2011 E-portfolios Implementation Trial

Scaffolding VCAL learnerswith ePortfolios

ePortfolios Australia Conference 2011

Ken Johnson and Rosa McKenna

VU Youth strategy: guiding principles

• Providing engaging courses and pathways that meet student needs—multi-sector offerings to improve employability.

• Extending learning and teaching approaches that put the student at the centre, inside and outside the classroom

• Recognising and responding to student diversity—diagnosing and responding to student needs; enhancing learning, language and numeracy development; and acknowledging the financial and cultural and linguistic diversity of students

VU Youth strategy: guiding principles

• Strengthening student relationships and partnerships through engagement, student leadership and socialisation; responsive administrative and student support services.

• Fostering environments that enable active student learning—diverse spaces and places; virtual environments; Learning Commons; on and off campus.

• Assisting students to make informed decisions about their education and careers

The education setting

Harvester Technical College

•Australian Technical College built in 2009 •2011 Hybrid school - managed jointly by education department and VU•Offers the Victorian Certificates in Applied Learning (VCAL) and entry level AQF 2 VET qualifications •Approximately 150 students aged from 15 -18

The western suburbs of Melbourne

•fastest growing area in Australia •home to people from 130 different nationalities •Low levels of educational qualification •Low level of school completion •

Carpentry VCAL: new integrated model

• integrates vocational skills and underpinning language, literacy, numeracy and personal development skills in inquiry based projects to generate applied learning in vocational contexts

• Carpentry includes 7 projects - My learning, My tools, My skills, Designing a rotunda, Building a rotunda, Marketing the rotunda and My career

• Uses teaching teams - a qualified carpenter and English and maths specialists share the teaching load

• Utilises resources of partners – Harvester, Newport Campus, Smart team, youth support services

Carpentry students: A challenging and diverse group

• 15 male students aged between 15 and 18

• Some were regarded as ‘hopeless’ i.e. chronic non attenders, and resistant to formal learning

• Attracted 3 students specifically for pathway to apprenticeship

• 2 students were regarded as functionally illiterate

• 2 other students had challenging personal backgrounds

• Half students from Pacific Islander background

Trial Overview

Goal:

To determine whether the Profile and/or Form tools within PebblePad can scaffold the learning of VCAL students within VU’s “integrated delivery model”

PebblePad Profile

PebblePad Form

Trial Overview

Intended Outcomes:

• To develop an efficient delivery mechanism for scaffolding the learners in collecting evidence to be assessed.

• To gain a better understanding of the effectiveness of e-portfolios in communicating the competencies of students to potential employers.

Trial Overview

Approach:

• Provide training to VCAL (Carpentry) teachers (2x3hr workshops)

• Provide induction to VCAL (Carpentry) students (1x3hr workshop)

• Use PebblePad in computer lab sessions during Semester 1, 2011

• Discussions with potential employers

• Evaluate findings

• Disseminate findings to teachers from other VCAL streams.

Trial Barriers

• Administrative issues - Timeliness of enrolment and thereby access to PebblePad

• Technical issues – access to VU IT systems

• Usability issues – Forgotten passwords, finding PebblePad, not using VU email

• Teacher capacity issues - “Innovation overload” and digital literacy

• Student capacity issues – VCAL students need time and support to develop reflective and self-directed learning skills, and to value their life experiences

• Project issues – time allocated

Trial Successes

• Identification and resolution of barriers – administrative, technical, usability, capacity

• The knowledge that the Profile tool offers better opportunities than the Form tool for scaffolding the learning of VCAL students within VU’s “integrated delivery model”

• The knowledge that there is interest from carpentry employers in eportfolios and that eportfolios provide a new way for students to communicate their competence to those employers

Trial Successes

Broader Successes

• Evidence of student engagement with eportfolios

• A greater understanding of the affordances and limitations of PebblePad, both in relation to the Profile and Form tools but also the other features within PebblePad

• Integration of e-portfolios into the VCAL curriculum model

• Preliminary work towards integrating e-portfolios into the Creative Industries and Animal Science streams of VCAL

Future Directions

• Deliver the dissemination workshop to other VCAL teachers

• Refine the Profiles for use with other VCAL teachers

• Identify support structures for Harvester as PebblePad embedded in new curriculum

• IT support person trained in Pebblepad and liaise with VU IT • Train up a teacher volunteer as onsite expert• Include Pebblepad training in teacher and student induction processes• Continue to develop Pebblepad assets for ongoing use in specific programs eg project

based profiles, resources in Webfolios• Teacher feedback blogs

Ken JohnsonManager, E-learning ProjectsFaculty of Workforce DevelopmentVictoria UniversityPHONE +61 3 9919 8594EMAIL

ken.johnson@vu.edu.au

Contact Details

Rosa McKennaCommunication in Education and

Training Pty Ltd Curriculum Consultant PHONE +61 3 93917726EMAIL

mckozo@bigpond.com

The full report is at http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/content/e-portfolios-funding