Curtin University http://www.curtin.edu.au/
What is distinctive about this implementation case study
Curtin University use though recent, 2010 onwards, is the result of a comprehensive curriculum renewal project led by the Director of Teaching and Learning; the outcome of which was an assurance for learning graduate employability framework and the triple-i curriculum through which graduate attributes are mapped to undergraduate courses and the development of the bespoke iPortfolio tool which can evidence student progress and achievement against these.
e-portfolio tool: iPortfolio developed in-house in 2010 see below for a description of this tool
PURPOSE: To support student progress and evidence achievement of graduate attributes.
PROCESSES: Information capture, Information retrieval, Planning, Feedback, Reflection, Collaboration, Presentation
DRIVERS: Graduate attributes and employability
Key words: Curtin University, Australia, HE, iPortfolio, Course review, Graduate attributes, Employability framework, Quality Assurance process
Brief overview of the organisation and its e-portfolio use
In 1987 Curtin University of Technology became Western Australia's third university and Australia's first university of technology. It changed its name to Curtin University in 2010. The 1990s saw great change for Curtin. It had moved from a predominantly undergraduate institution to a university with degrees and awards across the spectrum to doctoral level. The University undertook a comprehensive review of its strategic plan in 1996. After an extended period of consultation and development, the vision was to establish Curtin as a world-class university of technology. The words "look ever forward", taken from the writings of John Curtin in 1932 about the role of universities, became its new motto. Curtin continued its international focus with the opening of the Sarawak Malaysia campus in 1999, on the invitation of the Sarawak State Government - an indication of the University's outstanding reputation in the South-East Asian region. In 2009 it had 9 campuses and over 44,000 students and over 3000 staff.
Curtin underwent a university-wide curriculum renewal project (Curriculum 2010, also known as C2010) from 2007 to 2009 led by the Director, T&L in the university's teaching and learning support centre. Graduate employability was a key theme that emerged through C2010, and that theme became a key driver for the introduction of an e-portfolio. Feedback for a staff forum outlining requirements led to the development of a bespoke tool within Curtin - the iPortfolio. The Director, T&L was the champion of the iPortfolio pedagogy and design ensuring it was created as an implementation directly linked to agreed institutional approaches to pedagogy. It also became part of a quality cycle for assuring graduate outcome: the University has nine graduate attributes which, since C2010, are systematically and systemically assured through the Comprehensive Course Review process (course=degree programme). This quality cycle has been subsequently developed and refined as part of a Teaching Fellowship (titled Benchmarking partnerships for graduate employability): now called the Assurance of learning for graduate employability framework, it depicts how, at Curtin, graduate attributes and capabilities and standards are (1) determined at course (program) level; (2) mapped in the curriculum and (3) evaluated and evidenced in e-portfolios and through performance indicators. The main point here is that one of the key success factors in the implementation of the e-portfolio has been that it is seen as part of a quality approach to enhance curriculum to assure graduate achievement of identified capabilities.
iPortfolio
iPortfolio is an electronic portfolio online space for Curtin students (and staff) to reflect on and demonstrate evidence of their learning and achievements. Organised in seven sections (tabs), it allows the creation, storage and organisation of a range of evidence that draws on the user’s experiences within and beyond the formal classroom. It is also a launching pad to publish polished information to the wider web. Students own their iPortfolio and they can add and update as they collect more evidence over the course of their study.
The University has two online spaces: iPortfolio and BlackBoard. BlackBoard is a 'teacher controlled' unit-based space, the official place for assessment submission, and a very secure environment to do 'within unit' collaboration. Students have access to a unit site (and any associated interactivity) only while they are enrolled in that unit. In contrast, iPortfolio is a 'student controlled' and course (degree programme) space which allows for the building of an electronic portfolio reflecting learning and achievements throughout a university course, and beyond into lifelong career and personal development. It is not tied to unit enrolment. It also allows students to connect with, and collaborate across, units, and with peers, networks and colleagues within and external to the University. iPortfolio is a place designed for students to take responsibility for their own learning, to 'pull the threads of their learning' together across units, courses, disciplines, clubs, employment, civic engagement, and so on. It is 'course wide' and 'life-wide' and lifelong.
Setting: The main parts of the technological system are the online interface (iportfolio.curtin.edu.au). Any staff member or student can create an account and use the iPortfolio as little or as frequently as they wish. The second part is iPortfolio mobile, an iPhone app that enables the user to collect, tag and upload text, audio and video on the go. We particularly encourage students to use this feature in work-integrated learning settings.
The pedagogy: the defining principle of the iPortfolio is that students are encouraged to aggregate their learning achievements in relation to Curtin’s graduate attributes and the triple-i curriculum. These are the capabilities around which students self and peer assess. The iPortfolio has a tab structure within which reflections and corresponding evidence can be created and aggregated:
- About Me tab to create, share and manage a profile picture, an introduction, and information on their biography and goals.
