Exemplar 3 - Virtual Work Placements in the Faculty of Law

Institution: Queensland University of Technology

e-Portfolio context: Virtual Work Placements in the Faculty of Law - LWB422 is an elective Virtual Work Placement unit in 3rd year of the Bachelor of Law. Students apply to a Virtual firm for employment as a work placement student. ePortfolio underpins the activities in the unit and also supports an item of assessment.

Dates of provision: Since 2009

Reason for implementation: ePortfolio was recognised for its potential to underpin a virtual placement in the same way as an on site placement is supported and at the same time give students the opportunity to develop a career portfolio.

Students engaged in building their personal e-Portfolio to help them develop a deeper awareness of themselves and their abilities. Reflecting on and recording experiences helps students recognise and review the knowledge and skills developed as a result of the placement experiences. Students were also encouraged to identify any skill areas in need of improvement and make a plan for future development. Students would be able to draw from entries made in the ePortfolio over time to prepare for future job applications and interviews.

Purpose/s: Students are required to reflect upon their learning during the virtual placement by making three individual entries of reflections into the QUT Student ePortfolio. Each ePortfolio reflection should be approximately 400 words and be supported by relevant artefacts of examples of real work (such as letters, memos or presentations) which were completed during the virtual placement. The first entry is for formative assessment with feedback from the ePortfolio team. Feedback on this reflection helps students to better prepare for the submission of assessable ePortfolio entries.

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

Practice: Fully developed - the use of ePortfolio is fully integrated into unit activities and assessed both formatively and summatively using a criterion referenced assessment rubric.

Key staff involved: Lecturer/Unit Co-ordinator and eLearning Services support staff