Abstract

PDP4Life is a JISC-funded regional e-learning pilot project. The aim is to develop frameworks within electronic Personal Development Planning (e-PDP) systems that will enable learners to merge the formal and informal records of their learning into one single database. The UKHE Progress File concept consists of a transcript of learning achievement and a means of undertaking personal development planning, but the two elements usually operate independently of each other. The transcript is a record of formal, accredited learning, whereas the PDP element supports a process through which learners monitor, build and reflect upon their own personal development. Any records of informal learning that are created in the PDP are usually temporal and not linked to the formal transcript. PDP4Life builds on the outputs of the SHELL project that has developed a specification for an Individual Learner Record that records formal qualifications and will extend it to accept learner-generated records of informal learning created within PDP systems. SHELL was funded under the JISC programme "MLEs for Lifelong Learning: Building MLEs across HE and FE" to develop a system for transferring learner records from an FE study location to an HE institution and to provide learners with permanent, internet-based access to their transcripts. PDP4Life is led by Bournemouth University in collaboration with 10 HE and FE institutions in the South West of England. In addition to piloting the transfer of student records from one study location to another, the partners will map their institutional PDP systems against the specification and share best practice in PDP processes across the region. This paper will report on the progress towards developing the specification and mapping it against partners' PDP systems. Additional issues, including a review of the practicalities of making a lifelong learner record a reality and the experiences of developing and implementing e-PDP systems to support lifelong learning across a largely rural geographical region are presented in the accompanying poster.