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0042 Demo: Curriculum and APEL
From painful paper to digital and dialogical; the rapid
development of an effective e-APEL process
Authors
Alison Felce
Shane Sutherland
Theme
Making things happen
Tags
assessment, CPD, effectiveness,
efficiency, evidence,
experience, informalLearning,
learnerAcceptance,
longTermValue, mainstreaming,
mentoring, preservation,
problemSolving, productivity,
professionalDevelopment,
recordingAchievement,
reusability, savingMoney, savings,
scalability, selfDirectedLearning,
simplification, technology, tools,
workBasedLearning
An analysis of the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL)
process at a major teaching university identified that the existing process
was slow, costly and cumbersome – three descriptors that have no place in
the emergent economic and education environment. Drawing upon funding
from a Lifelong Learning Network the university sought to develop an
electronic process that:
1. was more efficient for tutors
2. was more informative, supportive and consistent for learners
3. provided successful applicants with a head-start in developing a personal
learning space (from which multiple portfolios could be constructed over
time).
The first point demanded notifications, feedback ‘banks’ and the use of
familiar tools. The second could be addressed through an informative
website, a simple application process with supporting materials and the
opportunity to develop applications in response to iterative feedback. The
final requirement arose from an institutional entitlement to a personal
learning space.
With a broad set of aims in mind the project team drew together
experienced APEL experts from key academic areas, registry and the
learning enhancement unit. Working closely with the eportfolio team a
prototype was developed within 2 weeks of the start of the project. The
prototype was then tested with a ‘convenience’ sample of academic and
support staff acting in the role of applicants. Feedback from the group was
fed directly back to the development team and within 5 weeks of the project
start a completed product was successfully tested with students.
This demonstration will allow participants to emulate exactly the process
that APEL applicants take. Namely, use the eP4APEL tool to:
• self register for an eportfolio and eP4APEL account
• make an initial application and receive feedback on it
• make any necessary changes and add supporting evidence
• receive further feedback and support to develop a successful application
• receive an offer of credit
• transfer to the university and continue to build upon the ‘portfolio’ of
evidence
The eP4APEL tool is independent of the ‘eportfolio system’ using OAuth to
negotiate accounts between both tools and web-services to convey data and
updates. Evidence is saved as Leap2A objects.
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