- My Ratings tab to self-rate and provide evidence of achievement of Curtin’s Graduate Attributes and the Triple-i curriculum, then invite others to view or provide feedback. Students can compare their self-assessment of Graduate Attribute achievements with others’ using visual analyses tools.
- My Courses tab to create, share, manage and collaborate on assignment tasks, as well as create, share and manage evidence of learning against generic and specific professional competencies.
- My Career tab to create, share and manage a resume and evidence of work-related skills, experiences and professional development.
- My Journals tab to create, share, manage and collaborate using reflective journals.
- My Networks tab to:
a. Create, share and manage evidence of achievements gained through clubs and networks
b. See an overview of those who are invited to view, provide feedback or collaborate (as well as those who have requested them to provide feedback)
What they are used for and by whom
In 2011 the iPortfolio had its first semester of full-scale adoption across the University. It is not mandatory -any student can create an account, and use the iPortfolio (or not) as they wish. However, some units of study, including some very large units (eg first year common health science unit with enrolment of 1800 students) have made the iPortfolio mandatory in that assessments must be submitted using iPortfolio (for example, in an initial low stakes assessment, students in this unit must create their 'About me' page and make it visible to the tutor for assessment).
As at January 2012, the following accounts have been created
Students = 28,908
Staff = 3,064
Students can keep their accounts for free for life (as alumni).
Key factors for successful implementation
Implementation of the iPortfolio is seen as part of a quality approach to enhance curriculum to assure graduate achievement of identified capabilities. iPortfolio is being introduced across the university and although current student uptake is driven by assessment tasks, it is hoped that that as iPortfolio is used formally in several units in most degrees that use will also be driven by students wanting to have an up to date and well presented professional portfolio.
Lesson learned
Many lessons have been learned in introducing iPortfolio across the university and during initial use several challenging areas emerged. These can be grouped as technical issues and teacher issues.
Despite robust testing of the product several technical difficulties emerged. For example with the system struggled with capacity to handle a simultaneous upload of assessment tasks by a large cohort of users. This resulted in unpredicted loading issues (the iPortfolio uses a cloud storage technology (MS Azure)). This has since been overcome by increasing cloud access during teaching weeks. Upload issues also occurred when MP3 and other video formats were uploaded. Again technical fixes have been found for this including compression and conversion software to handle uploads and an in-line viewer to cater for quicker viewing. The large number of users meant that there were varying levels of technical proficiency and while some users were happy to play with the system and engage in some problem solving of their own, for others using iPortfolio especially when meeting assessment deadlines caused stressful responses. Early on in 2011 solutions to learner issues were addressed though the implementation of an innovative scheme of iPortfolio Student Support Officers (IPSSOs) who provided face to face help desk support, answered email requests for assistance and facilitated online discussion forums. IPSSOs are all current students who had some iPortfolio experience. They were given minimal training and encouraged to problem solve and provide directions for system improvements. They now operate as a peer team and support both students and staff in encouraging the use of iPortfolio and assisting users to have a positive iPortfolio experience. They for example run introductory sessions during orientation week, assist lecturing staff in classroom environments and contribute to the development of resources to assist users eg maintaining and updating the frequently asked question area. Any issues that emerged that could not be immediately solved were sent through to the IT design team to solve. The IPPSO team now provide a valuable support service and also an early warning system for technical issues. They handled over 500 requests for information in 2011.
Teacher issues relate to both encouraging lecturing staff to use iPortfolio across the university and supporting them once they are engaged. Resources were developed specifically for lecturing staff including an interactive discussion board and resource site, in class support for specific units and assistance with the design of assessments that used iPortfolio activities. There is a small but growing group of lecturers using iPOrtoflio across the campus. The Curtin Teaching and Learning team is also engaged with other institutions both nationally and internationally in sharing knowledge and experience of using e-portfolios. The University hosted the ePortfolios Australia Conference 2012 which provided access to some of the world leaders in the area.
The future
We are actively working on the next enhancements - how to make the iPortfolio as sticky as possible for students, at the same time make it as simple to use as possible. This work continues through the committee channels at Curtin. The University is also looking at how to better evaluate uptake and drill down to examine how students are using an electronic portfolio environment. Future engagement with individual faculties to facilitate uptake within all courses areas preferably at an early stage are continuing. Currently uptake has been patchy across the university, often driven by committed and enthusiastic early adopters.
Recent changes to the direction of tertiary education nationall which flow from the 2008 policy Transforming Australia's Higher Education System is informed by a desire for academic standards that will be demonstrated with in a new regulatory context overseen by a single national regulator TEQSA (Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency). Within this policy framework, the question of whether higher education providers can assure outcomes expressed at the level of the graduate is of key significance. This represents a new and substantial shift in quality assurance away from models that previously focused on institutional processes. Curtin’s iPortfolio can provide a unique way for students to demonstrate course-wide learning. It also integrates neatly with work integrated learning approaches to enhance the employability of Curtin graduates. Finally, iPortfolio aligns extremely well with a ‘graduate standards’ setting agenda. It is envisaged that these new drivers for academic excellence, quality and assurance will positively impact on the use of iPortfolio in the future.
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