An Electronic Personal Development Portfolio (ePDP) using Microsoft OneNote

The aim of the study is the presentation of issues concerning the functionality of the electronic Personal Development Portfolio (ePDP) software solution Microsoft OneNote. Preliminary research followed a pilot conducted by the PGCE Secondary ICT module in the Education Department in 2012 in response to the need for flexible ePDP software within the Faculty of Health Social Care and Education. The project was initially conceptualised as a feasibility study and a pilot for using a shared Microsoft OneNote workbook on the institutional VLE. It also aimed at exploring the possibility of creating custom private or public libraries and shared folders for each VLE student and the requirements for non-institutional user access. The research, conducted along the lines of the interpretivist paradigm and based on the results of the pilot, discusses some of the technical elements, examines the process from inception, presents identified benefits and drawbacks and evaluates the pedagogic effect of the solution on the basis of the views of the participants; it serves the interpretation of the meaning of lived experiences and focuses on the insights that will help to improve practices.