Use of Emerging Mobile Technologies in Portfolio Development Ejaz Ahmed, Rupert Ward School of Computing and Engineering University of Huddersfield, UK {e.ahmed, r.r.ward}@hud.ac.uk Stephen White School of Human and Health Sciences University of Huddersfield, UK stephen.white@hud.ac.uk Abdul Jabbar The Business School University of Huddersfield, UK a.jabbar@hud.ac.uk Abstract - In the UK, implementing personal development planning (PDP) is an obligatory requirement across all Higher Education awards. This has led to a number of institutions requiring students to produce electronic portfolios to meet this requirement. However, far too little attention has been paid to utilising the powerful functionalities and high levels of connectivity of emerging mobile technology. This social study seeks to discover a potential role of emerging mobile technology in portfolio development and its effects on students’ reflective capacity and engagement with PDP. To raise students’ engagement with PDP, a mobile application (HUD iPDP) for Apple mobile devices was developed with fifty-one undergraduate students participating in this study. The data collected was both qualitative and quantitative. Results revealed a high level of interest among students and the potential for mobile technology to enhance the process of PDP. Keywords - Reflection; PDP; e-Portfolio; Mobile learning. I. INTRODUCTION With the rapid development of mobile technology, its suitability to learning activities is growing. It is providing students with access to truly mobile computers that fit in their hands and can go in their pockets. Mobile devices today are more powerful in functionality and connectivity than the desktop computers we used to have in the late 1990s. Students are attracted to new mobile phones because they are small, interactive and provide connectivity. Their ubiquity provides a valuable opportunity for educators to embed learning more effectively by enabling students to reflect at any point on their studies and development. Personal Development Planning (PDP) is considered a significant pedagogical tool in higher education. It enhances the capacity for learners to reflect, plan and take responsibility for the primary objectives of PDP [1]. The traditional paper-based portfolio format has existed in HE in the past; however, the recent trend has been towards electronic e-Portfolio. The terms ‘e-Portfolio’, ‘Progress File’ and ‘PDP’ are often mentioned interchangeably in the literature [2]. JISC projects discovered that there have been tangible benefits in the use of e-Portfolios in relation to efficiency and enhancement in quality of PDP [3]. Most e- Portfolios are dynamic web applications using databases which enhance the quality of evidence, reflection, skills development and students’ motivation. Emerging mobile technologies are equipped with hardware and software powerful enough to provide functionality and a high level of connectivity to easily augment existing e-Portfolios. As we use mobile devices in portfolio development, this can be described as m-portfolio (mobile Portfolio). The aim of this paper is to discuss the outcome of a social study conducted to investigate the potential use of mobile technology in portfolio development. The paper evaluates the students’ experience with PDP using smartphones, and with a bespoke mobile application to support PDP, which was developed and tested. The paper consists of four parts. First, it reviews the existing literature relevant to PDP, e-portfolio and role of mobile technology within this. Following this, the research method and procedures used in the study are presented. Next, results are discussed and summarised. Finally the paper concludes with a discussion on the implications, limitations and directions for further research. II. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The current policy on Personal Development Planning (PDP) emerged from the Dearing Report [4] which recommended that UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) should formulate a progress file, PDP, to enable students to ‘monitor, build and reflect on their personal development’ [4]. The Dearing Report advocated HEIs provide a mechanism for PDP but left the actual implementation to the discretion of individual institutions. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education [5], who oversee its use, define PDP as ‘a structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance and / or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development’ [5]. The concept of personal development itself had existed in many institutions [6] long before Dearing’s recommendations, with the idea of a ‘reflective practitioner’ [7] already popular in nursing and teaching professions for example. Reflection is a key element of the process of PDP and acts as a vehicle for turning ‘experience into learning’ [8] by combining different thoughts and ideas together. This personal experience in combination with formal learning results in ‘deep’ learning [9]. The QAA guidelines for PDP state that reflection is ‘a process that involves self-reflection, the creation of personal records, planning and monitoring progress towards the achievement of personal objectives [5]. Boyd & Fales [10] define reflection as ‘a process of internally examining and exploring and issue of concern triggered by an experience, which creates and clarifies meaning in terms of self and results in a changed conceptual perspective’. It has been suggested that reflection process based on personal experience at regular instances enables 81 MOBILITY 2011 : The First International Conference on Mobile Services, Resources, and Users Copyright (c) IARIA, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-61208-164-9