Abstract:

Background:
Mobile technology and ePortfolios are emergent technologies that are being increasingly taken up by Primary Schools. These emergent technologies are being used in schools and in Initial Teacher Training courses. The government, through the Teacher Training Agency, are looking closely at this work as part of their ‘push’ to introduce more ICT into teaching.
This paper reports on how mobile devices are being used in the classroom by students to enhance their skills and to record their progress in the classroom. Every trainee teacher needs to be able to show evidence that they have reached a satisfactory standard in 33 areas before they can qualify as teachers. Students, lecturers and school based mentors have a growing need to retain and review evidence of ‘the Standards’.

Methods.
The ePortfolio combined with the use of mobile devices such as smartphones, PDAs, iPods and voice recorders is being used to allow multiple access to material produced as evidence of ‘the Standards’. Data has been obtained through interviews with students, through focus groups of students, interviews with mentors in schools and by examination of the final eROPDs.

Contribution.
This project is in its second year and involves 20 Postgraduate students and 10 students in their first year of a BEd degree course. Students are using mobile devices to submit evidence in an increasing variety of ways which takes the evidence provided towards the qualification of Qualified Teacher Status to new levels of quality and the reflectiveness of practice not seen in paper evidence. The ability for students, mentors and tutors to upload evidence and comments at any time and anywhere has revolutionised this evidencing.

Evaluation.
The first year of this project saw many technical problems in uploading data and allowing mentors access to student eROPDs. Initially students evidenced work in an unsuitable way e.g by taking photographs of lesson plans but they now present evidence in a more careful way using existing electronic documents, scanners and digital images. It is in the ease of producing and uploading evidence using mobile devices that has been the backbone of this project and whilst it is assumed that students are familiar with all the facilities that, for example, a smartphone provides, this has not always been the case and students have increased their own knowledge of mobile devices and this has gone on to enhance their teaching.

Reflection.
This project was conceived following the reflection of the facilities and devices already available to students and how this could be developed into a more robust system of evidencing progress in the professional development of trainee teachers. The results so far have produced results that have exceeded original expectations and students are becoming more reflective and discerning in the evidence they submit and the quality of their evidence has been greatly enhanced. This has resulted in almost no paper evidence being needed by the students to show their evidence to gain Qualified Teacher Status.

Keywords:

electronic portfolio, electronic record of professional development, record of.