In-Folio
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In-Folio is a uniquely accessible Open Source e-Portfolio that enables learners, particularly those with disabilities or learning difficulties, to store and arrange multimedia content into simple online pages. Learners can upload their own material or it can be uploaded in bulk by others for them to use, selecting appropriate resources from a gallery of personally chosen material. Those who have difficulty logging on using a username and password combination can use a picture based logon system.
In-Folio was commissioned by and for the Independent Specialist Colleges (ISCs). After lengthy sector consultations and trials of existing e-portfolios, which seemed to point to the fact that none were suitable for the learners within the Specialist College Sector. Funding was initially provided by four colleges (National Star, Portland, NYCPE and Oakwood) who generously pooled their Innovation project grants in 2008. Following a tender process the Rix Centre based at the University of East London was successfully selected and the build of the application began.
Following further detailed consultations with other colleges who had obtained funding from the KickStart programme, development of the first outlines of the application were brought to the sector in late 2008. Following further trials and testing, the phase one application was introduced, in a series of rollout events in July 2009.
Transcript of the In-Folio Rollout Tour Vimeo
By September 2009 as many as 57 Colleges had by this time signed up for accounts in use on a hosted server at the Rix Centre.
During the next round of the capital LSC funding programme, ISCs were then offered an installation of their own server on which they could have their own version of In-Folio.
The Specialist College Advisory Group were delighted to receive the report stating that 44 colleges had requested and were successful in obtaining a server and its installation. JISC Techdis also arranged for other useful applications to be installed on every server giving unprecedented access for the colleges to such things as:
- Moodle, (an Open Source Learning Platform)
- Xerte an Open Source Learning Object Creator
- AccessApps (a collection of 60 source enabling technologies)
- JISC TechDis accessibility Essentials
Training and support for the technical staff within the colleges is also of paramount importance and as a result of further negotiation each College had an opportunity to register a member of technical staff on the CMALT programme of the Association of Learning Technology (ALT), which will allow for some accreditation of the skills gained.
In-Folio will be made available to the wider world, as an Open Source application during 2011 and will be licensed under the Creative Commons arrangements which fits well with the move globally to Open Educational Resources.
