What is an ePortfolio?

After many long discussions between the eLearning Advisers, here at RSC-Northwest, we have agreed upon three types of ePortfolio.

1. eAssessment Portfolios
2. eRARPA Portfolios (Recording And Reporting Progress & Achievement) and
3. ePDP Portfolios (Personal Development and Planning).

In this eMagazine Supplement we look at Personal Development & Planning Portfolios (ePDP Portfolios)

ePD Portfolios are electronic/digitised individual learning plans (ILPs), designed to support the 21st century learner and all those involved in their learning and progress. They develop a whole, Lifelong Learning picture of the learner - coherent and holistic - describing:

• The Learner (CV, Learning Style)...
• The Learner's Achievements, to date, (Achievements)...
• The Learner's Aspirations (Targets)...
• The Learner's Plans for future learning (Tasks/To-dos; Action Plan; Deadlines)...
• The Learner's Current Learning (Work in progress)...
• The Learner's reflections (Action Plan Reviews, Things learned to date; New skills gained; future actions)...

1. Put simply, ePDP Portfolios are where learners can access and input key information about themselves, their learning, their progress and their plans for the future.
   - Owned and 'controlled' by them.
2. Note the content of this supplement is by no means an exhaustive list of potential software.
3. The supplement will...

• look at possible solutions for those learners who have PCs but do not have internet connections (at home and/or in their work placements)
• look at TiddlyWiki, eXe, Google Docs, and xTimeline: the first two having the advantage of being usable off-line!
• look at sustainability; from all stakeholder points of view (including cost, portability, staff and learner training needs, Peer Assessment, Collaborative working)

I also think it is fair to say that the software covered in this supplement also has the potential to be used for eRARPA Portfolios (Recording and Reporting Progression and Achievement).

In this publication we assume that learners will want use many tools (mobile phones, digital cameras, mp3/wav recorders, video cameras, web 2.0 and other software packages etc) to gather, record and present evidence for their ePortfolios.