The Wolsingham E-Me project set out to investigate the potential of a video rich, multimedia E-portfolio. The E-Me concept relies on students using a multimedia authoring package to store and link multimedia evidence of their learning and achievement. The project began in September 2004 and although the primary target group was Year 12 students the project also worked with groups of students from Years 6,7, 9 and 10.

The approach adopted by the project was to provide students with a basic template into which they could ‘pour’ their multimedia evidence. Opportunities for students to generate multimedia evidence were integrated into the Year 12 PSHE programme. Students developed the required ICT/multimedia skills through their Key Skills lessons and monthly E-Me support seminars. Students were encouraged to take ownership of their E-Me and to customise it in their own time.

By July 2005, all Year 12 students at Wolsingham had created and had the opportunity to use their E-Me in a formal interview situation.

The curriculum development project broke significant new ground. It showed that Year 12 students could develop the ICT and Multimedia skills needed to develop and maintain a Multimedia E-Portfolio. It also showed that the majority of students valued both the product and the process. An unexpected outcome was that students enjoyed and valued the creative ICT/Multimedia opportunity that the E-Me provided them with.

The project;
• demonstrated that Yr 12 students, with appropriate support, were able to develop a video rich multimedia E-Portfolio;
• showed that students aged 9+ could

• Identified the set of ICT skills that students need to develop and maintain a video rich, multimedia E-Portfolio;

• Highlighted the need for students to:
• understand what it is that they need to evidence;
• be able to identify appropriate opportunities that will allow them to collect the evidence;
• have access to digital Video cameras and Technical support;
• be able to organise the recording and editing of digital video evidence;

• Confirmed that an E-Me can be both a formative and a summative instrument. Formative as the learner develops, evidences and reflects on their learning and achievements, summative when used to support their transitions to the next stage of their learning, training or employment;

• Demonstrated that a multimedia E-Portfolio could only be used in an interview situation if both the interviewer and the interviewee were clear about what the skills/competencies that should be evidenced by the E- Portfolio;

• Confirmed that, while the individual products themselves were impressive, the process, as well as developing ICT/multimedia skills and providing creative opportunities, also had the potential to encourage and support reflective learning. It provided students with the opportunity to reflect on what they had done, achieved and felt. This potential needs to be investigated;

• Raised the need to future proof and address Portability issues, at the design stage of any E-Portfolio. Discussions at the Teesside Conference suggested that the content (what needs to be evidenced) is unlikely to change and can be ’recorded‘ as ‘multimedia evidence’ , however, the technology is likely to change several times during a life long learners ‘life’. To support the lifelong learner an E-portfolio must be portable between school, college, HE and Community Groups, and the technology used must be ‘future proofed’.

• Suggested that a philosophy of storing evidence of ‘everything’ that students ‘do’ in a structure that allows them to filter out content to satisfy their purpose, was worthy of further investigation.

Future Plans

• To update the templates to include guidance notes. To reduce the number of pages in the templates;
• To promote the use of E-Me with Year 7 and 8 students. To promote E-Me within Feeder schools;
• To revise the support programme to provide opportunities for students to develop video editing skills;
• To agree approaches with Heads of Vocational Departments that will help students to identify opportunities when it would be appropriate to evidence achievement of competence by using video evidence;
• To investigate the format that a ‘summative’ E-Me might take if it is to support progression;
• To encourage students to use their E-Me to help them to reflect on what they have done, learnt or achieved. To encourage Tutors and Subject Teachers to promote reflection with their students;
• To develop a bank of competence based questions to assess Employability Skills. To integrate the questions into the End of 12 Year Review Interviews;
• To attract partners that would enable the potential of E-Me to be fully investigated.