E-Portfolios
From ElateWiki
Electronic portfolios are collections of student-created and student-archived works related to a particular course or field of study. One writer defines it as follows: “A collection of authentic and diverse evidence, drawn from a larger archive, that represents what a person or organization has learned over time, on which the person or organization has reflected, designed for presentation to one or more audiences for a particular rhetorical purpose” (Grant, Nov. 2005, pp. 1 - 2).
An electronic portfolio is
• "a collection of authentic and diverse evidence,
• drawn from a larger archive representing what a person or organization has learned over time
• on which the person or organization has reflected, and
• designed for presentation to one or more audiences for a particular rhetorical purpose” (Barrett & Wilkerson, 2004, p. 1).
It relies on a culture of evidence: Evidence = Artifacts + Reflection (Rationale) + Validation (Feedback) (Barrett, 2005)
These e-portfolios are used for learning and assessing learning, building communities of learning around information, academic- and career- advising, and career building. E-portfolios may be organized based on three main discriminators: "context, author, and purpose" (Fiedler & Pick, n.d., p. 168).
E-portfolios in higher education start out as student (apprentice) level work but will evolve to professional work.
E-portfolios may be built around ontologies: “entities, relationships, properties, instances, functions, constraints, rules, and other inference procedures” (Lougheed, Bogyo, and Brokenshire, n.d., n.p.).
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E-Portfolios as Assessments
E-portfolios are seen as closing the knowledge-applied knowledge gap (Kaltenbach & Gladhart, n.d., p. 2), and as a reformation of academic transcripts to consider applied skills (Cambridge, 2004, p. 41). These provide opportunities for both formative (developmental) and summative (cumulative) assessments.
E-portfolios promote learner development and self-awareness in a particular field of study. Often, student work in an e-portfolio must be linked to a learning outcome on a rubric, and the students themselves comment on their own work artifacts and learning. Learners reflect on their learning (metacognition) and add that as an annotation. Ideally, e-portfolios promote deep learning.
Deep learning:
• "involves reflection,
• is developmental
• is integrative
• is self-directive, and
• is lifelong” (Barrett & Wilkerson, 2004, p. 2).
Public digital displays of e-portfolios may be done as gallery shows, literary collections, documentary photos, journalistic photos, and art portfolios. These capture learner range and their visions of work.
In terms of pedagogical theories, e-portfolios are a tool to support cognitive apprenticeships. These are "sites for cognitive apprenticeship" (after Vygotsky's "zone of proximal development"). Here, learners at different levels of development benefit each other through their various perspectives. Novice learners are helped by more advanced peers. Learners may also "workshop" their creations with their peers through this technology.
E-Portfolios in Project-Based and Problem-Based Learning
E-portfolios have been linked to project-based and problem-based learning. The teaching and learning around projects and problems tend to be built on Knowles’ andragogy theory of adult education and the instructional design theory of Reigeluth to include “cognitive, emotional, social, physical and spiritual (Reigeluth, 1999,p. 5, as cited in Zheng & Young, 2006, p. 873). This approach is often seen in contrast to didactic instruction (Zheng & Young, 2006, p. 874).
Research E-Portfolios
A research e-portfolio involves the collaborating of various researchers around a shared collaborative topic with information integrated in an electronic portfolio of work, optimally resulting in a publishable paper.
Technologies
Various technologies support the building of e-portfolios, which must be able to be editable, archived, and exportable in the Web environment. The technologies may be proprietary (and commercial) or open source (and often royalty-free). E-portfolios generally are private and controlled by the respective learners (European Institute for eLearning, Europortfolio, as cited in Lougheed, Bogyo, and Brokenshire, n.d., n.p.)., or they may be public at other parts. The software should be "scalable" in anticipation of rises in the numbers of future users.
Some electronic portfolio software programs offer design wraps around the digital contents. They offer ways for learners to personalize their own sites by adding information, photos, and CVs and / or resumes.
Professional Portfolio Uses in Higher Education
Portfolios may be used in higher education for faculty tenure, faculty work showcasing, academic publications, university branding, and public relations.
Bureaucratic Uses of E-Portfolios
These may be used for affirming student learning for program certifications and accreditation.
A presentation by Darren Cheney at the University of Kansas Medical Center in 2007 (at the Colleague-to-Colleague conference) highlighted steps to changing over to portfolio use. He suggested that there needed to be a clear purpose and intended outcomes to an e-portfolio project. There has to be an overall e-portfolio strategy, project plan, and timeline. His university used a position paper to sell the concept.
Faculty in a particular program need to consider which digital artifacts should be included in an e-portfolio to demonstrate learning (case presentations? self-reflection papers? multimedia files? presentations? videos?) Which ones should be graded and which ones not graded? Who needs access to the e-portfolios?
He also showed that course assignments need to relate to the building of contents for the e-portfolios. There needs to be integration of the e-portfolios in the course designs and assessment. The contents of e-portfolios need to show proof of competencies.
Planning: process, policy, technology Design: process, technology, training Development: structure, technological tools, artifact publication Training: faculty, students, advisors Implementation: faculty, students, advisors Adjustments: process, technology, people
Clear intellectual property policies for portfolio contents need to be established for the protection of both learners and the university.
See Also
The Inter/National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research: http://ncepr.org/
Electronic Portfolio Action and Communication International: http://epac.pbwiki.com/ (wiki) Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning: http://scil.stanford.edu/
References
Barrett, H.C. (2005). “White paper: Researching electronic portfolios and learning engagement. The Reflect Initiative: Researching Electronic Portfolios: Learning, Engagement, Collaboration, Through Technology. pp. 1 – 26.
Barrett, H.C. & Wilkerson, J. (2004). Conflicting paradigms in electronic portfolio approaches: Choosing an electronic portfolio strategy that matches your conceptual framework. pp. 1 – 13.
Cambridge, D. (2004). Learner related information and artifacts in the United States: A comprehensive analysis of projects and practices. pp. 1 – 51.
Fiedler, R.L. & Pick, D. (n.d.) Adopting an electronic portfolio system: Key considerations for decision makers. pp. 167 –181.
Grant, S. (2005) Clear e-portfolio definitions: a prerequisite for effective interoperability. Information Strategists UK. pp. 1 – 2.
Kaltenbach, S. & Gladhart, M. (n.d.) Using technology tools to reduce the cognitive load in developing eportfolios. n.p.
Lougheed, P., Bogyo, B., and Brokenshire, D. (n.d.) Towards formalizing electronic portfolios. n.p.
Zheng, D. & Young, M. (2006). Comparing instructional methods for teaching technology in education to pre-service teachers using logistic regression. ICLS 2006. pp. 873 – 879.