My colleague, Ida Borch, and I gave a presentation and I want to mention some of the response we got. Prior to the presentation we had done a quantitative survey and two focus groups – as a qualitative part of the research. The purpose was to find out, if our students saw their e-portfolios as a means to clarifying their own competences and to get an idea of their coming job profiles.
Our research showed that the students do not see the relation. They lack a clear notion of the purpose of the e-portfolio – and they need a description of the job profiles in the industry. Descriptions of these need to be part of the e-portfolio setup. And we feel that we need a metaphor for the e-portfolio which makes it easier for the students to recognise the purpose of the e-portfolio.
We asked the audience at our presentation, if they had ideas for a new metaphor and got some very interesting responses. One person in the audience suggested we work with the students to find a new name or metaphor. Another suggestion was to combine the e-portfolio with a PDP – a personal development plan. We are grateful for this input.
