VQManager was designed for the European market and is a very powerful system that differs from most Moodle-derived resources in a number of ways, including:

• The ability to handle not just one qualification, but a ‘framework’ of qualifications per learner.
• It has an ‘app’ which runs on Apple and Android devices – allowing tutors to work off-line on their mobile devices.
• A remote facility that allows students to send ‘evidence of competency’ directly into their e-portfolio from their mobile phones.
• Various access rights for people in different roles, including Student, Tutor (Assessor), trainee Tutor (trainee Assessor), Internal Standards Verifier, Employer, Provider’s Centre Administrator and the Awarding Organisation’s Standards Verifier. Each role is provided with a different interface, and a different range of reports.
• Assessment / Activity plans – it’s easy for Tutors, or Centres, to create pre-defined assessment plans, and to pre-map these plans against their intended criteria within the learner’s qualification(s).
• ‘Genius’ – as an assessment centre works with VQManager, it ‘learns’ and starts to suggest criteria that a particular piece of evidence might hit. This is particularly helpful to Assessors and can result in students completing their qualifications more quickly.
• Plus… many other unique features.

VQManager is used daily by a large number of Further Education Colleges, Private Training Providers and elements of the National Health Service (NHS). It is one of the very few systems to have received formal accreditation for Awarding Organisations such as Edexcel and City and Guilds.

Two years ago SkillWise appointed an agent in South Africa. SkillWise would now like to do the same in Australia.  We’d like to identify an organisation within Australia which is currently providing solutions into the training/qualifications market, to establish a partnership with unique rights to VQManager within the territory.

To discuss this opportunity further, please contact Paul Greenhalgh, UK MD, at  paul@skillwise.net

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Disclaimer:  ePortfolios Australia is not endorsing SkillWise VQ Manager ePortfolio or have they received any financial gain for sharing this information.

ePortfolios Australia is simply providing their community with an opportunity to learn more about the different eportfolio services.

ePortfolios Australia invites its community members to also share other eportfolio information through this site and its regular email updates by contacting eportfoliosaustralia@gmail.com

The Forum to be held on 3 October at the University of Canberra is based on the theme “Digital Identities, Footprints and Networks”.

Proposals of 150 words or less to present or to facilitate a workshop/professional conversation should relate to one or more of the following themes:

• Eportfolios supporting learning pathways
• Managing online identities through eportfolios
• Verifying evidence through eportfolios
• Getting started with eportfolios and/or changing eportfolio platforms

Proposals which do not fall under these sub-themes may also be submitted but should justify how the proposal complements the Forum theme.

Read the full submission guidelines here: http://eportfoliosaustralia.wordpress.com/forums/2013-eportfolio-forum-home-page/2013-eportfolio-forum-call-for-proposals/

The Forum will showcase eportfolio practice in Australia and beyond from all levels of education, as well as from industry and professional associations.

Proposals to present or to facilitate a workshop/professional conversation are now opened.

Submissions of 150 words or less close on Monday 29 April 2013, and should relate to one or more of the following themes:

• Eportfolios supporting learning pathways
• Managing online identities through eportfolios
• Verifying evidence through eportfolios
• Getting started with eportfolios and/or changing eportfolio platforms

Proposals which do not fall under these sub-themes may also be submitted but should justify how the proposal complements the Forum theme.

Read the full submission guidelines here: http://eportfoliosaustralia.wordpress.com/forums/2013-eportfolio-forum-home-page/2013-eportfolio-forum-call-for-proposals/

Register* to receive regular updates about 2013 Eportfolio Forum at: eepurl.com/kCQW5 or stay tuned via or Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter.

2013 Eportfolio Forum provided by in kind support from the ePortfolios Australia, Australian Catholic University, Australia eSeries, HERDSA, La Trobe University, Queensland University of Technology; University of Canberra, University of Sydney, University of Tasmania, Vanguard Visions Consulting, and the Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL).

For further information about the Forum or ePortfolios Australia, contact Allison Miller: 0400 732 270, email: eportfoliosaustralia@gmail.com

The call for proposals are currently opened for these three eportfolio events:

• Moodle-Mahara Meetup (MMMup) - (Adelaide, 8 May) aims to showcase the use of Moodle and Mahara to lower the barriers to online learning through better integration of Moodle and Mahara or Mahoodle.  Call for proposals closes on 18 March.

• ePortfolio and Identity Conference (ePIC 2013) – (London, 8-10 July) intends to explore further the concept of ‘openness’ through the theme “Open Me”, eg ePortfolio and Open Badges as containers of personal data etc.  Call for proposals closes on 11 March.

