Implementing EPortfolio Tools within Curricula: A Guide for Faculty. IDEA Paper #78 (original) (raw)
Related papers
2010
In today’s digital age educators and governments around the globe are rightfully demanding for more reflective practice and social activity in education. Research has shown that, ePortfolios promote reflection (Batson & Chen 2008; Stefani, Mason & Pegler 2007) and social activity (Gerbic & Maher 2008; Zeichner & Wray 2001) in teaching and learning. ePortfolios are shared, reflected and provides a means for students to be mobile and lifelong learners and the types depend of their multiple purposes. In light of these possibilities, ePortfolios has gained major traction in high schools and universities and are becoming increasingly “viable institutional instructional technology to facilitate student learning” (Dordelly-Rosales 2010, p.12). ePortfolio is therefore a promising technology for any educational institution that aspires to meet the demands of educators and governments in today’s very dynamic learning and teaching environment.
Using ePortfolios to Integrate and Assess Learning across the Curriculum
Advances in educational technologies and instructional design book series, 2016
Students who are able to make connections across academic courses and co-curricular activities are often excellent students. They use skills to transfer knowledge from one context to another and benefit from this integration. Not all students do this without being taught. Using ePortfolios allows for learning to become visible across time and learning situations. This benefits students by allowing them to see and reflect on learning over time. And, because student learning and the resulting reflections are documented, others can see the student learning as well. Faculty mentoring can influence this process, guiding students through the reflection process and the creation of a learning ePortfolio that is a richer and more meaningful reflection of all that occurs during a student's time in higher education. In addition to the benefit to increase student learning, the technology used in ePortfolios can provide for a better assessment of student learning across an institution. If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.-Antoine de Saint-Exupery Opportunity to Start Strong: Integration of Technology in Science Lessons in the Early Elementary Grades
ePortfolio as a learning and assessment tool
2018
This paper falls within the ERASMUS+ KA2 project Empowering Eportfolio Process (EEP). This project aims to promote the development of best practices in Higher Education, by encouraging cooperation and sharing between teachers and researchers from several European countries using digital portfolios. The work so far has allowed us to systematize some reflections on the students’ perspective related to the use of digital portfolios as learning and evaluation tools. Among the conclusions of the project, we highlight the opinion students have built on the role of portfolios as a transforming element of evaluation processes, giving it a character of greater integration in learning. The students suggest that evaluation should be run more frequently and should meet their needs. This analysis was carried out by the Portuguese working group that promoted three collective interviews with students of several courses of the School of Education of the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal (ESE-IPS). T...
ePortfolios: Integrating Learning, Creating Connections and Authentic Assessments
Blended Learning Designs in STEM Higher Education, 2019
Over the past decade in the tertiary education environment, there has been an increasing level of importance placed on the integration of digital technologies to support student learning and prepare students for transition into the world of work. ePortfolios have been recognised as a digital technology that has the capacity to support student growth and development. Through the use of an ePortfolio a student can create a well-organised visually appealing record of their academic and professional knowledge, skills and attributes as well as practical achievements. The journey of the creation of the ePortfolio has the potential to develop a student's professional identity, supporting students to make connections between their learning, the associated assessment tasks and to assist in the preparation required for transitioning into employment. The effectiveness of an ePortfolio as a tool for lifelong learning is underpinned by common challenges faced by educators regarding the development of any learning activity. This chapter describes a conceptual framework of how to design and integrate learning activities for ePortfolios, how to support learning activities with authentic assessment that then contribute as evidence for collection and inclusion in ePortfolios and also how to assess ePortfolios through the use of rubrics. The final section of the chapter provides a case study example of how an ePortfolio project has been scaffolded and integrated into a postgraduate coursework program at Griffith University, the Graduate Diploma in Clinical Physiology, using the whole-of-program or program-wide approach.
Chapter 12. Balancing Learning and Assessment: A Study of Virginia Tech's Use of ePortfolios
ePortfolio Performance Support Systems: Constructing, Presenting, and Assessing Portfolios, 2013
The idea that ePortfolios are useful reflective devices is a well-explored concept. The impact of ePortfolios on assessment of student learning is becoming an important ground for new research in ePortfolio usage. At Virginia Tech, we are finding ways to work on ePortfolios, both as a reflective medium for learning and as a tool for improving assessment of that learning, in order to deploy this learning technology across a large and varied student and faculty population.
