional course, pre-employment preparation, supervision journal

Discrete elements only: • Resume, Artefacts (eg dance clip), Self-assessment

Year 11 & 12’sin a Secondary College

Creating and monitoring development of Learning Objects


Major purposes• Collecting and recording in a single structure

• Knowing about the generic skills employers seek

• Connecting skills and experiences to the curriculum

• Learning through reflecting and evidence-based writing

• Understanding and self auditing skills and experiences

• Planning where and how to develop skills

• Reviewing content and progress by self and others

• Showcasing slices of personal evidence

• Preparing evidence for academics and employers

• Preparing and building confidence for applications & interviews


FindingsStudents • find easy to manage IT

• Can allocate to 10/11 Skill Areas easily

• find it difficult to write first experience

• After first experience, others follow easily

• Liked working with 1500 character limit

• Good for self-audit, selection criteria, interview preparation

• Good for storing wide range of artefacts

Staff • accepted matrix, good for work integrated learning activities,

improved communication skills

Employers

• students better organised / prepared, good access to artefacts, increase in confidence


Some key considerations

• Institutional versus free-form expression

• Privacy

• Emotional engagement

• Purpose – first year versus third year

• ‘Bubbling along’ / mentoring

• Short term versus Long term (life-long)

• Multiple purposes, multiple audiences

• Inter-operability before and after QUT

eg My future, Ed Queensland, Qld Learning Accounts….

Student e-Portfolio Websitewww.studentportfolio.qut.edu.au

Documents

Student e-Portfolio