• AAEEBL Annual ePortfolio Conference – (Boston, 29 July-1 August) will serve as a gathering space for shared collective knowledge about how we, as a scholarly community and as a community of practice, answer questions posed through roughly 10 years of experience. Call for proposals closes on 28 February.

Help contribute to the eportfolio community by sharing your experience with eportfolios through these great events.

2013 Eportfolio Forum: Digital Identities, Footprints and Networks

The 2013 Eportfolio Forum (EportfForum), supported by ePortfolios Australia, will be held at the University of Canberra on Thursday 3 October 2013.

This forum will showcase eportfolio practice in Australia and beyond through a combination of presentations, workshops, 20×20 sessions, posters and facilitated conversations.

Presenters and facilitators will come from all levels of education as well as from different professional associations and industry areas.

Themed ‘Digital Identities, Footprints and Networks’, the Forum aims to support the different ways people use eportfolios to help manage their learning and their information.

The forum will be complemented by Pre-Forum Workshops on Wednesday 2 October.  These workshops will be for new and experienced eportfolio supporters to gain some ‘hands-on’ experience with using eportfolios.

A call for proposals to present a session/poster or facilitate a workshop at the 2013 Eportfolio Forum or the Pre-Forum Workshops will be announced shortly.

2012 Eportfolio Forum, held in Sydney last September, attracted participants from across Australia, as well as New Zealand and Vietnam.

Presentation recordings and slides from the 2012 Eportfolio Forum are available from http://eportfoliosaustralia.wordpress.com/forums/2012-eportfolio-forum/2012-eportfolio-forum-program/ .

Register* to receive regular updates about 2013 Eportfolio Forum at: eepurl.com/kCQW5 or stay tuned via or Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter.

2013 Eportfolio Forum is provided by in kind support from  ePortfolios Australia, Australian Catholic University, Australia eSeries, La Trobe University, Queensland University of Technology; University of Canberra, University of Sydney, University of Tasmania, Vanguard Visions Consulting, and the Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL).

For further information about 2013 Eportfolio Forum or ePortfolios Australia, contact Allison Miller: 0400 732 270, email: eportfoliosaustralia@gmail.com

*If you registered for 2012 Eportfolio Forum updates or previous ePortfolios Australia events, there is no need to re-register.

• For more information:
  • eportfoliosaustralia.wordpress.com/forums/2013-eportfolio-forum-home-page/
  • eportfoliosaustralia@gmail.com
  • Allison Miller: 0400 732 270

Following the success of the 2012 ePortfolio Forum on 27 September at the Australian Catholic University’s North Sydney campus, we are pleased to share the following resources with you:

• Paul Seiler and Jennifer Rowley (and team) presentations were recorded in BlackBoard Collaborate
• Some of the presentation slides from the main presentations, workshops, 20×20 sessions and facilitated conversations

Many thanks to those people who took the time to provide very positive and valuable feedback about this event.

PSST … we are currently negotiating the venue for 2013, and will share the date and details when they become available

ePortfolio News

Some of the latest news about eportfolios:

• AAEEBL’s 2013 Annual ePortfolio Conference has put out a Call for Proposals
• International Journal of ePortfolio – latest edition just been released, and call for papers for next edition closes 1 December
• Mahara v1.6 has been release – you can ‘check out’ the latest feastures in the updated Mahara User Guide or at the Mahara Demo Site

Other ePortfolio Resources

Here are some other eportfolio resources you may find useful:

• About Eportfolios – a site developed by Shane Neussler at the Teaching & Learning Centre, University of Canberra
• Eportfolio Communities of Practice – check out a list of websites, blogs and social media sites which support eportfolio practice
• Eportfolio Publications – check out a list of books, journals and conference papers which support eportfolio practice
• Mahara Eportfolio Examples

From the National VET E-learning Strategy:

• Four eportfolio in practice video case studies – for tips for effective implementation, guidelines for embedding eportfolios and eportfolio business case recommendations see the EpCop website
• E-portfolio Exemplar Project Findings – media release with brief explanation about each trial

From JISC:

• A new JISC resource implementing eportfolios about called “Crossing the Threshold: Moving e-portfolios into the mainstream”
• Review of the Leap2A eportfolio interoperability standard

ePortfolio Events

Pebblepad will be running workshops and User Group meetings in Sydney and Melbourne in December

VELG Training’s Eportfolio Webinars:

• Getting Started with eportfolios – Tuesday 20 November
• Eportfolios for RPL Assessment – Tuesday 27 November
• Using eportfolios to manage staff PD – Tuesday 4 December

As a professional network, we are keen to share eportfolio stories, resources and events.  Please forward them to:

Allison Miller:

Call: 0400 732 270
Email: eportfoliosaustralia@gmail.com

Paul Seiler, eLearning & Technology Consultant and formerly of the New Zealand Ministry of Education, will share his experiences of the use of ePortfolios in the New Zealand School sector, which has had a sector wide eportfolio implementation for a number of years.

