Nowadays when we talk about e-portfolios, they are more likely seen as lifelong tools for learning. Thus, it is imperative that learners are guaranteed to export the content of their e-portfolio that they have collected in one educational institution when they go to the next level of education or move into working life. Also, interoperability between e-portfolio platforms and other information systems is important. Portability of content and learner information between applications is on high demand when the success of e-portfolio roll-out is evaluated.

Both testers and participants felt that the event was helpful to make a great leap forward in testing the functional interoperability of tools and applications that implement a wide range of specifications from IMS ePortfolio specifications, which includes many different sub-specifications, to more rudiment open standards such as Webfeeds (Atom and RSS) or even use of Friend of a Friend (FOAF) specifications.

ePortfolio plugfest organisers and testers: D.Cambridge from Open Source Portfolio, organisers: Marc Van Coillie presenting TELCERT, Simon Grant and Serge Ravet, and Fabrizio Giorgini presenting Giunti

Actually the preparations by the plugfest participants had already started way before the event; the testers had a list of interoperability scenarios around which the testing was organised. Scenarios involved different actions, for example:

• a learner wants to use accessibility information in a different setting (ACCLIP information transfer);
  
• a learner wants to change portfolio host (portfolio information compliant with recognised specification as XML or content package);
  
• a learner wishes to use or transfer some or all portfolio information in a different system (to test agreed transfer mechanisms).

As this was the first plugfest organised solely for e-portfolio applications, it was more focused around demonstrations of current projects and their technology than in full-scale testing and "pluging". The event took place in two different locations, in an amphitheater where demonstrations were held on a big screen using video projector, and in another room, where one-to-one exchange of files and packages took place to find out whether two applications can really exchange resources in a meaningful way without loosing or corrupting parts of the information.

ePortfolio plugfesters

ePortfolio plugfest also included demonstration of technologies that would become useful for future ePortfolio development, specially focusing on information flow between applications, information systems and services provided in all e-learning. For example a presentation was made about the use of HR-XML (XML specially adapted for human resources such as presenting a CV). The event contributed to the creation of the ePortfolio Interoperability Framework that has been developed with the help of many EU-funded e-learning projects.

ePortfolio plugfest was organised by the European Portfolio Initiatives Coordination Committee (EPICC), a European project supported by the European Commission and Europortfolio, with the support of EIfEL.


ePortfolio plugfest was a pre-event for the third international ePortfolio 2005 conference. The presentations from the Conference are now available on-line from the event programme at http://www.eife-l.org/portfolio/ep2005/programme/


European Schoolnet presented a paper on National policies and
case studies on the use of portfolios in teacher training. 

• The presentation is available at: http://www.eife-l.org/portfolio/ep2005/eP2005presentations/PS2A_hoel_dondi.ppt
• The paper will be soon made available at Insight Special Report's section:
  http://insight.eun.org/ww/en/pub/insight/misc/specialreports.htm
  

More information about the ePortfolio plugfest and participants.
The programme contains links to all the products demonstrated in the event.
http://www.eife-l.org/portfolio/ep2005/plugfest


ePortfolio Interoperability Framework
http://www.eife-l.org/portfolio/interop


About EPICC:
http://www.epiccproject.info

MS ePortfolio specifications
http://www.imsglobal.org/ep/

As many of you have requested that the ePortfolio 2005 discussions
continue virtually, we have opened a forum at
http://www.eife-l.org/portfolio/ep2005/forum/