ePortfolios

Curating and Sharing Relfections and Examples of Learning Throughout the educational Journey

“ePort­fo­lios can be imple­ment­ed in a vari­ety of ways for teach­ing and learn­ing, pro­gram­mat­ic assess­ment, and career devel­op­ment. ePort­fo­lios enable stu­dents to elec­tron­i­cal­ly col­lect their work over time, reflect upon their per­son­al and aca­d­e­m­ic growth, and then share select­ed items with oth­ers, includ­ing pro­fes­sors, advi­sors, and poten­tial employ­ers. Because col­lec­tion over time is a key ele­ment of the ePort­fo­lio process, employ­ing ePort­fo­lios in col­lab­o­ra­tion with oth­er high-impact prac­tices pro­vides oppor­tu­ni­ties for stu­dents to make con­nec­tions between var­i­ous edu­ca­tion­al expe­ri­ences.” (AACU High Impact Prac­tices)

Overview

ePort­fo­lios in high­er edu­ca­tion are dig­i­tal col­lec­tions of a student’s work, skills, and learn­ing achieve­ments. They allow stu­dents to show­case their progress, reflect on their learn­ing, and con­nect course­work to per­son­al or pro­fes­sion­al goals. Unlike tra­di­tion­al assign­ments, ePort­fo­lios fos­ter deep­er engage­ment by help­ing stu­dents present their best work in a mean­ing­ful way. They are also cus­tomiz­able, allow­ing stu­dents to include mul­ti­me­dia ele­ments like videos, images, and hyper­links to demon­strate their abil­i­ties.

For edu­ca­tors, ePort­fo­lios offer a valu­able tool for assess­ing stu­dents holis­ti­cal­ly. They pro­vide evi­dence of a student’s devel­op­ment, crit­i­cal think­ing, and cre­ativ­i­ty across cours­es. Insti­tu­tions can use ePort­fo­lios to align with accred­i­ta­tion stan­dards and track pro­gram out­comes. Addi­tion­al­ly, ePort­fo­lios serve as a pro­fes­sion­al show­case, bridg­ing the gap between aca­d­e­m­ic learn­ing and real-world appli­ca­tions for stu­dents

Web­site: Uni­ver­si­ty of Water­loo, Cen­tre for Teach­ing Excel­lence, eport­fo­lios explained: The­o­ry and Prac­tice. Link

Video: What is an eport­fo­lio? (Auburn­Writes) — 2:27 min­utes

Video: Suc­cess with ePort­fo­lios in Edu­ca­tion (Rus­sell Stan­nard) — 11:15 min­utes

Video: ePort­fo­lios- The Future of Assess­ment in an AI World (Rus­sell Stan­nard) — 11:53 min­utes

Benefits for Student Learning

ePort­fo­lios offer sev­er­al ben­e­fits for stu­dent learn­ing by pro­mot­ing reflec­tion, deep­er engage­ment, and the inte­gra­tion of knowl­edge across cours­es and expe­ri­ences. They encour­age stu­dents to reflect on their learn­ing process, help­ing them make con­nec­tions between aca­d­e­m­ic con­tent, per­son­al growth, and future goals. This reflec­tive prac­tice fos­ters metacog­ni­tion, which improves crit­i­cal think­ing and prob­lem-solv­ing skills. ePort­fo­lios also allow stu­dents to track their progress over time, moti­vat­ing them to take own­er­ship of their learn­ing and devel­op a sense of achieve­ment.

In addi­tion to reflec­tion, ePort­fo­lios sup­port per­son­al­ized and applied learn­ing. By incor­po­rat­ing mul­ti­me­dia ele­ments such as videos, images, and hyper­links, stu­dents can cre­ative­ly demon­strate their knowl­edge and skills. ePort­fo­lios enhance stu­dents’ abil­i­ty to con­nect learn­ing across dis­ci­plines and show­case their com­pe­ten­cies to employ­ers or grad­u­ate schools. This abil­i­ty to syn­the­size learn­ing improves aca­d­e­m­ic out­comes and pre­pares stu­dents for suc­cess in a dig­i­tal world.

