Presented at AAEEBL July 2012, this presentation discusses ePortofolios as a microcosm of Virtual HRD. Medical Education is used as an example of the continuum. Conclusions include ethical issues and potential pitfalls when ePortfolios are used for multiple purposes for multiple stakeholders.

1. VIRTUAL HRD AND EPORTFOLIOS:
TECHNOLOGY AS CONTINUUM FROM
HIGHER EDUCATION TO THE WORKFORCE
Elisabeth E. Bennett, PhD
Assistant Professor, Tufts University
Senior Fellow, Northeastern University
AAEEBL 2012 (updated)

2. OPENING REFLECTION
Coming Crisis in Higher
Consider:
Education
What are the
multiple purposes
of your ePortfolio
programs (or other
complex learning
systems) if not
using ePs)?

3. To name a few purposes…..

4. LEARNING & COLLABORATION
COGNITION
SKILL-BUILDING, TEAM-BUILDING
IDEATION – CREATIVITY
ASSESSMENT & EVALUATION
STUDENT DEVELOPMENT
SHOWCASE
FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
FACULTY PERFORMANCE REVIEW
PROGRAM PERFORMANCE
ACCREDITATION
COMMUNICATION
SURVEYS
RESEARCH
COMPLIANCE DATA
MARKETING

5. TRADITIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE
DEVELOPMENT
 Training and Development
 Career Development
 Organization Development
 Technology Development - Recently added
(Bennett, 2010)

6. VIRTUAL HRD DEFINED
A media-rich and culturally relevant web environment
that strategically improves
expertise, performance, innovation, and community-
building through formal and informal learning
(Bennett, 2009, p.364)

7. VIRTUAL HRD INTERSECTS WITH
EPORTFOLIOS WHEN….
 There are multiple purposes
 Example: Student showcase and faculty development (a
special kind of HRD)
 Individual, group, organizational, & potentially societal
needs part of the picture
 ePorfolios tie into other information systems for data
integrity and efficiency
 They are strategic or aligned with goals and mission
 Interactivity is present

8. MEDICAL EDUCATION AS A CONTINUUM
 7 to 12 years of training
 Complex funding system
 Progresses from HE to
academic medical centers
 Dual roles at the graduate level
– employee & student
 Work based learning model
 Accreditation & outcomes-
based
 Preparation for practice
 Patient safety and satisfaction

9. EPORTOFLIOS IN MEDICAL EDUCATION
 Are starting off as repositories
 Test scores and evaluations, procedure logs
 Increasingly more interactivity (Bennett, McWhorter, &
Sankey, 2012)
 Mentoring
 Identifying learning gaps
 Reflection
 May be tied to other data sources
 HCAHPS (patient satisfaction and pay for performance)
 Quality and patient safety
 New: evaluate graduate (GME) candidates on soft skills
and reflective practice (Bennett, McWhorter, &
Sankey, 2012)

10. CONCLUSIONS
 ePortfolios replacing traditional resume, especially
in knowledge/creative professions
 Can be carried/updated across the continuum for
lifelong learning and career development
 Continuum most prevalent with longitudinal training
(medical education, teacher training etc.)
 ePortfolios can fulfill multiple purposes in a work-
setting
 Individual
 Group
 Organization
 Society

11. CONCLUSIONS CONTINUED
 Tie into diverse information & feedback systems
 Represent a microcosm of Virtual HRD
 Ethical issues
 Who has access
 How information is used
 Liability versus learning-from-mistakes in high stakes
professions
 Pitfalls
 Ignoring cultural issues, buy-in
 Non-strategic busy work
 Mixed messages to constituents

12. REFERENCES
 Bennett, EE. (2010). The Coming Paradigm Shift: Synthesis and Future Directions in
Virtual HRD. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 12(6), 728-741.
 Bennett, EE & Bierema, LL. (2010). The Ecology of Virtual HRD. Advances in
Developing Human Resources, 12(6), 632-647.
 Bennett, EE. (2009). Virtual HRD: The Intersection of Knowledge
Management, Culture, and Intranets. Advances in Developing Human
Resources, 11(3), 362-374.
 Bennett, EE. (2011). Informal Adult Learning in Simulated and Virtual Environments.
In Information Resources Management Association (Ed.), Gaming and Simulations:
Concepts, Methodologies, Tools and Applications (pp. 1914-1932). Hershey, PA: IGI
Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-60960-195-9.ch802 (republished)
 Bennett, EE, Blanchard, RD, & Fernandez, GL. (2012). Knowledge Sharing in
Academic Medical Centers: Exploring the Nexus of Higher Education and Workforce
Development. In V.C.X. Wang’s (Ed.), Encyclopedia of E-Leadership, Training, and
Counseling (pp. 212-232). Hershey, PA: IGI Global
 Bennett, EE, McWhorter, RR, & Sankey, HZ. (2012, March). Eportfolios as Virtual
HRD: A Review of Literature and Analysis of a Tool in a Graduate Medical Education
Program. Abstract in the Proceedings of the 2012 Academy of Human Resource
Development Research Conference in the Americas. Denver, CO: AHRD.
 McWhorter, RR, and Bennett, EE. (2012, March). Facilitating Transition from Higher
Education to the Workforce: A Literature Review of Eportfolios as Virtual Human
Resource Development. Proceedings of the 2012 Academy of Human Resource
Development Research Conference in the Americas. Denver, CO: AHRD.