Exemplar of Use  3 - VET - Northern Territory Department of Education and Training in collaboration with Charles Darwin University

An overview of use  
Both the Northern Territory and Australian Governments acknowledge that local Indigenous workforce development strategies are a critical component in any attempt to redress educational inequities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in remote areas. In response, the Northern Territory Department of Education and Training (NT DET) commissioned a team from Charles Darwin University (CDU) in 2010 to explore the potential of e-portfolios to improve school-based, workplace learning and practice. This study resulted in the development of ePIE (Electronic Portfolios for Indigenous Educators). ePIE is a tool to support the career and professional development pathways of Aboriginal Assistant Teachers (ATs) in remote areas of the Northern Territory.

e-Portfolio context:   In developing ePIE, the needs, expectations and complex and diverse structures of all three key stakeholders - Assistant Teachers (ATs), Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) and the Northern Territory Department of Education and Training (NT DET) - required consideration. The framework was also needed to have the capability to expand to suit other workforces within NT DET and to integrate with their existing and projected ICT architecture that included a Moodle Learning Management System. Mahara was chosen as the basis for ePIE and The Work Lab both assisted with the customisation of Mahara and managed the integration of both a web-based RPL support tool ‘RPL Online’ and a web interface for ePIE. ePIE workshops have been held in over 30 locations across the Northern Territory reaching over 150 ATs, and a further 100 NT DET and RTO staff. ePIE currently supports the learning and assessment of ATs in the Certificate III, IV and Diploma in Education Support. Currently, resources for the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, Certificate III in Community Services and the Certificate III in Business Administration are being added to ePIE. The enthusiasm with which ePIE has been embraced by the ATs has been extremely encouraging. The feedback NT DET have been receiving from schools suggests that the introduction of ePIE, has resulted in an overall increase in the engagement and performance of ATs. Consequently, using ePIE has been included in the workforce development strategies of a number of sections within NT DET. However, for the ATs, although significant investment has been made in one-to-one and small group training, much more will be required for most to be independent users. Possibly the biggest hurdle to overcome however, is how to broadly engage trainers and assessors in the use of ePIE. Although most trainers are familiar with Learning Management Systems, few have experienced e-portfolios, or the assessment of digital evidence other than word-processed documents.

Dates of provision: 2010 (and ongoing)

Reason for implementation:

Purpose/s:   Personal Development Planning, Continuing Professional Development of Staff, Work Based Learning, Employability/Professional Standards, Assessment, Lifelong Learning
 

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

Practice: Developing

Key staff involved: 

Name: Alicia Boyle
Email: alicia.boyle@cdu.edu.au
Tel: +61 8 8946 7267 or + 61 0408 175 832
Position: Researcher, Charles Darwin University

Name: Kerry Grace
Email: kerry.grace@nt.gov.au
Tel: +61 8 8999 5713
Position: Director, Indigenous Employment and Workforce Development, Northern Territory Department of Education and Training

Links to example/s   
ePIE Login Page
http://www.mahara.epie.net.au
Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAA40101) Sample View
http://mahara.epie.net.au/view/view.php?t=XCEOLnvakYaZDk51gqB0
Diploma of Education Support (CHC51308) Sample View
http://mahara.epie.net.au/view/view.php?t=EkaUvR8xnIMjjYxZIcOo