Online Tool 3: ePortfolios

What are ePortfolios?

An educational ePortfolio often includes a digital collection of artifacts that represents a student’s learning. These can include essays, posters, photographs, videos, artwork, and other course-related assignments or extra-curricular aspects of student life.

How can ePortfolios be used in courses?

ePortfolios can be used to document knowledge and skills, track learning, reflect on development, and monitor overall program performance. As well, they can be used for just a single course, or for the duration of an entire academic program.

Best Practices

• Explain the specific purpose of the ePortfolio in your class: is it for reflection, collecting student work, or something else?
• Make it an integral part of the grading system.
• If it is treated like an afterthought, students will treat it like one.
• Start students out small, and scaffold up.
• Initially require a single assignment to be posted, and move from there.
• Encourage students to look through their portfolios regularly, and to do peer-reviews.

Adapted from:

E-Portfolios Explained. Retrieved from: https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/resources/integrative-learning/eportfolios/ePortfolios-explained

 

See also the CIIA ePortfolio resource page: https://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/cii/resources/teaching_tips/eportfolios.asp

See also the LT Group site for resources: https://wwu.instructure.com/courses/853372

 

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