Introduction
Knowledge alone is no longer enough. Successful graduates need to display a wide range of aptitudes, attitudes and abilities which demonstrate their capacity to make use of what they know in a wide range of contexts. It’s a big part of why universities across the globe are looking to bolster their learning ecology with tools to support and guide learning from experience, and bridge the theory-practice gap.
The next logical question to ask is what universities are doing to address this shift. Increasingly, universities are promoting active, authentic learning – within and beyond the classroom, with activities such as work placements, study abroad, research and collaborative projects and volunteering/community engagement.
Many universities are grappling with the challenge of how to roll out and support organization-wide initiatives which don’t constrain individual creativity or limit learner-directed activity. However, all too often the Learning Management System (in our case, Canvas) is too course and content centric to support personalized lifelong and life-wide learning journeys.
This, combined with the fact that the current UT e-Portfolio tool needed a replacement, were reasons for the TELT team to start piloting with the e-portfolio tools PebblePad and Portflow.
Why PebblePad?
In this very short video you get to see PebblePad in a nutshell:
PebblePad is a portfolio platform that can be used in many flexible ways, either self-directed by a student, or to create structured assignments for students.
In PebblePad, students have access to their own personal ‘Asset Store’ which acts as a repository for any digital record of (extra-)curricular learning. With the portfolio builder students can create media-rich portfolios in which they can embed assets to demonstrate their capabilities. A distinctive feature of PebblePad is that they provide generic templates that can support students in reflecting on learning experiences. On top of that, teaching staff can design their own templates and reflective workbooks (“portfolio shells”).
PebblePad has LTI 2.0 compatibility, which makes it possible to automatically import students from a Canvas course to a PebblePad workspace and to transfer grades from PebblePad to Canvas. Apart from that, the integration with Canvas is limited.
Why Portflow?
To get a quick overview of Portflow, you can watch this video:
In Portflow students can make their developmental progress visible and accountable under their control by collecting evidence, asking for feedback, and creating an assessment file. The tool is characterized by the fact that it is very student-driven.
Students can organize their evidence in a portfolio using collections, sections, and goals. They can upload new materials and view them directly in the portfolio to provide and receive feedback timely. Students can give others (teachers, peers, and even external experts) access to their portfolio, send feedback requests and respond to feedback. Students can select collections and evidence materials to create a locked version of the portfolio that might be submitted for (summative) assessment.
Portflow is built on top of Canvas. Portflow can be used to collect evidence from different Canvas assignments that can come from all existing Canvas courses. However, it's also possible to add evidence to Portflow from learning activities that take place outside of Canvas (e.g. internships, extra-curricular). Subsequently, students can submit a locked copy of (parts of) their portfolio in a Canvas assignment that has been set up by the teacher.
For more information about Portflow, visit the educational systems website (CES-IM ICTO)
Contact
The TELT pilot with the e-portfolio tools PebblePad and Portflow has been concluded. The UT has decided to implement Portflow as the central e-portfolio solution for regular Bachelor's and Master's education. For more information about Portflow, visit the educational systems website (CES-IM ICTO) or you can send an email to teachingtools-ces@utwente.nl. If you want to learn more about the pilot that has been carried out, you can contact the TELT team.