Personal Development does not end at graduation

A section of the Kent labrynth in autum
A section of the Kent labrynth in autum

I recently attended a Guardian Higher Education Seminar in their very impressive offices behind Kings Cross, London. The Seminar was entitled Using Social Media to Enhance the Student Experience so had lots of relevance to the EAT-PDP project.

I had expected that some of the delegates would talk about Mahara – it may not be what  people first think of when social networking is mentioned but it has many of the same functions – blogging, friends lists, sharing  multi-media pages – as well as being a valuable tool for PDP and and an e-folio.  The speakers hardly mentioned it but when I asked a question about its use it became obvious that many HEIs were considering it or already using it. Some attendees expressed reservations about the viability of closed systems such as Mahara but others were running trials or evaluating e-folio and PDP software including Mahara. Interestingly some of the issues that participants saw as a downside to social networking in HE – distraction, confidentiality concerns, public exposure, concerns over ownership –  are solved or at least easier to control within ‘closed systems’ such as Mahara.

The clearest message I got from the day was that just making social media available was not enough. For students to engage and see benefits from these applications there needs to be involvement and engagement from staff too. Personal Development Planning needs to be seen as part of the curriculum not just an optional extra. And that can mean more work for tutors who might already feel they are being stretched thin. This was the experience of some who spoke at the seminar but these same people were also very enthusiastic about the rewards and benefits to their students and about what many perceived to be a better understanding of their students’ needs.  Students supported each other through networking, informally reviewed their colleagues work, arranged group study sessions and honed their writing and visual skills. But this did not happen by magic.

Many participants talked of the need to create a culture within which social media was seen as an acceptable, valid and appropriate tool for PDP and education.  Few people are natural bloggers. Many people feel nervous about openly commenting on others’ work. But when students were encouraged to form groups to work together, or to meet up and talk about how they might use blogs and wikis to augment their learning and development the concept started to gel, ideas flowed and this translated into content appearing online. Over time, applications like Mahara create the story of a individual’s progress and development. This in turn can both boost confidence by showcasing achievements and identify gaps that need to be bridged.  This type of ‘auditing’ does not and should not cease just because a period of formal education and development has come to an end. The EAT-PDP project is about engaging with alumni but actually the engagement has to start with under graduates.

It would be all too easy to be cynical and negative about the use of social networking in HE. The EAT-PDP project sees myfolio as an extremely useful addition to Kent’s learning and PDP resources and a tool which could help students increase their employability at,  and beyond graduation. If alumni access is implemented Myfolio will also help the University maintain links with its alumni and build the Kent brand. But the existence of myFolio is not going to be enough – we need to build on good work already done to embed it firmly in the culture of University.

Kent went live with Mahara, branded as myfolio at the beginning of this term. It is too soon to be able to judge how many of our students will use it – and even more difficult to judge how many will continue to use it after graduation – but  hundreds of accounts have been ‘claimed’ already and a good number of  e-folios and profiles created. First impressions are good. In the next couple of weeks we will be surveying our focus groups – who have had access to the application since April 2011 –  and trying to find out if those who have now graduated are still using myfolio.

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