Jennifer Rowley and others from the University of Sydney will share information about their “ePortfolios for creative arts, music and arts students in Australian universities” OLT project.

No registration required – simply go to the Australia eSeries BlackBoard Collaborate Room on the morning of the event or to check you can log into the room beforehand.

Recordings from the live streaming of these two speakers will also be made available following the event.

The 2012 Eportfolio Forum is coming together as a effective professional networking event, with other parts of the program including workshops, posters, 20×20 pecha kucha sessions and facilitated conversations.

2012 Eportfolio Forum will be held at the Australian Catholic University’s North Sydney Campus.

Sponsors of this event include: Australian Catholic University, Australia eSeries, eSkills, Netspot, PebblePad, Vanguard Visions Consulting and Office for Teaching & Learning

Follow future ePortfolios Australia events and activity:

• ePortfolios Australia Updates
• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn Group

“The VET Teacher E-learning Toolkit (Toolkit) specifies the minimum web and desktop-based functionality requirements needed to support e-learning in vocational education and training (VET) organisations. The purpose of the Toolkit is to inform the development of VET standard operating environments (SOE) to support the e-learning functionality required by teachers and trainers.”

Developed by the National VET E-learning Strategy, the VET Teacher E-learning Toolkit (Toolkit) specifies the minimum web and desktop-based functionality requirements for VET teachers and trainings to utilise e-learning and e-assessment in their teaching and learning, such as access to:

• teaching and training resources
• social, collaborative communication and content creation tools
• virtual classroom and synchronous communication tools
• Tools to support evaluation and assessment activities
• Cloud based storage and sharing functionality

And the ability to:

• author and view documents
• play audio and video content
• create and customise multimedia content
• access and subscribe to information feeds
• develop web-based learning content
• use and deliver learning and assessment on mobile devices
• use eportfolio approaches as part of teaching and learning

“Teachers need to be able to engage with learners through the use of e-portfolio approaches and to provide a link to the outcomes of learning” (Toolkit, pg 10).

The Toolkit describes functionality but also offers examples of e-learning tools relevant for 2012.  For eportfolios these are Mahara and PebblePad.

To support the growing use of eportfolios in Australia, three eportfolio professional development opportunities are coming up in Sydney:

• ePortfolios Program (Mahara Training) – kick starts on 30-31 August with full day workshops followed by online synchronous and asynchronous activities
• 2012 ePortfolio Forum – on 27 September, aims to support the connecting and sharing of eportfolio practice through presentations, workshops, pecha kucha, posters and facilitated conversations
• Student ePortfolio Showcase (STePS) – on 28 September, features students from a variety of disciplines within the University of Sydney showing how they create and use ePortfolios

If you know of more eportfolio activities and networking opportunities please share them here, as well as add them to the ePortfolio Unified Calendar.

The program will be a combination of guest speakers, short presentations, workshops, posters and facilitated conversations.

Places are limited to 60, so register now.  Registration costs:
- Participants – $75
- Presenters/Facilitators – $65

Student ePortfolio Showcase (STePS)
The Student ePortfolio Showcase (STePS) will be held on Friday 28 September at Sydney Conservatoriun of Music, University of Sydney, Macquarie Street, Sydney.  Attendance is free but registration is required.

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The 2012 ePortfolio Forum is supported by ePortfolios Australia, Australian Catholic University and the Office for Teaching & Learning (OLT).

Please note: If you would like to present a poster or short presentation and/or facilitate a workshop or conversation email eportfoliosaustralia@gmail.com with a title and short description. Unfortunately due to the reduced size of this event, not all expressions of interest may be able to be incorporated into the program.

This one day event will be a combination of guest speakers, short presentations, workshops, posters and facilitated conversations.

Posters, presenters and facilitators will be sourced from those people who have expressed an interested in being a part of this event through the recent short survey by ePortfolios Australia asking whether people would be interested in an alternative event to the cancelled ePortfolios Australia Conference 2012.  However, if you would like to present a poster or short presentation and/or facilitate a workshop or conversation but haven’t registered your details through this survey, please email eportfoliosaustralia@gmail.com with a title and short description. Unfortunately due to the reduced size of this event, not all expressions of interest may be able to be incorporated into the program.

This Forum will be complemented by the University of Sydney’s Student ePortfolio Showcase (STePS) on the morning of Friday 28 September.

Registrations for both events will open soon, with limited places available.

For more information:  Contact Allison Miller on 0400 732 270 or by email: eportfoliosaustralia@gmail.com or by following ePortfolios Australia through:

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