{"id":5853,"date":"2017-02-28T09:30:45","date_gmt":"2017-02-28T09:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/?p=5853"},"modified":"2017-03-08T09:13:49","modified_gmt":"2017-03-08T09:13:49","slug":"portfolios-assessment-mahara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2017\/02\/28\/portfolios-assessment-mahara\/","title":{"rendered":"Portfolios, assessment and Mahara"},"content":{"rendered":"

We have recently introduced the <\/span>Mahara e-portfolio system<\/span><\/a> at the University of Sussex, as part of our integrated e-submission and e-feedback solution (ESEF), electronically managing assessment from assignment brief to moderated marks. The primary aim of adding Mahara to our suite of applications was to broaden the range of assignment types available for electronic submission, both allowing our students to submit a more diverse range of media types and also capturing the more complex relationships between assignment elements that characterise portfolio submissions.<\/span><\/p>\n

ePortfolios have a wide range of differing conceptions and purposes, leading to a certain level of ambiguity in definitions and terminology (see <\/span>Hughes, 2008<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Grant, 2005<\/span><\/a>). Our initial implementation, paying particular attention to the role of the portfolio in presenting selected content for assessment, therefore represents only a section of the possibilities for learning and personal development, but more on that later.<\/span><\/p>\n

Personal versus Institutional<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One of the key elements underpinning the development of ePortfolio systems such as Mahara and at the core of their ethos is an understanding of them as providing personal spaces to be managed by each individual, rather than by the organisation that administers the system. This is often contrasted with other institutional systems, such as Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), which provide spaces that are managed by tutors on behalf of the institution. One way of considering this is to picture the VLE as a series of rooms corresponding to each module. The rooms belong to the institution and the institution decides what to put in them. The institution also controls access to the rooms, giving keys to the people (students) it wishes to have access.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"All<\/p>\n

By contrast, in Mahara, each individual has their own room. They have complete control over what to put in their room and over who can have access. Mahara has no inherent understanding of hierarchy or relationship between two individuals. The only limit that can be placed by the institution is over the overall size of the room.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"All<\/p>\n

This introduces a certain tension, particularly around assessment, in that the institution providing the ePortfolio space may have specific requirements about how the individuals use their portfolio (e.g. the format of the submission and who requires access in order to carry out the various assessment and moderation tasks). From a student\u2019s perspective it may appear odd that they are being given a system to use by the institution, but then have to set it up themselves to match that institution\u2019s requirements. Fortunately, the integration through ESEF and techniques such as using templates allow us to avoid this, for the most part.<\/span><\/p>\n

Portfolios as objects of assessment<\/strong><\/h3>\n

From our experience so far, working with the first modules to try out Mahara, and investigation into practice elsewhere in the sector, it seems fair to say that there are three main purposes driving the presentation of a portfolio for assessment: <\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. providing <\/span>evidence<\/b> of achievement or competence against predetermined criteria;<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. exhibiting<\/b> selected work to demonstrate understanding or skill (as in a traditional fine art portfolio);<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. recording <\/span>commentary<\/b> on issues or experiences over a period of time.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Any single submitted portfolio may, of course, serve more than one of these purposes.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Below are some examples of the portfolio submissions we\u2019ve been working on so far:<\/span><\/p>\n