E-Portfolios

What are e-portfolios?

E-portfolios are a collection of work that the student has created during the course of their studies. Traditionally art and design, architecture, and teaching professions create paper portfolios of work to increase their employability prospects following graduation. However, the extended benefits of portfolios are being recognised. The advent of technology has allowed portfolios to be created through technology. E-portfolios can consist of text based and multimedia content, illustrating artefacts students may have created from their learning, e.g. essays, videos, presentations and other digital content. They also allow learners to reflect on what they learned and how it was applied. This is often shared with peers and future employers, so it encourages students to reflect on how to translate what they have learned into something that can be adopted when they enter their professional lives.

Why and when to use e-portfolios?

E-portfolios can be used for a number of different purposes, enhancing the overall learning experience and encouraging students to take ownership of their learning.

They can be used for assessment and to encourage reflective learning. For example, a pre-service teacher can develop videos about their teaching style and a critical reflection of their approaches used.
E-portfolios illustrate growth and progression. They can be used across a programme and over the duration of a period of study to demonstrate how the learner has developed.
They encourage learner motivation as they illustrate a student’s personal accomplishments and the positive aspects of learning.
They encourage and reward both informal (learning taken outside the classroom) and formal learning.
E-portfolios can be used as a collaborative space to allow groups to share and compose multimedia content.

Applications

Several types of software can be used for e-portfolios: Mahara, Pebble pad, Google sites, Wordpress are just some of the software applications that can be used. Mahara is supported by LEAD in MIC.

E-portfolio resources