portfolio implementation website
http://www.du.nl/portfolioimplementation
Seven Dutch universities have been working together to produce a toolkit, in the form of a website, containing information and documents for use at the start of portfolio implementation. They have also developed new information for managers, to help enable them to supervise the portfolio implementation process. Scenarios linked to change management theories have been described for portfolio use, so as to present the options for study programmes and define the borders dividing them. Checklists have been drawn up for managers to provide an insight into the right conditions for successful implementation.
Digital University Portfolio Implementation Project tools
The project began in February 2003 and lasted fourteen months. Seven major universities took part and seven portfolio experts worked together on the project, each for one day a week. The underlying idea for the project was formulated as follows.
"The pedagogical implementation, in particular, is extremely important and should be prepared with the utmost care because the actual practice of portfolio use is tricky and often leads to disappointments (see Driessen et al., Portfolios). By pedagogical implementation, we mean the preparation, rollout within the organisation, evaluation of the initial pilots and adjustment of the various tools. ...
"It is clear from the experiences with pilots at the Digital University, and from the SURF Foundation framework, that - for this implementation, especially - there is a great need for supportive instruments that the study programme can make use of ..."
When the project began, there was one portfolio website in the Netherlands (SURF) with a manual plus a book called Portfolios (Driessen et al.) recounting the experiences of a number of universities. There was very little written material that was freely accessible and could be used by a university to support its implementation - for example, a sample manual that could be adjusted by each university department to suit its own situation. Every university had to "reinvent the wheel", an unnecessary waste of time. The aim of this project was to accelerate the process and to help turn the wheel faster. Partially finished products can easily be adjusted by universities to suit their own situation and can provide departments with a wide range of examples to give them a head start.
This project was intended to develop tools for the following groups.
Educational management
Staff and policy workers responsible for the proper use of a portfolio system
Portfolio teachers, supervisors and mentors
The tools were to be developed by a number of participants in the DU, with the existing material and knowledge being elaborated upon in conjunction with SURF's E-Folio groups. The tools can be used for every digital portfolio system.
As its points of departure, the project group had to ensure that the products fit into a system and an educational concept centred on competence-based education and the students' own responsibility for their learning. It should also be emphasised that the pedagogical component is not linked to the selected platform.
The project has produced the following results:
A website featuring examples of complete manuals, separate assignments for students and sample portfolios. This was launched in June 2004.
Special materials for managers: implementation checklists and a summary of Dutch portfolio implementations.
Special workshops and presentations for managers.
The portfolio implementation website resulting from the project has the following structure:
A manager's section.
A project leaders'/supervisors' section
Sample manuals for students and teachers/supervisors
Examples of each item or tool
Sample portfolios
The material is easy to understand. Scrolling is virtually unnecessary: users simply have to click on the screens and files. Choosing from the wide range of available material makes the website more convenient to use. More than a hundred documents (in Dutch) can be downloaded and used. A few new tools have also been developed to support pedagogical implementation. We elaborate upon a few examples of these in the material for managers.
For our international colleagues, we have translated much of the Dutch material - the section for managers, in particular - so that they too can make use of it.
There seemed little point in including many of the sources written in Dutch.
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Free duplication and public dissemination of this publication or the relevant PDF file from the DU website are permitted, by any means whatsoever, for the user's own purposes. However, the text must not be modified in any way. In the event of duplication or public dissemination of the text, any source cited must be included. For any other use, the prior written permission of the Digital University is required.
More information...
If you would like more information about experiences in the Netherlands, please contact
Marij Veugelers,
leader of the DU Portfolio Implementation Project (m.h.c.h.veugelers@uva.nl; +31 20 525 3293)