Exemplar 5 - eWorks Training Virtual Campus e-Portfolio Service

eWorks provides e-learning service to the public VET sector in the state of Victoria and to private training organisations across the country. Part of this service is the provision of an e-portfolio. The e-portfolio is based on Mahara 1.3.3.

Institution: e-Portfolio context:

The service is primarily provided to learners via the participating organisations. It is a shared service with each organisation having an institution set up in the e-portfolio with their own administration area. This allows the organisations to support their learners within the e-portfolio and use it within the teaching and learning programs. By providing an e-portfolio via a shared service environment learners who study at more than one organisation can maintain a single e-portfolio. Up to this point the main issue has been one of identity management with the same student who is studying at different organisations having different identities at each organisation. With the implementation of a system-wide Student Identity Number this issue will be resolved.

The other advantage of providing a system-wide shared e-portfolio service is the ongoing maintenance of an e-portfolio for learners once they leave the training system. Once a learner graduates from an organisation they can apply to have their e-portfolio moved to an alumni institution. This keeps their e-portfolio active for a period of time with the option to extend the period if they wish. This service attracts a small fee for maintenance and storage space.

The alumni institution provides direct login to the e-portfolio and no longer relies on any single-sign-on arrangements that had been established when the learner was part of a training institute. The fact that the alumni institution within the e-portfolio can be accessed directly by a user allows eWorks to also provide the e-portfolio to people who are not using the e-learning services associated to any of the participating training organisations.

Dates of provision: 2009 and ongoing

Reason for implementation:

Purpose/s: Transition to/from the institution, Work Based Learning, Employability, Assessment, Life Long Learning

Learning processes involved: Information capture, Information retrieval, Planning, Reflection, Feedback, Collaboration, Presentation

Practice: Developing

Key staff involved:

Ken Gooding

Senior E-learning Consultant

eWorks

ken.gooding@eworks.edu.au

Links to example/s

http://eworks.maharasites.com