Design principles for the custom CV Builder plugin for WordPress compliant with Europass and HR-XML specifications

August 6th, 2009 • Moi Numérique, Portfolio et ePortfolio
Tags: ePortfolio, Europass-CV, Moi Numérique, plugin, rhiz08, Wordpress

The development programme for the custom CV builder plugin follows 10 design principles: user-centric, interoperable, recognised, flexible, multi-lingual, multimedia, secure, portable, accessible and open, all described in detail here:

1. User-centric. The CV builder employs a user-centric approach to personal data management by allowing individuals to control their personal information and digital self-representation. Individuals can decide where to store their data and have administrator rights to manage it. In this way data is not held with third-party web CV repositories or Job Board administered applications. The Europass CV Builder is fully integrated with WordPress, as a plugin application.
2. Interoperable. CVs are compliant with the latest HR-XML Staffing Exchange Protocol specification. By using a standards compliant CV format, individuals are able to establish a fluid exchange of personal information with eRecruitment, eLearning and Human Resources bodies.
3. Recognised. The builder produces CVs that comply with the widest European and internationally recognised standards for representation of personal data, qualifications and competencies. This allows the edition of a complete CV following the official Europass template and latest Europass XML specifications, recognised by audiences not limited by sector or geography.
4. Flexible. The CV Builder can produce flexible and fully modifiable views of CV content. Individuals can customise their CVs and target them according to their personal or professional needs and goals. To create a targeted CV, the user selects relevant content from the Master CV (the vault for personal information) and creates a View. This can be built using out-of the box templates or by creating new templates that can be customised with the addition of extra sections and fields as required. These fields may be outside of the Europass template but present in the HR-XML specification and therefore HR-XML compatibility is maintained. Allowing user-created fields will break standards compliance but this option is being considered to enhance customisability.
5. Multi-lingual. The entire interface is multilingual and content can be filled in by the user in any of the official languages of the European Union.
6. Multimedia. Text fields within the CV can be linked to any media (pictures, certificate, video or audio record); these can be added as evidence of performance alongside the tagging and aggregation of content from distributed locations. Support for WordPress ‘short codes’ allows content integration within blog posts and pages, adding ePortfolio-like capabilities.
7. Portable. Individual CVs are accessible via Internet and can be packaged, exported and moved from physical locations e.g. hosting services compliant with HR-XML specifications.  Users can also select the publishing format of their choice for each targeted CV or View, including: XHTML and HTML (integrated in blog pages), PDF, ODT, HR-XML feed and Europass XML feed.
8. Accessible. CVs are ergonomic, usable and any user, through compliance with accessibility standards such as WAI, can readily access content.
9. Secure. Stored personal data and CVs are secured for personal access via the WordPress authentication protocol. Individuals can set access permissions and the builder is granular enough such that portions personal data can be cordoned off. Publishing rights are available to allow both public versions of a CV for open consultation via the Internet and protected CVs held in a secure location. Each export of a targeted CV or View can be protected by an access code defined by the user.
10. Open. The CV is open and not related to any proprietary technology. Its online forms are built using XForms.

If you want to comment this entry, please go to the Rhizome project blog at: Design principles for the custom CV Builder plugin for WordPress compliant with Europass and HR-XML specifications

Resurfacing the KITE Europass-CV plug-in for WordPress

August 6th, 2009 • Moi Numérique, Portfolio et ePortfolio
Tags: ePortfolio

As part of work being undertaken by the Rhizome project, we plan to enhance the range of existing standalone and plugin CV builders by developing a custom CV creation plugin for the blogging tool WordPress. This will allow individuals to maintain and present views of their professional profile, skills and competences.

Our plugin lies at the crossroads between self-presentation devices like the résumé, profiles maintained on professional social networks such as LinkedIn, and an ePortfolio style systems.

It will allow users to store their online personal data in a secure location of their choice and facilitate individuals in not only presenting their competencies according to the Europass CV format, but also in interoperable formats such as HR-XML and Hresume. Information in the CV builder, for example present educational and professional achievements, can be used to exchange data with educational providers for validation and accreditation purposes as well as enable reflective learning practices, and to store and present  educational and professional achievements.

The Rhizome project will not be developing a solution from scratch. We will be extending an existing open source solution released under GPL in 2007 – the KITE Europass-CV plugin – that was produced within the framework of the KITE project, co-funded by the European Union.

