Final Report

AeP Outcomes

ePortfolio use by university students in Australia: Informing excellence in policy and practice (2008)

The overarching aim of the first stage of the Australian ePortfolio Project was to examine the current levels of ePortfolio practice in Australian higher education. The research findings revealed that there was a high level of interest in the use of ePortfolios in the context of higher education, particularly in terms of the potential to help students become reflective learners who are conscious of their personal and professional strengths and weaknesses, as well as to make their existing and developing skills more explicit.

At present, however, the state of play in Australian universities is fragmented. While it is not yet equal to leading edge practice in other countries, there is clear evidence of strong interest across the sector. Ideally, the higher education sector should strive to bring together the different pieces of the ePortfolio puzzle to build a cohesive composition that will benefit individual students, the quality of learning and the value of higher education outcomes.

AeP Symposium

The Australian ePortfolio Symposium  was held in early February 2008 to bring together representatives from Australian universities to discuss the educational, technological, management and policy aspects of ePortfolio practice. The event attracted more than 200 delegates from 38 Australian and New Zealand universities, plus one Scottish university. The research project activities  enabled extensive consultation across the sectors, with the Symposium offering an opportunity for many of the key players to come together to share ideas and experiences, as well as to stimulate discussion about the future role of ePortfolios in higher education (Hallam, 2008).

Hallam, G. (2008). The Australian ePortfolio project and the opportunities to develop a community of practice. Proceedings Ascilite Melbourne 2008. Retrieved April 2018 from www.ascilite.org/conferences/melbourne08/procs/hallam.pdf

AeP2 Symposium

The AeP2 Symposium was held at Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove Campus on 9 – 10 February 2009.

Symposium theme:  Establishing an ePortfolio community of practice

Findings from the research undertaken as part of the Australian ePortfolio Project revealed that there was a high level of interest in the use of ePortfolios in the context of higher education, particularly in terms of the potential to help students become reflective learners who are conscious of their personal and professional strengths and weaknesses, as well as to make their existing and developing skills more explicit.  There are some good examples of early adoption in different institutions, although these tended to be distributed across the sector.  This means that ePortfolio practice in Australian universities is currently fragmented.

The goal of the AeP2 Symposium was to bring together the different pieces of the ePortfolio puzzle to build a cohesive composition that benefit individual students, the quality of learning and the value of higher education outcomes.

There is scope for those involved in ePortfolios to establish a community of practice (or indeed communities of practice) that will provide valuable channels of communication between those people with shared interests and ideas, and encourage scholarship and research.  The AeP2 Symposium represented an important first step in this process.

The AeP2 Symposium was of interest to all stakeholders who are involved in ePortfolios in education, as students, teachers, learning designers, administrators, careers advisors or employers. Representatives from higher education, vocational education and the schools sector were welcome to attend.

Symposium topics:

  • Determining the impact of ePortfolios on student learning outcomes
  • Discipline specific initiatives, eg education, nursing, law, medicine, science, design
  • ePortfolios to capture and present professional standards
  • ePortfolios to capture and present graduate attributes
  • Developing students’ reflective skills
  • ePortfolios in the Web 2.0 environment
  • International technical standards
  • Challenges and opportunities in ePortfolio implementation

Stage 1 final report

The AeP Stage 1 Final Report is available to download.

AeP_Report_ebook_Aug 2008

    • Executive summary, Recommendations, Dissemination and communication of project activities
    • Contents
    • Chapter 1: Introduction
    • Chapter 2: ‘The preferred vision’ for ePortfolio practice
    • Chapter 3: Research methodologies
    • Chapter 4: National and international contexts for ePortfolio practice in higher education
    • Chapter 5: Issues relating to ePortfolio practice in higher education
    • Chapter 6: National audit of ePortfolio practice
    • Chapter 7: The relationship between the National Diploma Supplement (Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement) and ePortfolios
    • Chapter 8: Ways to share ePortfolio practice in Australia
    • Chapter 9: Conclusion and recommendations

Reference list
Appendix: ePortfolio maturity model

Stage 2 final report

ePortfolio use by university students in Australia: Developing a sustainable community of practice

The aims of the second stage of the Australian ePortfolio Project were to focus on building the Australian community of practice through an online forum and through further ePortfolio symposium activities. The report documents the different stages of the research project, including the AeP2 symposium and the AeP Toolkit.

The AeP Stage 2 Final Report is available to download, either as the whole report or as individual chapters.

AeP2_Report_ebook_Dec 2009

    • Executive summary and Recommendations
    • Contents
    • Chapter 1: Introduction
    • Chapter 2: Literature Review
    • Chapter 3: Research methodologies
    • Chapter 4: The AeP community of practice
    • Chapter 5: Developing a national ePortfolio community of practice for the higher education sector in Australia
    • Chapter 6: ePortfolios and communities of practice: Current national and international practice
    • Chapter 7: Conclusion and Recommendations

 

References and Dissemination
Appendix1: AeP2 Toolkit – a series of six concept guides
Appendix2: ePortfolio communities of practice [Please note: several of these communities are no longer active.]

Case studies extracted from the final report

ePortfolios Australia has an updated list of ePortfolio communities of practice.