Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 27th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview WG7: Public Administration Education Author(s) Michal Sedlacko University of Applied Science FH Campus Wien Vienna Austria Dahlvik Julia, Title Changing the Public Sector through Digital Learning Environments? E-Portfolios and Teaching Public Administration File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Michal Sedlacko Abstract Mahara is an open source ePortfolio system, combining the logics of a learning diary, a social media platform and an electronic passport. It is promoted as a learner-oriented “personal learning environment” supposedly more useful for blended learning than more institution-centric learning management systems such as Moodle. At the FH Campus Wien it is also used by teachers-as-learners in the frame of its competence-oriented didactic certificate program. This paper answers the question to what extent is Mahara (and ePortfolio systems in general) compatible with institutional logics of the public sector and with mid-career students, i.e. learners socialised in public administration organisations. We pursue two avenues of analysis. First, based on autoethnographic data complemented by documents we analyse the ways through which Mahara exerts subjectivation pressures and cues for the identity work of learners. This enables us also to discuss the implementation of Mahara in mid-career programs of public administration and management, focusing on the ease of use and adoption by students socialised in systems of public administration. Second, we frame Mahara as a sociotechnical imaginary and infer the ideas of society, its individuals and their learning and competence, inscribed into and performed by Mahara. This enables us to discuss Mahara’s relation to the changing paradigms in public administration towards increased collaboration and coordination – a paradigm shift which is strongly enabled by digitalisation. We conclude by discussing the general relationships between didactic objectives, digital technologies and individual agency.
