Barbara Nicolls, Buckinghamshire New University
HERO’S E-PORTFOLIO ADVOCACY JOURNEY
Finding the calm in the flex of constant change
Introduction and Background
• Digital tools (ePortfolios): essential for enhancing teaching, learning, and reflective practice.
• 12-stage Hero’s Journey framework to illustrate personal and institutional journey of advocating ePortfolio adoption in Higher Education.
• Challenges : Transitioning between tools and practices, Importance of mentorship, Resilience in navigating institutional change
• Aim : Inspire others to embrace innovation and find their own “sweet spot” in educational transformation.
ACT I - DEPARTURE
1. The Hero in their Ordinary World
2. The Call to Adventure
3. Refusal of the Call
4. Meeting with the Mentor
5. Crossing the Threshold
ACT II - INITIATION
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies
7. Approach to the Inmost Cave
8. The Supreme Ordeal
9. Seizing the Sword
ACT III - RETURN
10. The Road Back
11. Resurrection
12. Return with the Elixir
ACT I
• Most professional courses at BNU used paper-based portfolios for reflection
• Reflections often lack criticality and deeper learning from experience
• Need for a dynamic, accessible, shareable digital space to evidence learning
• Digital portfolios enable s ocial, teaching, and cognitive presence (Community of Inquiry - Garrison et al., 2000)
• Social learning - essential for change, growth, and development
• Initial attempts to promote Google Sites met with skepticism and resistance
• Mentorship inspired persistence → first success with ODP Diploma
• Expanded to other courses → aligned with institutional goals for sustainability and inclusivity
• Conceptualised change using Hero’s Journey frameworks (Campbell, 1993; Vogler, 1998)
ACT II
• Collaboration with ODP course lead → realised it’s about identity, recognition, lifelong learning, not just tools.
• Showcase success at ePIC conferences and AAEEBL ePortfolio Review → validated Google Sites ePortfolios in ODP curriculum.
• Advocacy expanded to PgCert TLHE (programme for new educators)
• Biggest challenge: course team buy-in under heavy workloads
• Condition for adoption: train students and support implementation
• Entered the innermost cave
• Resistance persisted, but early adopters (Community Nursing & PgCert TLHE) embraced change
• Course team approval followed → Google Sites’ accessibility beyond institutional logins accelerated adoption
• Real reward: Academics creating their own ePortfolios → portfolios seen as evidence of growth, not just an end product.
ACT III
• After years of advocating for ePortfolios, mission expanded beyond personal success
• Shared experiences internationally: staff meetings Conferences, Publications
• Used ODP success story as a model for change
GOAL
• Embed inclusive, sustainable ePortfolio practices across BNU and beyond
MY TRANSFORMATION
• Transformed role: From lecturer → change agent influencing institutional strategy
• Learned resilience, adaptability, and collaboration
• Challenges: technical, cultural, pedagogical → shaped understanding of curriculum transformation
ULTIMATE RECOGNITION
• National Teaching Fellowship (2018) → validated impact on student learning - the elixir
• Hallmark of innovation, inclusivity and reflective practice
• Continues to inspire colleagues and students → proving advocacy and persistence lead to lasting change
Conclusion
ADVOCACY FOR EPORTFOLIOS
• Modelling reflection and agency to navigate continuous change not just about technology
• Shift in focus: from tools to supporting student growth and meaningful learning journeys
• Renewed sense of purpose through confidence and clarity
ADVOCACY EVOLVED
• From a single project → a broader movement championing learning over technology
OUTCOME
• Found ‘sweet spot’ between innovation and practicality
• Resilience and transformed teaching practice
LONG-TERM BENEFITS
• E-Portfolios foster inclusive, dynamic learning
• Strengthen university community
THE STORY CONTINUES
• A call to keep evolving
• Embrace lifelong learning as the true reward
The Hero’s Journey Framework for change
The structure of the hero’s journey can be a bit daunting, but when we superimpose three act-structure terms on it, it becomes a lot more familiar (and less scary).
DEPARTURE (ACT ONE)
1. The Hero in their Ordinary World : This is what three-act structure calls stasis. A view of the ordinary world often gives the reader a glimpse of what’s at stake if the hero doesn’t succeed in their quest
2. The Call to Adventure : Something happens, or someone arrives - the inciting incident - to disrupt the hero’s usual life (stasis). It’s not necessarily a bad thing, just something that threatens to create change in some form. The archetype of the Herald might come into play here.
3. Refusal of the Call : This one sometimes gets mentioned in three-act structure as second thoughts. The hero considers the challenge or disruption and says, “Nah, not interested, too scary, I prefer my comfort zone.”
4. Meeting with the Mentor : This is someone who either enters the hero’s life or is already there (think: Gandalf) and provides the hero with either the tools, the wisdom, or the motivation that pushes them to accept the call to adventure.
5. Crossing the Threshold : The hero leaves their familiar world behind and sets off on their adventure or quest. Taken with the next step, this is what James Scott Bell calls the doorway of no return: the moment in the story when the hero gets stuck and must see it through to the end.
INITIATION (ACT TWO)
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies : In three-act structure, this would be called rising action- the series of obstacles the hero faces as they undergo change. As in all good stories, there should be a lot of failure here. Things should be getting worse rather than better.
7. Approach to the Inmost Cave : This is the look-in-the-mirror moment, when the hero must face their doubts and fears and realize if they’re going to achieve their goal they have to step up and become someone new. Whether the hero confronts him/herself or an actual figure of power, the important thing to recognize is that this moment is a turning point that involves personal transformation. In three-act structure, this might be the midpoint reversal.
8. The Supreme Ordeal : This part of the story combines a few key elements in three-act structure: the all-is-lost moment (or the dark night of the soul of Save the Cat! fame) and the epiphany. The hero comes close to failure and/or death, then faces their enemy to emerge victorious.
9. Seizing the Sword : The hero obtains the object of the quest - a sword, an elixir, a ring. Here is the story’s climax.
RETURN (ACT THREE)
10. The Road Back : The hero doesn’t just get what they came for. Now, they must take it back to the community they left behind. These last three stages form the novel’s dénouement.
11. Resurrection : The hero is transformed by their adventures. In three-act structure we recognize this as the final stage of the character arc: a reflection on how the protagonist has changed.
12. Return with the Elixir : This brings the story full circle. The hero returns to the ordinary world they left behind at the beginning of the story. They are transformed, and they have brought back the object of their quest. Resolution has been achieved.
References
• Campbell, J. (1993) The hero with a thousand faces. London: Fontana Press
• Volger, C. (1998) The writer’s journey: mythic structure of storytellers and screenwriters. 2nd edn. London:Boxtree
Audience Engagement Padlet
Please click on the link to enage with the apadlet and share your own advocacy journey or your perspective of a ePortfolio user in your own context.
ePortfolio Advocacy Journey - LINK
padlet.com/barbara_nicolls/eportfoloioadvocacy-journey -ssl7dfqnxjtxm6ab
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