KITE offered an implementation of the Europass-CV as a plugin for three major open source blogs: Wordpress, DotClear and ELGG, and allowed users to present their competences and qualifications in full compliance with the specifications under the HR-XML Staffing Exchange Protocol 2.4

The work was started under the KITE project left some deficiencies in terms of usability, in two major areas: the orientation features of the graphical interface and the architectural organisation of the navigation paths through the system.

What the KITE plugin did offer was a major advance in CV building with the ability to create CVs for all official European languages, compliance with HR-XML specifications, the first match between Europass and HR-XML SEP. Separation between content and presentation was achieved using a Master CV that represented a ‘vault’ for all personal information. Data could then be selected and displayed from the vault according to user customisable preferences – these views being exportable in multiple formats such as XHTML, HTML, ODT, PDF, RTF and be held in public and password-secured locations.

Apart from the technical merits of the KITE project, we decided to resurface the plugin as a solution to the problem of implementing a user-centred approach to personal data management that would allow dynamic exchanges of personal information with eRecruitment, eLearning and Human Resources bodies. We identify a number of trends and factors that have suggested this as a valuable approach, including the:

• Increased use of blogs as self-representational devices, and significant uptake in their use across formal and informal educational settings;

• Development of blogging architectures that support plugin and widget functionality that can facilitate data exchange and aggregation of information whilst allowing for flexible presentation;

• Use of the CV as the backbone for identity management systems, personal representation tools e.g. portfolios, ePortfolios, blogfolios, personal aggregators and mashup technologies, and certain social and professional network sites like LinkedIn;

• Uptake of HR-XML as the open standard specification in electronic exchanges related to eRecuitment, eLearning and Human Resources;

• Deployment of European Community Frameworks and tools for the transparency of qualifications and competences, example include ECTS, ECVET and Europass.

Here is an overview of the six ways the Rhizome project is planning to enhance the KITE plugin:

1. Update the application profile for compliance with the latest HR-XML SEP specifications and the new Europass XML specifications;
2. Redesign the look and feel of the user interface and adopt WordPress content organisation and navigation styles;
3. Extend the options for customisation so that users can create views by re-ordering and adding new sections, categories and content. This will allow variation in the model for (re)presenting personal information and allow for ad-hoc profiles that can be used for ego-branding and interactions with professional social networks;
4. Incorporate simple mashup capabilities to allow the aggregation of personal information and distributed web-based content under the competency descriptors;
5. Add support for WordPress ‘shortcodes’ so that CV content can be extracted to pages and blogposts and be used as material for cross-referencing competences and as evidence of performance;
6. Allow widgetisation of the CV for ego-branding purposes.

Steven and I will be blogging here and in the Rhizome blog about the new plugin design principles and key features, as well as the interoperability scenario, the use cases and its detailed functionalities. If comments please leave them in the Rhizome blog at: Resurfacing the KITE Europass-CV plug-in for WordPress

Ecriture réflexive en vrac

December 9th, 2004 • Portfolio et ePortfolio
Tags: Apprentissage reflexif, ePortfolio, Metacognition, Portfolio et ePortfolio

A propos de la mise à distance de l’expérience à travers sa verbalisation, voici quelques liens incontournables pour les professionnels familiers des pratiques métacognitives :

• Julie REED & Christopher KOLIBA, Facilitating Reflection: a Manual for Leaders and Educators, John Dewey Project on Progressive Education, University of Vermont, 1995. Le manuel entièrement accessible sur Internet respecte les standards du W3C et du WAI niveau AAA!  ;

• Jeanne RICHER, Métacognition et TIC : étude de l’évolution de la métacognition et de la pratique enseignante à l’utilisation d’une stratégie exploitant le carnet virtuel et visant l’autonomie des étudiants face à leurs apprentissages, Cégep de Trois-Rivières, Juin 2004.

