Developing a Reference Model of ePortfolio

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Developing a Reference Model of ePortfolio

• Peter Rees Jones
• CETIS
• (The UK Centre for Educational Technology
  Interoperability Standards)
• Drawing on the work led by the University of
  Nottingham to develop an Initial Reference Model
  of ePortfolio for Lifelong Learning funded by
  JISC

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In this presentation I will set out-

• A scenario ePortfolio in 2010 integrating
  learning in education employment
• A sketch of the pre-conditions what government
  and educators did. But I will focus on -
• The Major Problem Monolithic technology
  monolithic specifications and standards
• Is The Framework a potential solution?
• Could the definition of modular ePortfolio
  enabled services help?

The work of the Nottingham Reference Model of
ePortfolio is intended to produce a set of
co-ordinated profiles of the interfaces required
by ePortfolio enabled services focusing
extending existing specifications.
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Blue Skies Scenario

• Until 2005 the UK ePortfolio Community had
  focused on joining up successive episodes of
  learning in education employment.

In 2010 what they actually implemented was also
lifewide.
ePortfolio enabled the learner to integrate use
what s/he learned in simultaneous episodes of
education and employment.
How did this happen?
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Pre conditions - Govt

• The Westminster Govt introduced a 150 m / year
  programme for anyone leaving school with below
  standard qualifications
• Employers released these workers and Govt paid
  their tuition to bring them up to the standard
• For those at the standard employers and Govt
  brought them up to the standard for entry to
  University
• The National Employers Training Programme starts
  in England in 2006

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Pre-conditions - universities

• Many university Centres for Excellence in
  Teaching and Learning offered all students the
  opportunity to integrate experience of employment
  into learning.

Skills Inflation!

• English 20 year olds above the OECD average
• Graduates in work signing up to masters degrees

Strong growth in the knowledge economy
Within the emerging single European market for
education employment
But how did ePortfolio help?
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The Problem

• ICT systems have become core to learning,
  teaching, research administration
• BUT they are difficult and expensive to change
• partly because of the high cost of integration
  within and between organisations.
• Yet educators and employers are subject to
  constant change.

Existing ICT systems are becoming barriers to
strategic change.
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Just another Brick in the Wall?

• ePortfolio must connect to many systems within a
  single institution and across many institutions
• IMS LIP / ePortfolio worked, but proved complex
  and therefore expensive to implement
• Monolithic specifications cannot deliver
  transformational change on the timescales we
  require
• We need lightweight specs designed for ease of
  implementation
• There is a candidate solution -

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The Framework

• The Framework applies the principles methods of
  the service oriented approach being developed by
  the major IT vendors to JISC developments.
• It comprises 2 main parts
• Sets of Services, where a Service exposes
  information or functionality through a public
  interface that other systems can call on.
• Sets of Reference Models where a Reference Model
  identifies a common requirement and shows how one
  or more services can be used to meet this need.

• A Reference Model should lead to a Reference
  Implementation.

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ePortfolio Reference Model
User Needs
Reference Implementation
Reference Model
Design
Domain Specific Common Services
A Reference Model shows how a set of Services are
combined to meet a common User Need.
The Reference Model then forms the basis for a
Reference Implementation.

• A Bridge between User Needs Services

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Reference Models
Learner
Learners ePortfolio
Use Case
Orchestration Learning Flow Web Service
Service A
Service B
Invoke
Invoke
Typically User Tasks need to call on several
services.Orchestration standards are emerging
for creating composite services.
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Reference Models
Learner
Learners ePortfolio
Use Case
Orchestration Choreography Learning Flow Web
Service
Teacher
Service A
Service B
Invoke
Invoke
Typically User Tasks need to call on several
services.Orchestration standards are emerging
for creating composite services.
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Create a learning plan(16 year old with results
below the minimum standard)

• Trigger - assessment results
• Human Actors - a learner a teacher
• Inputs -
• Assessment results
• Pathway information
• ePortfolio enabled services -
• Assessment
• Personal Development
• Pathway
• Guidance
• Outputs held in the ePortfolio-
• Learner reflection
• Learner teacher dialogue
• Learning Plan

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Create a new learning plan
Assessment
Pathway service
Learners ePortfolio
Results comments
Personal Development
Reflection
Guidance
Teacher
Record of Dialog
Formal Plan
Learner
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A plan for education work
Assessment
Pathway service
Learners ePortfolio
Results comments
Personal Development
Reflection
Guidance
Teacher
Record of Dialog
Formal Plan
Employer
Learner
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What is the Learning Plan?

• Pre-conditions
• There is a Pattern Book which any of the actors
  can use to find a particular type of plan for a
  particular type of learner, job, learning problem
  or goal
• There is an agent which can help any actor to
  navigate the Pattern Book, customise the learning
  and the learning flow
• Each actor can specify conditions when the plan
  will alert them, for example by poor diagnostic
  assessment results or attendance
• The plan is therefore a learning flow and an
  active resource
• The employer identifies the gaps in learning
  required for the job
• The teacher identifies the gaps required to bring
  the learner up to the minimum standard
• The learner identifies the gaps required for his
  / her long term ambitions
• The actors negotiate a learning flow customised
  to the needs of the employer meeting the minimum
  standard and personalised by the learner
• The plan is executed

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Propositions -

• ePortfolio is best defined in terms of the
  ePortfolio enabled services which make use of and
  contribute to its development
• These services in this instance include-
• Assessment
• Personal Development
• Pathway
• Guidance
• Workflow is key
• A standard / specification for ePortfolio should
  comprise the coordinated set of profiles of the
  interfaces for the coordinated use of services.

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ePortfolio systems in 2010
What kind of ePortfolio systems does the blue
skies scenario require?

• Complete ePortfolio solutions, including services
  such as Personal Development?
• OR a minimum ePortfolio service capable of
  supporting a range of separate ePortfolio enabled
  services?

Where an educational institution and an employer
offer different learning environments there are
distinct advantages in the latter approach
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ePortfolio in 2010

• A personal view -
• A complete MLE aims to fit all requirements but
  may excel at none. Is this a good model for eP?
• A minimum ePortfolio service allows organisations
  ( individuals) to select the best services for
  their needs.
• This model allows open source developers to lead
  the market producing versions of services
  targeting specific needs commercial vendors have
  ignored
• Should government aim to manage the market in
  this way in order to provide the diverse,
  innovative services personalisation requires?

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What happens next?

• Nottingham University will draw on the work of UK
  and international partners to propose a reference
  model of ePortfolio to UK JISC
• Drawing on CETIS it will propose pilot some of
  the interfaces required by ePortfolio services
• These will be profiles focusing and extending
  existing specifications
• We will report back to alt-i-lab in 2006

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Developing a Reference Model of ePortfolio

• Peter Rees Jones
• CETIS
• (The UK Centre for Educational Technology
  Interoperability Standards)
• Drawing on the work led by the University of
  Nottingham to develop an Initial Reference Model
  of ePortfolio for Lifelong Learning funded by
  JISC