Embedding e-portfolios for effective lifelong learning:a case study

Lifelong learning is a ‘keystone’ of educational policies (Faure, 1972) where the emphasis on learning shifts from teacher to learner. Higher Education (HE) institutions should be committed to developing lifelong learning, that is promoting learning that is flexible, diverse and relevant at different times, and in different places, and is pursued throughout life. Therefore the HE sector needs to develop effective strategies to encourage engagement in meaningful learning for diverse student populations. The use of e-portfolios, as a ‘purposeful aggregation of digital items’ (Sutherland & Powell, 2007), can meet the needs of the student community by encouraging reflection, the recording of experiences and achievements, and personal development planning (PDP). The use of e-portfolios also promotes inclusivity in learning as it provides students with the opportunity to articulate their aspirations and take the first steps along the pathway of lifelong learning. However, ensuring the uptake of opportunities within their learning is more complex than the students simply having access to the software. Therefore it is argued here that crucial to the effective uptake and engagement of the e-portfolio is embedding it purposefully within the curriculum. In order to investigate effective implementation of e-portfolios an explanatory case study on their use was carried out, initially focusing on 3 groups of students engaged in work-based learning and professional practice. The 3 groups had e-Portfolios embedded and assessed at different levels. Group 1 did not have the e-Portfolio embedded into their curriculum nor was the e-Portfolio assessed. Group 2 had the e-Portfolio embedded into the curriculum and formatively assessed. Group 3 also had the e-Portfolio embedded into the curriculum and were summatively assessed. Results suggest that the use of e-Portfolios needs to be integral to curriculum design in modules rather than used as an additional tool. In addition to this more user engagement was found in group 2 where the e-Portfolio was formatively assessed only. The implications of this case study are further discussed in terms of curriculum development.

Learning by exporting:lesson from high-technology SMEs

Theory points to the existence of a learning by exporting effect, in which exposure to export markets enhances performance through exposure to the knowledge stocks of trading partners. We investigate the learning by exporting hypothesis by examining the effect of exporting on the subsequent innovation performance of UK high-tech SMEs. We find evidence of learning by exporting, but the pattern of this effect is relatively complex. Exporting helps high-tech SMEs innovate subsequently, but does not make them more innovation intensive. There is also evidence that it is consistent exposure to export markets that helps firms overcome the innovation hurdle, but that there is a positive scale effect of exposure to export markets which allows innovative firms to sell more of their new-to-market products on entering export markets. Service sector firms are able to reap the benefits of exposure to export markets at an earlier (entry) stage of the internationalization process than are manufacturing firms. Firms producing a rapidly changing portfolio of innovative products exhibit higher churn in terms of entry to and exit from export markets than low-intensity innovators, and this is reflected in the effects of entry and exit into and out of such markets.

Learning to reflect through technology, to enhance employability

"Reflection, if managed in an ordered way, can provide great opportunities for learning, understanding and clarifying thought, both in one's personal life and in learning and professional development." Moon, J (1999). Aston Business School's (ABS) 12cmonth professional placement programme has a number of espoused learning objectives, including helping students: 1. To benefit from the integration of university study and work experience in ways which facilitate critical reflection on each ofthese aspects. 2. To build a personal awareness of their own interests, competencies, values and potential. These objectives focus students' development to self-reflect critically, to make sense of their experiences/learning whilst undertaking their placements. Students complete a placement year Reflective Learning Journal, supported by the workplace supervisor, through regular meetings where objectives are agreed and reviewed. As well as reflection providing opportunities for students to make sense of their learning, it is also challenging! ABS is undertaking a pilot in 2008/9 to encourage students to engage with reflective practice, but employer feedback indicates an ability to think and analyse is often missing from the skill sets of graduates. Business students are using the PebblePad e-portfolio system as a tool to record their learning, reflect on their experiences in the workplace and to create their journals.

IPOs, clustering, indirect learning and filing independently

IPO underpricing has been attributed to valuation uncertainty, which can be at least partially resolved by the indirect learning associated with IPO clustering [Benveniste, L.M., Ljungqvist, A., Wilhelm, W.J., Yu, X.Y., 2003. Evidence of information spillovers in the production of investment banking services. Journal of Finance 58, 577–608]. We examine why firms might choose not to issue their IPOs contemporaneously with clusters of similar firms, forgoing opportunities to learn from their peers. We find that the willingness to file an IPO without the benefit of indirect learning from peer firm IPOs is directly related to insiders’ needs for portfolio diversification and the firm’s need to raise capital.