EPortfolios to Support Women Returners to Employment
Oxford (UK), February 2009 - The Association for Learning Technology (ALT) has announced two one-day events to disseminate the work of the JISC-funded eReturn project. eReturn promotes the use of ePortfolios to support women returners to employment, ensuring that they have an electronic record of achievements from the variety of learning establishments they may have studied at along with reflections, presentations, and other material that can be used for employment applications.
The project is led by the Open University in partnership with the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology; the Cardiff Women's Workshop; the University of Salford; Sheffield Hallam University; the Centre for Science Education; and ALT.
The eReturn partnership has been working with the Open Source -œMyStuff- ePortfolio to support cross-institutional delivery of lifelong learning for women returners in their transition to employment.
Event One, on 24 February, will be of particular interest to those developing ePortfolio systems and services within and between organisations.
It will focus on technical implementation and interoperability issues. The event will be opened by Niall Sclater, Director of Learning Innovation at the Open University and Chair of the eReturn Steering Group, and there will be input from Simon Grant from JISC CETIS, and Ross MacKenzie and Thanh Le, who are leading the development of MyStuff.
Event Two, on 25 February, will be of interest to employers, professional bodies, careers advisors, and anyone else involved in supporting returners back into employment, as well as to those wishing to increase their understanding of ePortfolio practice in general.
It will focus on the human and organisational side of using ePortfolios across institutions. The event will be opened by Julia King, Vice Chancellor of Aston University, and speakers will include Lisa Gray, who has been leading JISC's work on ePortfolios, and representatives of the main eReturn partners.
Date: 24 and 25 February 2009, 10:30 to 16:00
Location: Aston Business School, Birmingham
Cost: Fee-free
Each event can be attended separately, but for those who wish to attend both, overnight accommodation and dinner can be provided at cost.