Presentation at Mahara Hui 2017 by Irene Yee Chief, Mojito Jione and Rajneel Totaram (The University of the South Pacific) in Auckland, New Zealand, on 6 April 2017. YouTube presentation link can be found here: https://youtu.be/J3gwoM9RMqo

1. Creating ePortfolios at PacificTAFE at The University of the
SouthPacific- creating spaces for students to demonstrate
competencies intheir profession
IreneYee Chief, Mojito Jione and
RajneelTotaram
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2. CREATING SPACES
http://www.cael.orgR/higher-education/competeReferency-
based-education
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3. PARTNERSHIP
 The mission of PacificTAFE (PacificTechnical and Further Education),
The University of the South Pacific (USP) provides high quality Skills
Based Qualifications (SBQ’s), Foundation and Preliminary studies.
 This presentation will focus on Skill Based Qualifications in one
programme: Certificate IV in Hospitality Operations. The
programme has 8 courses and we will be focusing on CE48-Hospitality
Workplace Practicum, the culminating practicum.
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4. COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION
 Competency-based assessment (or CBA) involves 'the gathering
and judging of evidence in order to decide whether a person has
achieved a standard of competence'. Assessors work with the candidate
to collect a range of evidence using the appropriate nationally endorsed
industry competency standards as benchmarks (TAFE, New South
Wales, 2008).
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5. EPORTFOLIOS?
 provides the space for learners to apply, analyze, evaluate and create
 Collaborative partnership -Centre for Flexible Learning (CFL) + Pacific
TAFE
 Awarded a Research Grant at USP
 Creating digital components and gathering technology tools to enable final year
students to complete their practicum across the Fiji Islands.
 600 hours within 6 month period to assess their knowledge and
competencies for learners
 The process is built on the existing logbook + staff of PacificTAFE
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6. STRATEGIC PLAN USP
 The focus was on the following priorities
 Priority 5: Regional and Community Development
 Objective 18: to extend the reach at USP through the inclusion of other countries
 Objective 19: strengthen and expand communications and partnerships with
stakeholders in government, CROP agencies, industry media, non state actors and the
community.
 Priority Area 1: Learning andTeaching
 Transform USP’s pedagogy and curriculum, -accelerate staff development and
effective application of new pedagogies and technologies
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7. EPORTFOLIO CONTINUE
 With this grant, we will look at development at two levels:
 Creating digital and format for mobility(Roberts, P., Maor, D., & Herrington, J.(2016)
 at the course and programme level
 institution level
 Why ePortfolios are relevant for Pacific Islanders?Why create
the space?
Pragmatic approach- 12 countries (and 14 campuses) across the
Pacific Ocean
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8. ECONOMIES OF SCALE
Map of The University of the South Pacific region
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9. WHY USE EPORTFOLIOS?
 Pacific islanders travel for better opportunities
 The use of the ePortfolio will provide a multi-media CETH48 of their
skills and knowledge in the global market.
.
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10. ePortfolio
Competencies
ESL
Second
Language
Student
centred
opportunities
Learning
Styles +
technology
Target
population
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11. EPORTFOLIOS- WHY- CONTINUE
 Creativity- evolving, also space for reflection (Schon,1983)
 Sharing- Allowing learners to share with one another, in the virtual
space or face to face.
 Demonstrate wider abilities (Cameron, 2012)
 Alignment of industry with the university( USP)- to strengthen
opportunities for employability.
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12. THEN AND NOW
 Worked from a Face to face traditional offer, CETH48: Hospitality
Workplace Practicum.
 It utilizes a print based log
 Restrictive in that the programme is more geographically bound and
restrictive by travelling cost.
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13. NOW
 Access for students across the USP region. Mahara is incorporated/
embedded into the present Learning Management System (Moodle at
USP)
 The provision of a USP Mahara Guide was built for adult learners as
some customization of Moodle had to be explained.
 The creation of an ePortfolio guide for learners.
 Creation of aToolkit so that learners in the course are able to use
technology to create their artifacts to demonstrate evidence.
 Incorporate a variety of digital media for assessment and evidence of achievement
aginst industry competency standards (Moran,Vozzo, Reid, Pietsch & Hatton, 2013)
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14. ALIGNMENT OF COMPETENCIES COMPLETED FOR CERTIFICATE IV IN
HOSPITALITY OPERATIONS PROGRAMME
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15. SAMPLE OF THE ALIGNMENT
OF COMPETENCIES
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16. FUTURE
 Train for trainers (TOT) [validity and reliability]
 Student training to use ePortfolio (is in progress)
 At the institutional level
 Translate this creation/practice across the USP region
 Certificate IV in Hospitality Operations across the USP
region.
 PacificTAFE is planning to adopting this model across its
programmes
 Enable PacificTAFE to work closely with industries and to have
closer alignment in workforce development.
 Research into our practices in the USP region and fulfilling our strategic
plan priorities.
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17. REFERENCES
 Cameron, R. (2012). Recognising workplace learning: the emerging practices of e‐RPL and e‐PR. Journal
ofWorkplace Learning, 24(2), 85-104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13665621211201689
 Competency-Based Education:A PowerfulWay to Link Learning and theWorkplace. (2017, February
06). Retrieved April 01, 2017, from http://evolllution.com/programming/applied-and-experiential-
learning/competency-based-education-a-powerful-way-to-link-learning-and-the-workplace/
 DePaul, K. (n.d.). Competency Based Education gains momentum [Web log post]. Retrieved March 22,
2017, from https://er.educause.edu/blogs/2017/2/competency-based-education-gains-momentum
 http://the-ice.org/
 Moran,W.,Vozzo, L., Reid, J-A., Pietsch, M., & Hatton, C. (2013). How can technology make this work?
Preservice teachers, off-campus learning and digital portfolios. Australian Journal ofTeacher Education,
38(5), 116-130, http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2013v38n5.9
 Roberts, P., Maor, D., & Herrington, J.(2016). ePortfolio-Based Learning Environments:
Recommendations for Effective Scaffolding of Reflective Thinking in Higher Education. Education
Technology & Society, 19(4), 22-33, http://www.ifets.info/journals/19_4/3.pdf
 Revised Bloom’sTaxonomy. (n.d.). Retrieved April 01, 2017, from
http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/effective-teaching-practices/revised-blooms-taxonomy
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