At the Department of Languages Teaching Forum held on the 06.09.12, Bärbel Kϋhn and  Jϋrgen Friedrich (University of Bremen), presented EPOS2:

The Department of Languages of the University of Bremen has been successfully working with its electronic ELP ‘EPOS’ over the last years in  Secondary Schools  and in HE and it now has developed a new version, ‘EPOS2’, using Mahara. In this Teaching Forum we will have the opportunity to get to know and to have a practical experience of this ePortfolio and to explore the possibility of a collaboration with the University of Bremen using EPOS2 with our students. This could be a possible way to continue  the work with the electronic ELP that the DoL has produced, and to participate in the development of some aspects of EPOS2, such as the integration of the ‘Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters’, of Learning Styles and Strategies and of Intercultural Competence Descriptors (INTENT project).

Unlike EUROPASS, which is very product-oriented and uses the CEFR preformance descriptors as its only reference, the EPOS ePortfolio allows insitutions to customise the self-assessment tools available, with the capability to integrate any set of performance descriptors, potentially in any subject area. Students can also decide which competence areas they wish to prioritise, and the system remembers these and helps them keep track of their progress. The main functions are a self-assessment tool, a portfolio of evidence, a learning diary tool, an area for sharing and collaborating with others (peers, tutors, employers, family, etc.), and a CV tool that allows different formats depending on the intended recipient.

This could be a valuable tool for OU languae students, and we are looking into the feasibility of integrating the EPOS portfolio within the new level 1 module that we are currently envisaging.