ereturn: eportfolios and women returners to set
DESCRIPTION
Clem Herman, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Communications and Systems at the Open University, discusses the use and benefits of the MyStuff eportfolio system for returning learners.TRANSCRIPT
ePortfolios and women returners to SET
Clem Herman
The Open University9thMarch 09 JISC ePortfolio workshop
Partnership• Open University• Sheffield Hallam University• University of Salford• Cardiff Women’s Workshop• UK Resource Centre for Women in SET (UKRC)• Association of Learning Technologists (ALT)
Objectives• To identify the ways in which specific groups of stakeholders that
work with returners could integrate the MyStuff eportfolio into their current working practices (careers advisors, mentors and employers)
• To develop and test models of transferring eportfolio content from OU MyStuff to other systems used by partner institutions
• To support 2 groups of returning learners to create and continue to use their MyStuff eportfolios during and after undertaking T161
• To evaluate how learners have used MyStuff eportfolios to support transition to employment
• To disseminate findings and results to the wider community of e-learning professionals
Why women returners to SET?• 50,000 women with SET qualifications are not working in these
sectors (Maximising Returns 2002)• Majority have taken career breaks for family care or other reasons• SET sectors more difficult for women to return to – traditional ‘male’
model of the ideal worker who has uninterrupted full time career for life
• Less part time jobs or flexible work options – career penalty for those who work part time or take a break
• Women returners have out of date skills, reduced confidence, unclear objectives …. or think they have
T161: Return to Science, Engineering and Technology• 10 week online course• Focus on personal development and career
progression• 96 participants in total (May and October 2008)• Embedded use of MyStuff ePortfolio• Uses included learning journal; sharing articles;
recording employment, education and skills; action plans
Why ePortfolios?• Reflection on previous experience – confidence
building, learning from the past, identity exploration
Employability• Presentation of
achievements - who am I?• CVs• Employer research• Application letters• Goals and visions• Action plans
Focus groups with stakeholders• Employers – web based e-portfolios could be used for
recruitment ( see also Ward & Moser 2008)• Careers advisors – systems are useful but “the strings
that hold it together are the personal relationships” • Mentors – potential for use with e-mentoring and peer
mentoring circles
Stickiness and portability• Will users carry on using
it?• Lifelong process -
Continuous professional & personal development
• importance of portability – but can it be done?!
[Travelling eLuggage – from Pratchett’s Discworld]
I looked at the experience I have gained in my career to date and realised that I had
acquired a lot of generic skills which I could apply in
future jobs
I looked at the experience I have gained in my career to date and realised that I had
acquired a lot of generic skills which I could apply in
future jobs It helped me to think about my
future career and what direction I wanted to go
I looked at the experience I have gained in my career to date and realised that I had
acquired a lot of generic skills which I could apply in
future jobs It helped me to think about my
future career and what direction I wanted to go
It helped me to rationalise my career aims ……but not in the direction I'd expected when I first started!