Rowley, J. & Munday, J, (2018). The evolved landscape of ePortfolios: Current values and purposes of academic teachers and curriculum designers. Abstract As ePortfolios are increasingly being used in universities to help develop self-reflective practitioners, academic teachers and students need to develop the skills and processes required to implement them. During 2015, a series of webinars was presented by a cross-university team to provide professional development for academic teachers, curriculum designers and other staff interested in initiating or extending ePortfolio learning in their institutions. A survey was conducted with participants to gauge the depth of understanding and use of ePortfolios in degree programs. The survey aimed to clarify participants' perception of the value of ePortfolio tools in Australian universities, and to identify future directions for developing knowledge and learning related to ePortfolios. Through the survey questions participants were able to provide information anonymously about their knowledge and use of ePortfolios. Respondents were also invited to be interviewed. Nine interviews, conducted in 2016, explored ePortfolio-users' opinions of the learning tool. The results indicate that teachers' use of the ePortfolio as a learning tool has evolved beyond that reported in the current literature. Furthermore, when used for reflection, assessment and documenting professional standards, the ePortfolio tool contributes to the students' development of skills required to transition to future careers.
A Cross-Case Analysis of the Use of Web-Based ePortfolios in Higher Education
Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice
Higher education is mandated to document student learning outcomes and ePortfolios have been offered as a panacea for assessment, evaluation, and accreditation. However, the student voice regarding the value students construct from building and utilizing web-based electronic portfolios (ePortfolios) in higher education has been sparse or non-existent in a number of disciplines. In the current study, a total of 459 undergraduate and graduate students' perceptions were collected through structured surveys, reflective journals, emails, and reflection papers. This mixed methods study reviews the historical foundations of contemporary web-based ePortfolios within a constructivist theoretical frame and presents four case studies from two universities in southwest USA from four disciplines (education, industrial technology, chemical engineering, and human resource development). A compilation of research findings from the four case studies yielded 27 categories that were later condensed through cross-case analysis resulting in five emerging themes: career-focused, big picture of learning, social and visual learning, enablers of ePortfolios, and barriers of ePortfolios. Each theme is discussed and illuminated by extracts of student work and supported by relevant literature. Recommendations include greater communication with students regarding expectations and requirements of the ePortfolio, providing student and faculty training on web-based ePortfolios, and forming a community of practice.
Australian Technology Network Assessment Conference, 2011
ePortfolios are playing an increasingly important role in both university and employment contexts. This paper provides background on iPortfolio, Curtin‘s bespoke ePortfolio system and a discussion of three case studies chosen to illustrate the diverse uses of iPortfolio across different disciplines. The implications for assessment and learning are also presented. ePortfolios have the potential to be a valuable learning and teaching tool in a variety of settings including use with large student cohorts, particularly in first year when they are introduced, facilitating subsequent learning and professional development within the university context. iPortfolio illustrates the use of a new technology to encourage course-wide learning and reflection with links to developing and substantiating graduate attributes, all of which contribute to student engagement. The paper explores student perceptions of using iPortfolio within the student-learning environment. This includes linking to assessable tasks, opportunities for reflection on work- integrated learning and the student experience. Case studies drawn from geology and health sciences illustrate the diversity of iPortfolio usage within a student-focused learning environment. The case studies discuss the implications and considerations of iPortfolio implementation for formative assessment and feedback, summative assessment with large first year cohorts as well as opportunities for final year students to reflect upon and record their professional practice experience. Curtin‘s iPortfolio provides a dynamic environment for students to assess their achievement of graduate attributes and engage in self and peer evaluation. In a world increasingly dependent on Web 2.0 technologies, graduates of the future need to be able to reflect on their learning and present themselves in digital as well as face-to-face contexts. Using iPortfolio can assist students in developing graduate attributes throughout a degree and building greater employability. As with any new learning environment, authentic assessment is evolving. The paper concludes with a discussion on the limitations, lessons learnt so far and the potential future use and rewards from adopting ePortfolios within university teaching environments.
Avoiding the Pitfalls: Current Practices and Recommendations for ePortfolios in Higher Education
Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 2010
Institutions of higher learning use eportfolios for multiple purposes such as to enhance student learning, conduct authentic program/institutional assessment, support students as they prepare for future careers, and meet certification standards. The article investigates existing eportfolio literature and documents our findings of current practices in eportfolio use from a survey of 43 higher education institutions which we delivered in the Spring of 2009. The intent of our research was to learn more about 1) the predominant uses of eportfolios in institutions of higher learning across the globe, 2) the challenges institutions of higher learning face when implementing eportfolios on their campuses, and 3) the considerations institutions of higher learning should address in such an implementation. We present our recommendations for eportfolio implementation along with limitations and suggestions for future research.