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Personal Learning Portal Project. A Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) project with a focus on supporting transition for ‘non-traditional’ learners (on-going). So what is a portal?.
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Personal Learning Portal Project A Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) project with a focus on supporting transition for ‘non-traditional’ learners (on-going)
So what is a portal? “portals bring relevant information together and provide access to this through a common point of access, an essential task in these days of ever increasing information overload” http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=programme_portals
Collaboration • No funding without collaboration! • University of Kent was a logical partner • Existing relationships • Shared client group of local ‘non-traditional’ learners • Oxford Brookes University had an e-portfolio system which JISC preferred us to use
Setting Up the project • A group was formed between University of Kent and ourselves, meeting face-to- face • Working at a distance with Oxford Brookes • Mixture of technical and pedagogical knowledge in the group
Preparation of People • Identifying student groups within local FE institutions to be involved in the project • Access to HE and Access to Health courses • South Kent College • Making contact with staff in ‘partner’ institutions to gain agreement
Preparation of Portal • Gathering together of study skills support material with University of Kent • Familiarisation with e-portfolio tool from Oxford Brookes • Sorting out authentication and other technical bits!
Study Skills Evaluations and Materials • http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/plpp
What did we do? • Invited relevant lecturers from South Kent College into CCCU for introduction to portal • Asked them to allocate timetable slots for introduction to student groups • Asked them to introduce the use of the Personal Development Planning facility during individual tutorials
Potential Outcomes • too early to tell but hope they will be: • support of transition in terms of developing graduate skills • improve retention as learners ‘better’ prepared for HE • start of understanding the skills needed for personal development planning • improved achievement as a result of ‘better’ preparation
Lessons learned • incorporation of untested technology (and working at a distance from originator) makes life hard • effective relationships between project team and FE lecturers is very important • it all takes longer than you think • delayed introduction to first groups probably effected engagement of both staff and students • embedding into programmes is essential
The On-going Work • students are being ‘tracked’ into HE • Orientation Days are a direct result of the project as a ‘pay-back’ for the students • to develop an exit strategy • shared online resources available for everyone • further resources being developed to reflect graduate skills (rather than key skills)