New Tools for Old Hands: E-Portfolios for Career and Professional Development in Remote Education Workforces

Increasingly, federal government policy has dominated the way public education agencies perform and execute their responsibilities. This has been most acutely felt in the Northern Territory (NT). Under the Quality Teaching Package and Enhancing Literacy measures of the Closing the Gap in the Northern Territory National Partnership Agreement, the Australian Government ha s committed $44.3 million over three years (2009/10 to 2011/12) to Northern Territory education providers to develop career pathways for Indigenous 1 staff, increase the number of Indigenous staff with education qualifications and provide support and pr ograms to enable teachers and students achieve improved outcomes in literacy and numeracy in 73 targeted remote communities. By presenting the outcomes-to-date of a suite of projects conducted with the Northern Territory Department of Education and Training over 2010, this paper describes and demonstrates the potentially significant role that ePortfolios can play in the continuing education of remote education workforces. The discussion considers both the opportunities and challenges for remote learners/employees, vocational education and training (VET) providers and public agencies considering the adoption of  ePortfolios for professional development.