ePortfolio 4YF Conference

Date: 22^nd September 2009

Venue: Arena di Serdica Hotel, Sofia, Bulgaria

(Address: 2-4, Budapeshta Str.)

in the frame of ePortfolio 4YF Leonardo da Vinci project No:LLP-LDV-TOI-07-BG-166018

You can download the presentations from the conference,

by clicking on the name of the presentation, in the Program section.

Here you can download the ePortfolio 4YF conference press release in Bulgarian and English.

Aim:

The aim of the ePortfolio 4YF (ePortfolio For Your Future) conference is to give an overview of the different approaches and uses of the innovative e-portfolio method. Apart from this the conference aims at presenting the advantages of the e-portfolio method and game-based learning environment in the field of career guidance and career development.

Context:

During the last decades there is an increasing interest in the ICT sector, combined with the growing need for professional orientation for students in their last years in high school. Both ICT and the professional orientation can help youngsters be better prepared when entering the labour market.

This combination of the innovative technologies and the career guidance of youngsters can be achieved namely through the e-portfolio method. It allows the students to collect any data (achievements, publications, certifications, awards etc.) in the form of a structured and well-organized e-portfolio. Then, they can easily use this e-portfolio for the different purposes of their learning (formal or informal), their career development and their professional orientation. Consultants also benefit from the e-portfolio method because it is an innovative and interactive tool that proves very attractive and so preferred by their clients.

Moreover, the advantage of the e-portfolio over the conventional portfolio is that the former can be much more easily organized and managed by the student and thus serve as a tool for self-reflection - one can open it at any time, look through his/her achievements during the years and reflect upon his/her development. As a result, one can easily observe what he/she has already achieved and what is to be achieved and improved in future.

Second, an e-portfolio can also serve the purposes of formal education, namely it can be used for assessment of the student's achievements or for presentation of one's achievements to potential employers for the purposes of finding a job. And finally, an e-portfolio can be used for the purposes of career guidance, where a career consultant looks at the e-portfolios of the students and gives some advice regarding their future career or educational development.

All these are different aspects of the e-portfolio which make it a complex and versatile tool which obviously needs to be further discussed and developed in order to be duly implemented throughout the world. An undeniable fact is that in many countries nowadays there is a lack of attractive e-consulting materials and tools for students. This is the case in Bulgaria where there is a discrepancy between the students' preferences for learning environment (Internet) and the counseling materials which are actually offered to them (traditional training materials, printed handbooks etc.). At the same time the lack of flexibility, trained school staff and person-centred methods in the educational system as well as the unattractive teaching approaches widen the gap between education and occupational realization in Bulgaria. In Austria as well the rate of early school leavers is constantly rising during the past two years. All these considered, there is a need for concrete measures in order to overcome this negative tendency. One such measure is the e-portfolio which usage may decrease the underestimation of the Internet and lead to a more effective career guidance and development for the students.