This session was focused on the context of a Postgraduate Certificate in HR management. There was one module focused on skills development and developing reflective practitioners. However students did not see the relevance of this despite it being an essential component of professional practice.

Vivienne proposed a solution to this which was the potential of using an e-portfolio and this being assessed. The software the University used was pebble plus. An action research project was started in September 2012 and the portfolio had links to the professional body competencies. This meant that the students could collect evidence for these and add this to the portfolio.

Technologists came and provided input for the students about how to use this and provided support throughout the project.

Data was collected from the technologists about issues they dealt with, from lecturers about support students needed to develop the portfolio and from students about the experience.

 Part time students who worked as well as studying felt this was really good and that they would continue to use this after the course however full time students were very negative. Positive themes from the data were it was good to have everything in one place, easily accessible, could compare data and share their work. Negative themes were learning a new technology, relevance, internet access, relevance beyond the course and difficult to use.

The conclusion was that the technology did not create engagement with this beyond the assessment and it was still difficult to find appropriate activities to engage students. There were also some age issues with part time students being the more mature. The pilot will continue for one more year but with changes to take account of some of the issues.