Europortfolio
The worldwide emergence of the ePortfolio is transforming our current views on learning technologies. For the first time in the relatively short history of learning technologies we are seeing the rise of a new generation of tools dedicated to valuing and celebrating the achievements of the individual, from nursery school to lifelong and life wide learning, a technology providing a key link for individual, organisational as well as community learning (e.g. communities of practice, learning regions and cities). While some countries and regions are already providing the infrastructure required to offer ePortfolio access to all citizens, other regions and countries are considering it, and others have yet to discover its possibilities.
- Call for a European Consortium
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We are looking for partners to submit a proposal to the European Commission. Posible funding is 150.000€ per year, with a maximum of 3 years. Deadline for the submission of proposals is 1 March 2012.
Despite success recorded in the development of ePortfolio initiatives in Europe and beyond, the growth of ePortfolio is still extremely patchy across institutions, regions and sectors. This is the consequence of a lack of leadership resulting in the fragmentation of initiatives, information, technologies and actors.- Leadership: despite the efforts made by a number of actors, including those who have succeeded in making Europe a worldwide ePortfolio actor, this initial leadership has not yet been translated into a shared European ePortfolio vision, practice and infrastructure.
- Fragmentation of initiatives: most initiatives occur at individual, local and organisational levels, few at regional, national and international levels (e.g. European Language Portfolio). This fragmentation, which sometimes mirrors that of political structures (municipality/district/region/nation), institutions and sectors, is detrimental to the emergence of a an ePortfolio ecosystem working across space, time and institutions.
- Fragmentation of technologies: despite efforts on interoperability (e.g. IMS and LEAP 2A standards) ePortfolios are not interoperable across ePortfolio platforms and main stream information systems in education, human resource development and employment.
- Fragmentation of actors: distance, language and cultural barriers affect the ability to share information and build shared knowledge within and across sectors and frontiers. The results of interesting experiences, both successful, as well as failed, are not easily accessible to those planning or making decisions in relation to ePortfolio policy/technology implementation.
- Fragmentation of information: despite the efforts of a number of actors, there is no single centralised point from which it is possible to find all relevant information on ePortfolios initiatives, technologies, practice and actors.
In order to address those issues, we are working on building a consortium to submit a proposal to the European Commission. Posible funding (link) is 150.000€ per year, with a maximum of 3 years. Deadline for the submission of proposals is 1 March 2012.
An initial summary of the proposal is accessible at http://tinyurl.com/7ddhs73. If you are interested to join as a partner or associated partner, you are invited to provide details using an online form accessible at: http://tinyurl.com/7hrxghs. Responses will be used to update the Summary and to invite partners to join as Partner or Associate Partner.
What can I do from Here?
You can find and add the people and resources that can help you succeed with your ePorfolio and identity projects.
If you are an ePortfolio or identity expert or professional, add your profile, so you will be found by potential partners and prospects. You can also add resources such as case studies, projects, tools etc.
If you want to find an ePortfolio or identity expert or professional, visit the Who's Who section. If you are looking for other resources, such as case studies, projects, tools, etc., visit the Resources section.
About
This site aims at providing an overview on the actual and potential development of ePortfolios in Europe and beyond, the state of the art in ePortfolio policy, practice and technologies in order to address the following questions:
- What is an ePortfolio and an ePortfolio-enabled system?
- Who is driving ePortfolio implementation?
- What is the role of ePortfolios in national, regional and local education and training policy?
- What is the actual and potential contribution of ePortfolio to European initiatives such as Europass, the Common Qualification framework, the Copenhagen process?
- How is the ePortfolio used in employment?
- How is the ePortfolio used for continuing professional development and personal development planning?
- What role can ePortfolios play in the recognition of non-formal and informal learning?
- What are the competencies required for teachers, trainers, administrators and managers in ePortfolio implementation?
- How can the ePortfolio support the transition between different episodes of life, e.g. moving from educational institutions to employment, changing job or career?
- How is the ePortfolio being used as the interface for managing, recording, developing, assessing, recognising, validating and accrediting competencies and achievements?
This site covers a large range of sectors, from initial education to retirement in the perspective of lifelong learning and recognition of competencies acquired formally and informally.
