education.au is holding a national symposium on e-portfolios today. We have just seen four presentations alluding to the fact that e-portfolios at an institution level are already used significantly. However, as Jerry Leeson pointed out, if the web is shifting to a more learner centred mode, then the e-portfolio world is very complex from a learner’s perspective. At each point they enter an institution they are likely to require a new identity, start from scratch in terms of achievements, acrreditation and qualifications, and then when they leave have some difficulty taking a record of their new found skills with them. Given the focus on productivity, human capital and digtal literacy it seems that these tools would be a very useful way to assist lifelong leaners. But as I said it’s complex and our role should be about making it simple, removing the barriers to learner’s access and control of their learning.
What we are seeking today is some direction for achieving simplicity for the learner. Interestingly, a survey undertaken by education.au suggested the driver was not necessarily the learner. This is such a new tool, perhaps learners are not aware that they may already be leaving their digital footprint on the internet. (eg facebook, linkedin)
The powerpoints are available on the education.au website.
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