FILE-PASS - Facilitating Independent Learning using E-Portfolio and Associated Support Systems : JISC

FILE-PASS - Facilitating Independent Learning using E-Portfolio and Associated Support Systems

The final report is available at the bottom of the page

Region: North West

Overview

This bid has been prepared as a collaboration between HEIs, FECs and other related organisations in the Lancashire and Cumbria sub-region of the North West of England. It is based on the identification of a particular category of learners (or non-learners) who are 'isolated' from the educational opportunities offered in further, higher and related education. Access to these learners is often problematic. However, many of these 'isolated learners' are making tentative steps back into learning through a recognition that they need to develop their IT skills, either for work or more often for personal reasons. The FEC partners to this bid, in particular, make extensive efforts to reach out to these learners through their college and outreach IT programmes. The project will use these access opportunities and other opportunities that might occur during the life of the project. Such access to these learners offers clear opportunities to encourage them to reflect on their learning needs and to advise them on the many opportunities that exist to progress, either with IT or in any other area of learning relevant to their work and personal needs. The project will be centred on the trialling and evaluation of ePortfolios with a minimum of 100 'isolated learners' in a variety of situations as a tool to enable this personal reflection and the identification of progression opportunities.

Aims and Objectives

Aim:

To evaluate the potential of ePortfolios to facilitate and encourage isolated learners to engage with the lifelong learning agenda and to gain access to the opportunities provided by HEIs for personal and work-related development. To deliver the benefits of this project to Consortium members, and through JISC, more widely through the numerous networks involved in this project.

Objectives:

Encourage and raise awareness of educational opportunities by isolated learners who make initial steps back into education through locally-led IT courses
Trial and evaluate ePortfolios as a way of encouraging isolated learners to reflect on their educational needs and aspirations and to advise them on opportunities for progression into and through higher education
Identify ePortfolio software that is suitable to the needs of the isolated learner, which can be adopted, and the data collected shared by all of the partners.
Ensure that the adopted ePortfolio includes information on how to to apply for and access HE and the wide range of opportunities offered, including those offered by validated or franchised HE programmes at their local FEC.
Consult employer representatives on the value of ePortfolios to employers for the recruitment and development of their staff and for meeting skills gaps.
Share between the partners to this bid existing e-tools relating to personal development and to assess their relevance to ePortfolio tools developed by JISC and through open source software development.
Collate opportunities for progression to HE, especially through arrangements between HEIs and the FECs for locally-based provision.
Train IT tutors working with the isolated learners in the use of ePortfolios and how learners can be helped to benefit from them.

Project Methodology

The project takes as its theme the 'isolated' learner who engages with education through ICT related programmes. However this does not limit the domain in terms of learners who can be involved with this programme. The demographic of this pilot will be formed by those learners that each partner organisation feels will benefit from the tools and support offered in the context of this pilot. It is likely that the populations will include pre-degree, foundation degree, first degree and postgraduate students undertaking both full and part time study. In addition it is hoped that work based learners will contribute to the evaluation in order to support the idea as a 'lifelong' proposition.

Implications/ Deliverables/ Stakeholders

The principal output from the project will be the documentation and evaluation of pilot process models, operational procedures and support systems, integrated into FE, HE and employer systems. The project deliverables will include analysis on the personal development planning requirements of students from each partner institution, case studies of the learner experience, evaluation of the feasibility of peer review (across institutions) and the project pilot and evaluation report.

The project also looks to establish networks amongst the sub-region with emphasis on the cultural acceptance between institutions (academic and non-academic) of the worth of a learner’s record of achievement. The project will feed into a regional group (made up of those funded under the same strand in the North-west region) to compare and share findings from the respective programmes.

JISC

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