An exploration into first-year
learners’ experience of
ePortfolios, in diverse subject
areas, in Scottish Higher
Education
Sue Murray and Susi Peacock
Centre for Academic Practice
Overview
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Introduction
Background
Aims of the project
Approach and tools
Phases of the study
Case studies
Progress
Early results – emerging themes
Conclusion
Introduction
• Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh
– Approx. 5, 600 students, 4 schools
• Susi Peacock
– Senior lecturer in e-learning
• Sue Murray
– Research assistant
• ePortfolio tool, PebblePad
– implemented since 2005
– supports personal learning and development
Background
• Growth in popularity and application of ePortfolio in the
tertiary education sector
• Early studies - learner response is very mixed and often
a lack of engagement with the tool, particularly first-year
learners
• If we are to engage and support learners, we need to
know more about their experiences & expectations
• Focus on first-year learners’ – crucial stage of learning
• Potential barriers to learner engagement could include
poor system usability and accessibility
• Little research into accessibility and ePortfolios
• Suggestions for improving practice
Aims of the project
• Conduct an extensive study, with
approximately 500 students, into the
learner use and experience of ePortfolios
in contrasting subject areas
• Explore the changing perceptions and
experiences of first year students over two
academic years, focussing on accessibility
and usability
Approach and tools
• Mixed methods approach
• Case studies - 5 different subject areas
– Interviews
– Co-operative evaluations
Conducted at two stages:
• Following introduction to the ePortfolio
• After using the ePortfolio for a time
• Online questionnaire
– approx. 500 students
Three phases
• Phase 1: December 2007 – Summer 2008 (Pilot)
– Trial research tools
– Conduct co-operative evaluations, interviews and administer
online questionnaire
– Data analysis
– Honing of research questions, tools, process and analysis
• Phase 2: Autumn 2008 – Summer 2009
– Focus on data collection
– Minimum of five case studies from subjects such as drama,
radiography, inter-professional education, physiotherapy, and
education
• Phase 3: Summer 2009 – onwards
– Data analysis
– Writing up of the research findings
– Dissemination
Case studies
• Drama: stage management; costume design
– Blogs, formative & summative assessment
• Radiography
– Forms, summative assessment, Personal Development
Planning
• Interprofessional Health Education
– Blogs, PDP, summative assessment
• MSc Physiotherapy
– Webfolio, summative assessment
• MSc in Professional Education
– Webfolio, summative assessment
Progress: phase 1
(Dec 2007- summer 2008)
Method
Face-to-face
interviews
Stage 1
Stage 2
Level 1 (n4)
Level 1 (n2)
post-doctoral (n1)
Level 1 (n4)
Level 1 (n2)
Cooperative
evaluations
Focus group
Level 4 (n3)
Questionnaires Email interview
n14 out of 129
Level 1 (n2)
Level 4 (n1)
Early results - key themes
• First impressions
– Mixed: ‘impressive’, ‘useful resource’, ‘nice look’, ‘more hassle
than a notebook’, ‘gimmicky’
• Expectations
– Memory aid, bit like a diary
• Benefits
– Easy to use, easy to access, all in one place
– Facilitates reflection, sharing, personalisation
– Environmental benefits
• Barriers
– Attitudes to change e.g. preference for paper format
– Learning to develop materials on the computer harder for some
– Perception of interface e.g. not everyone considered it user
friendly
– Concerns regarding privacy
– Access and interoperability issues
“I’ll be able to remember things that maybe I would have
forgotten. And it’s all … I know that it’s all in one area and
I’m not going to loose a sheet of paper … and it’s
interactive, so I can go in and change things…”
(level 1 learner, phase 1)
“I have had to keep a reflective diary for my practice case so
I have used it on a daily basis … After being taught how to
use it I find it quite easy to find my blog and go back into it
and I think its really good that you can open a new day, its
so much easier than having to write it in a document
because it’s set and ready for you to type in and you can
just save that day’s and you can also go back and add
which is really good”
(level 1 learner, phase 2)
Conclusion
• Resources
– Examples of case studies at QMU:
http://www.qmu.ac.uk/eportfolio/examples.htm
• Contacts
smurray@qmu.ac.uk & speacock@qmu.ac.uk