After being introduced to e-portfolios in my first year of Education at VIU which was created by collecting tangible items showing my learning in the program to then being re-introduced to them again in the VIU OLTD program, but in an online form, I am now interested in exploring this very versatile teaching and learning tool! Two articles I found to be informative are the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education and Electronic Portfolios: Blending Technology, Accountability and Assessment.
Blogs are a web space that can be “personalized and learners have the option of making each entry private, public or shared with defined communities” (Cotterill). They can be used in many different subject areas and for many different learning purposes. Students feel a sense of ownership and pride with their blog, as it is their own space. This is also a great way to encourage peer feedback, as students are more willing to sit in front of a computer and “check-out” a blog than to read something on paper that a classmate wrote. For some students that are more reluctant to share their work this may be an easier avenue for them to share their work, as they do not have to be in the same vicinity as the person that is reading it.
An e-portfolio can be “used to facilitate both reflection, evidencing and have applicability to teaching” (Ahn). As the students in the VIU OLTD program are aware they will be creating an online space to house their e-portfolios. In this space it will be expected that students “link each blog entry with one or more skills (outcomes) (Ahn). Each entry will also include a rationale, as this will make the learning more personalized and meaningful. When the e-portfolios are shared at the end of the program the students will be given the opportunity to ask questions and share any further thoughts. Ahn confirms the purpose of the e-portfolio in stating that it “collects student work for individual teachers to grade and critique” (Ahn)
Resources
Cotterill, Simon, et al. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Edition:
November 2010. Retrieved from http://www.aldinhe.ac.uk/ojs/index.php?
journal=jldhe&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=97&path%5B%5D=51 on January 16, 2013.
Ahn, June, T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education) April 2004. Retrieved from
http://www.questia.com/read/1G1-125486032/electronic-portfolios-blending-technology-
accountability on January 16, 2013.