Tomorrow I have my Midwifery Standards Review which is the audit of my midwifery practice by a midwife and consumer. Midwives in New Zealand are reviewed every two years as part of the requirements for being a practicing midwife. I have been preparing for this for some weeks, reflecting on my practice in this blog and gathering evidence for my ePortfolio.
Initial reactions
When I first informed the Review committee a couple of weeks ago that I was presenting my work in my ePortfolio, the reaction was not favorable. There was some confusion about what the reviewers had to do to access it, and there was concerns about the time it would take to read it. So I was asked to submit a paper version. I did this by printing off the ePortfolio website.
Taking my ePortfolio to my Review tomorrow
In the meantime I have been asked to take my ePortfolio to my Review tomorrow so the committee can have a look at it. This is a tad problematic because there is no Internet connection at the Review venue, so I have gone out and spent $100 on a mobile pre-paid Internet connection stick - hopefully that will do trick.
I have realized that I haven't quite got around to attaching all my paper certificates and evidence as pdfs, so I'll need to catch up on that over the next wee while.
Letting you know how I get on
I think this will be a challenge for the reviewers - I am 99.9% sure this is the first time they have come across an ePortfolio. It will be very interesting to hear what they think about it - I'll let you know.
In the meantime, I'd like to thank my Twitter network for all their encouragement and advice when I was thinking that the whole concept of an ePortfolio needed to go in the "too-hard" basket.
6 comments:
Looks great. I started something similar with all the teaching units I written but I used Google Sites. I do like wikispaces - for a non-techie, its much easier to use. Though you can probably use any platform depending on what you're comfortable with. I'll be bookmarking your site for my students. Thanks,
Would like to see their faces when looking at the eportfolio LOL.
Interested in your experiences with these digital dinosaur, take care Dr Shock
All the best for this, Sarah; your eportfolio is wonderful and a testament for how much can be done at little cost. Gives me a few ideas . . .
Thank you all for your comments.
Leesa: yes, you're right, I think its OK to use whatever platform you are comfortable with. However, for personal reflections and confidential information you do not want to share, I would suggest something like Mahara.
My aim is to have a play with Facebook one day, and see how that would work.
Dr Shock: The snag is, for many midwives, this way of doing things would not cross their minds. They are only just getting their heads around the concept of a portfolio - let alone a digital one. There is lots of work to be done with digital literacy skills before the majority of midwives could cope with something like an ePortfolio. Having said that, it takes no real skills to be able to read a digital portfolio.
Jeffrey: let me know what your ideas are. I see your blog as a ePortfolio...as your process your ideas, report on your activities and encourage comments & discussion...much like I do here.
Hi Sarah
So - how did it go... As you know, I have been tinkering with an e-portfolio for a while, and I have used your work as a guide. I am struggling with the technology and my problems with the internet connection, but I hope to have something to share soon. As a Social Worker in Australia, we also need to demonstrate professional development so I see how the e-portfolio can work, and I find it a much easier way to keep track of everything in the electronic world.
Sorry it's taken me a while, but here's how it went on the day of my Review.
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