ELESIG Webinar on e-portfolios

by Julie Keenan

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My eLearning Advisors have been at it again! Thanks to Mary and John I was able to “attend” my first webinar recently hosted by ELESIG (Evaluation of Learners' Experiences of e-learning Special Interest Group http://elesig.ning.com/).

The webinar was entitled “Nurturing learning communities in an e-portfolio system to enhance student learning” and the speakers were Julie Hughes and Emma Purnell who talked about using the PebblePad eportfolio at the University of Wolverhampton, work going on in the School of Education and the use of eportfolio  and blogs to engage and enhance student learning. I found their in depth approach and enthusiasm for the work they do with students very engaging and thought provoking. I am delighted to have had the chance to find out about the work they are doing and right here at my own desk top too! 

I found it very easy to get involved in the webinar and not as daunting as I expected it would be. I could see and hear the presenters talking about their work. The points they were making were reinforced through a powerpoint presentation that was underway simultaneously as they spoke. There was a space on the screen where I could type in questions for the speakers as I thought of them – this is “instant chat” - and they answered these questions during the presentation. It was fun linking to other interested practitioners across the UK and to note their ideas and responses to the research presented were not too different from my own. 

I’ll certainly be following up on some of the references to research in the area that were highlighted during the presentation and to delve into the templates Julie and Emma are willing to share. I’m also tempted to contact one or two of the other interested practitioners that logged on to the webinar as I imagine we have all been doing a lot of work we can share and learn from. Thanks Mary and John for all your help as always!