• Dominique BUCHETON, Du portfolio au dossier professionnel : éléments de réflexion, 2003. Ce texte, sur le site personnel de Patrick Robo, fait partie d’une collection appelée “Les textes-amis” : ce sont des textes où l’on aborde la dimension humaniste de l’éducation et de la formation. Madame Bucheton est professeur en Sciences du langage et en Sciences de l’éducation à l’IUFM de Montpellier. Elle a écrit plusieurs ouvrages et articles au sujet de l’oral et de l’écrit réflexif, dont notamment:

  • Jean-Charles CHABANNE, Dominique BUCHETON. Parler et écrire pour penser, apprendre et se construire : l’écrit et l’oral réflexifs. Paris : PUF, 2002, 252 p. (éducation et formation). Un état des lieux des recherches orientées vers l’analyse du lien entre l’activité des élèves de classes primaires et secondaires et leurs pratiques langagières et orales. Des analyses de pratiques, de nombreux exemples de dispositifs pédagogiques appliqués à des objectifs aussi divers que la lecture littéraire, l’éducation civique ou l’enseignement scientifique… (présentation de l’éditeur)

  • On trouve également sur le web, la transcription d’une intervention de Mme Bucheton intitulée Devenir l’auteur de sa parole lors l’université d’été “Prendre la parole. Apprendre la parole. Apprendre par la parole.” organisée par la direction de l’enseignement scolaire en collaboration avec les “Cahiers pédagogiques” à la faculté des sciences Gavy-Océanis, Saint-Nazaire, du 12 au 17 juillet 2000.

Et pour ceux qui veulent faire un point rapide sur ce qu’est la métacognition en attendant l’entrée respective sur Wikipedia :

• Jacques RODET, Autonomie et métacognition des apprenants à distance, La chronique du mois, octobre 2003 ;

• Margarida ROMERO, Métacognition dans les EIAH, Exposé transversal dans le cadre du DEA en intéraction homme-machine de l’université du Mans, LIUM, juin 2004.

What did you learn today?, les questions-déclic-d’idées !

July 2nd, 2004 • 3 comments Portfolio et ePortfolio
Tags: Apprentissage reflexif, ePortfolio, Metacognition

Peur de la feuille blanche ? En quête d’inspiration ? Voici quelques questions-déclic-d’idées :

Connectez-vous à votre expérience ! Revenez en arrière sur votre journée : qu’est-ce qui vous a marqué le plus ? Que s’est-il produit ? Quelles images restent gravées dans votre esprit ? Quels sons, quelles odeurs ? Quelles expériences, discussions ? Ces impressions éveillent-elles quelque chose en vous ? Comment vous êtes-vous senti aujourd’hui : énervé, surpris, confus, content ? Qu’est-ce qui vous a touché le plus ? A la fin de la journée : frustré ou plein d’espoir ? Pourquoi ?

Connectez-vous aux autres ! Revenez en arrière sur votre journée : qui avez-vous rencontré aujourd’hui ? Avec qui avez-vous travaillé ? Des relations faciles ou difficiles? Qu’avez-vous appris des autres? Leurs expériences sont-elles semblables aux và´tres ? Différentes ? Comment vous sentiriez-vous si vous deviez partir pendant une semaine ? Pendant une année? Pour la vie ? Pourquoi ? Qu’avez-vous appris sur vous aujourd’hui ? Avez-vous apprécie ou détesté ce portrait ? Que changeriez-vous ?

Connectez-vous à des causes ! De quelle manière votre expérience de la journée a changé ou mis à l’épreuve vos convictions et vos croyances ? Au service de quelles causes êtes-vous engagé ? Avez-vous réussi ? Non ? Pourquoi ? De quelle manière la justice ou l’injustice ont-elles été présentes dans les situations que vous avez vécues aujourd’hui ? Connaissez-vous les raisons ? Êtes-vous capable d’améliorer ces situations ? Comment ? Faites-vous part du problème ? De la solution ?

Connectez-vous à votre apprentissage ! Qu’avez-vous appris aujourd’hui ? Quel était l’apprentissage le plus utile ou significatif de la journée ? Pourquoi ? Êtes-vous capable d’appliquer ailleurs ou demain ce que vous avez appris aujourd’hui ? Comment avez-vous contribué à l’apprentissage de ceux qui vous entourent ? Comment avez-vous appliqué ce que vous avez appris par le passé ? Vous auriez pu mieux faire ? Pourquoi ? Quels étaient les obstacles de la journée ? Comment comptez-vous les surmonter ?

Connectez-vous à votre avenir ! Qu’avez-vous appris d’utile pour vos projets futurs ? Que faut-il changer pour construire un monde meilleur ? Quelles expectatives d’avenir pour vous ? Au service de quelles idées vous travaillez? Comment voulez-vous vivre ?

Traduction libre-adaptée-complétée de An Asset Builder’s Guide to Service-Learning, Search Institute, pages pp. 95-96. Hélas, pas de chapitres ou d’extraits consultables en ligne. Rien que le sommaire, avant d’avant d’acheter le livre.