SONET - Educational Technology Group 
SONET - Educational Technology Group 
The information below is retained for archive purposes. A VPT has now been deployed for students on the Diploma programme - click the link below to use it:
Virtual Portfolio (Diploma)
It can also be accessed via the Division of Nursing Practice Learning website. This resource has been implemented in Xerte Toolkits, and is no longer available in the Powerpoint version.
The virtual portfolio tool has been developed to guide students who are compiling a paper based portfolio. It helps with both the level and standard of evidence expected as well as providing a suggested layout and arrangement of the portfolio.
The VPT is available online for students to use on placement, at home, in school… it is hoped that the tool will also be used by lecturers as a classroom portfolio teaching presentation; by mentors on placement when they are asked to evaluate their students’ evidence and also by all staff who are personal tutors, for use as a reference aid when assessing their tutee’s portfolios for a tutorial.
Use of the VPT will reduce the paper wastage and limited access to example material currently caused by the use of paper-based evidence in class. Since the VPT is online, in addition to fast access to the evidence material, it will also provide a convenient central location for links to related documents such as guidance notes, blank templates and sites of interest. The VPT can also link to mini-reusable learning objects that provide a unique opportunity for the students to see the audio or video of the clinical situation that formed the basis of evidence document.
At present, the two pilot VPTs are being developed. The first is for first year students on the pre-registration Nursing Diploma/BSc. course and is online. The second is for post registration nurses enrolled on the Supporting Practice Learning (mentor preparation) course across the School of Nursing. The work to complete the evaluation of the VPTs will be completed by the end of 2008.
The project is funded by a £10k grant from the Centre for Integrative Learning, a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) based in the Hallward Library on University Park campus. Other researchers currently working on the evaluation data are Lindsay Davies and Paraskevas Vezyridis.
Use of this tool will provide consistency across the School and ensure that all students/tutors/mentors will be receiving the same portfolio guidance. The formatting will be familiar because the online VPT can also be projected for use in introductions and teaching sessions providing continual support to mentors and tutors who are assessing student portfolio information.
It is planned to populate the final versions of the VPT with documents uploaded by the module leader (or equivalent, e.g. portfolio panel development).At present, they are being collected, uploaded and developed by Jennifer Dandrea and Fred Riley. Initial versions have been written in PowerPoint and converted to Flash using Articulate Presenter. However, it is hoped that future versions will be developed by the IS Learning Team, using the Xerte development tool. It is important that the VPT is an accessible and friendly platform to enable lecturers from across the University to ultimately create their own VPTs for their students.
For any further information about this project (or if you think that you have a course that needs a VPT!) please contact Dr Jennifer Dandrea, at the School of Nursing’s Mansfield Education Centre on 01623 465600 or email via the firstname.surname@nottingham.ac.uk address.
Page last updated 30 April, 2010 . Site maintained by Fred Riley.
