E-Portfolios

Uses of E-portfolios

Useful in electives and disciplines that require collated evidence of work, progress and achievement. (Especially useful for graduates who are entering a vocational course or trade, or who are already working)

• Is a showcase of work that can be used to illustrate application of skills and concepts
• Is organised and has a specific purpose
• Can include reflections on the learning process, and involve the development of evaluation and critical thinking
• Provides a forum to display achievements, accomplishments and areas of interest / expertise
• Empowers students who already have well-developed IT and design skills, and can motivate students who haven't yet acquired these skills
• Can encourage peer tutoring and support
• May be useful in applying for jobs, grants, and scholarships
• Acts as a record of ongoing knowledge and skills building

(Adapted from Cochrane, 2007) 

Examples of E-portfolios

Students'

• Students' e-portfolios
• Conestoga High School Visual Art Gallery - links to individual pages authored by Conestoga High School Art students.
• Electronic Portfolios - samples from students of Discovery Middle School, Orlando, Florida on many topics.

Professional / Academic

• Helen Barett: e-portfolio developed in Wikispaces, PB Wiki, Google Pages, KEEP, Epsilen and Protopage
• Ella Thomas: Example of contemporary artist's Blog (developed in Blogspot)
• Dan Birch (very basic) - part of institution Web site
• Etienne Wenger - own Web site
• Greg Niemeyer (Art)- own Web site
• Kevin McIntyre's (Technical Design/Education) - own Web site
• Helen Barrett (E-portfolios/Academic) - own Web site
• Mike Barnett - own Web site hosted on institution Web site
• Josie Evans (Sport)- own Web site hosted on a free site server
• 
  

Communities

• The Electronic Portfolio Action Committee (EPAC) Virtual Community of Practice
• Merlot E-portfolio Portal

Scholarly articles and links

• Creating Self-Portraits - students design portfolios to share insights about themselves, interview of David Brear by INTEL at NECC, 2003.
• Directions in Electronic Portfolio Development - this article by David Gibson and Helen Barrett, explores the advantages and trade-offs of two paths to the development of electronic portfolios ­ using generic tools and using customized system.
• Electronic Portfolios - articles and scholarly papers from Technology Applications Center for Educator development, Texas.
• Teaching in Higher Education Competency Portfolio
• The Electronic Portfolio Boom: What's it All About? - by By Trent Batson, University of Rhode Island.
• Writing Portfolios: What Teachers Learn from Student Self-Assessment - by Kim Johnson-Bogart, Examples from students' self-reflective essays, created to organize and explain their selections for end-of-term writing portfolios, reveal how much students learn from such reflection.

Portfolio Assessment

• Rubric for Assessing Electronic Portfolios - by Joyce L. Morris, Ed.D., University of Vermont, Department of Education.
• Technology and Assessment - Using Technology to Support Alternative Assessment and Electronic Portfolios.
• Portfolio Assessment - here find resources on portfolio assessment complied by the Association of American Colleges and Universities.
• Guidelines for Using Portfolio Assessment - by Judy Kemp and Debby Toperoff, Ministry of Education, Israel
• Assessment of Electronic Portfolios - created by Dr. Barbara Cozza, includes a sample rubrics on how to evaluate student electronic portfolios.
• Electronic Portfolio Scoring Rubric - Assessment of Electronic Portfolios
• Multimedia Project Rubrics - Developed by Caroline McCullen, Instructional Technologist, SAS inSchool, Cary, NC

Links to information

• Creating ePortfolios with Web 2.0 Tools
• CTLI wiki page about E-portfolios
• Guidelines for preparing a professional e-portfolio
• Dr. Helen Barrett on Electronic Portfolio Development - this site offers a series of videos and text that discuss and give examples of different aspects of e-portfoilios. (See also Electronic Portfolios for Lifelong Learning and Alternative Assessment & Electronic Portfolios)
• What are e-portfolios?
• An overview of E-portfolios
• Eportfolio Portal - a site with definitions, rubrics, and links to resources.
• Electronic Portfolios - a link to the iMET website, Educational Technology program at California State University, Sacramento.
• Electronic Portfolios - resources and ideas.

Sites to develop e-portfolios

• Catalyst Portfolio Project Builder
• E-portfolio.org - Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium (CTDLC)
• Keep Toolkit
• Mahara (developed in New Zealand) uses Eduforge, which is "an open access environment designed for the sharing of ideas, research outcomes, open content and open source software for education".

Downloadable e-portfolio software

• ELGG - create, connect, discover
• OSP Portfolios (Open Source Portfolio) 
• P-nelope, Klahowya Student Portfolio Solution, IUPportfolio, Cyberfolio, Music Portfolio Manager, Portfolio Manager (for artists) and Marvelous CMS from Sourceforge

References

Brear, D (2007). Developing student electronic portfolios. Retrieved March 31, 2008, from http://members.shaw.ca/dbrear/dseportfolios.html.

Cochrane, T. (2007). E-portfolios.   Retrieved March 17, 2008, from http://ctliwiki.unitec.ac.nz/index.php/Eportfolios#Why_portfolio.3F