Video: George Kuh on ePort­fo­lio as High Impact Prac­tice (Elon Uni­ver­si­ty) — 3:41 min­utes

Value for North Island College

Imple­ment­ing ePort­fo­lios at North Island Col­lege enhances stu­dent learn­ing by pro­vid­ing a plat­form for reflec­tion and show­cas­ing aca­d­e­m­ic, per­son­al, and pro­fes­sion­al growth. This sup­ports the college’s com­mit­ment to high-qual­i­ty edu­ca­tion and helps demon­strate pro­gram effec­tive­ness for accred­i­ta­tion. ePort­fo­lios also strength­en con­nec­tions with employ­ers by allow­ing stu­dents to present their skills in a pro­fes­sion­al for­mat, improv­ing employ­a­bil­i­ty. They offer a tool for fac­ul­ty to assess authen­tic learn­ing and fos­ter stronger part­ner­ships with employ­ers, lead­ing to more work-inte­grat­ed learn­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties. Ulti­mate­ly, ePort­fo­lios pro­mote stu­dent suc­cess and high­light the college’s edu­ca­tion­al val­ue.

The NIC Fine Art depart­ment already has its stu­dents cre­ate ePort­fo­lios using Word­Press (via OpenETC plat­form) to demon­strate what they have learned in their cours­es. In addi­tion Dig­i­tal Design + Devel­op­ment cre­ate web­page port­fo­lios of their work lever­ag­ing the skills they have learned to pro­duce a career-ready demon­stra­tion of their learn­ing.

A busi­ness pro­gram could have stu­dents show­case their learn­ing through ePort­fo­lios by com­pil­ing key projects such as busi­ness plans, case study analy­ses, mar­ket­ing cam­paigns, and finan­cial mod­el­ing assign­ments. Through­out their degree, stu­dents could reflect on their evolv­ing lead­er­ship skills, team­work expe­ri­ences, and under­stand­ing of core busi­ness con­cepts, tying these to real-world appli­ca­tions. This approach demon­strates growth and cre­ates a pro­fes­sion­al port­fo­lio that can be shared with poten­tial employ­ers.

In a nurs­ing pro­gram, ePort­fo­lios could doc­u­ment clin­i­cal expe­ri­ences, care plans, patient inter­ac­tion reflec­tions, and mas­tery of tech­ni­cal skills. Stu­dents could also include cer­ti­fi­ca­tions, research projects, and reflec­tions on how they have applied the­o­ret­i­cal knowl­edge to prac­tice. These port­fo­lios would serve as valu­able evi­dence of com­pe­ten­cy for licen­sure process­es and job appli­ca­tions, as well as for pro­gram accred­i­ta­tion pur­pos­es.

Oth­er North Island Col­lege pro­grams that could ben­e­fit from ePort­fo­lios include Culi­nary Arts (fea­tur­ing recipes, pho­tos of plat­ed dish­es, and reflec­tions on tech­nique), and Ear­ly Child­hood Edu­ca­tion (doc­u­ment­ing les­son plans, prac­ti­cal teach­ing expe­ri­ences, and reflec­tions on child devel­op­ment the­o­ries). These ePort­fo­lios would high­light stu­dent growth and skill mas­tery, align­ing well with the applied focus of many NIC pro­grams.

Components of ePortfolios

The com­po­nents of ePort­fo­lios vary depend­ing on their pur­pose, but they gen­er­al­ly include a com­bi­na­tion of reflec­tive, aca­d­e­m­ic, and pro­fes­sion­al ele­ments. Key com­po­nents often include:

1. Intro­duc­tion or Per­son­al State­ment: A sec­tion where the stu­dent intro­duces them­selves, out­lines their goals, and pro­vides an overview of the pur­pose of their ePort­fo­lio.
2. Arti­facts: These are pieces of evi­dence such as assign­ments, projects, essays, mul­ti­me­dia, or oth­er works that demon­strate learn­ing and achieve­ments.
3. Reflec­tions: A crit­i­cal com­po­nent where stu­dents ana­lyze and artic­u­late their learn­ing expe­ri­ences, con­nect­ing them to their aca­d­e­m­ic and career goals.
4. Learn­ing Out­comes: Clear align­ment between the show­cased work and pro­gram or course out­comes to demon­strate how stu­dents meet aca­d­e­m­ic stan­dards.
5. Design and Nav­i­ga­tion: A user-friend­ly inter­face that makes it easy for view­ers to access and engage with the con­tent, ensur­ing that the port­fo­lio is acces­si­ble and visu­al­ly appeal­ing.
6. Future Goals: A sec­tion that con­nects past expe­ri­ences with future aspi­ra­tions, often includ­ing career plans, skill devel­op­ment, or per­son­al growth tar­gets (Yancey, 2009).

The com­po­nents of ePort­fo­lios work togeth­er to pro­vide a holis­tic rep­re­sen­ta­tion of a student’s learn­ing jour­ney, inte­grat­ing aca­d­e­m­ic achieve­ments, per­son­al reflec­tions, and future aspi­ra­tions into a cohe­sive and pur­pose­ful show­case.

Preparing Your Students

Prepar­ing stu­dents to cre­ate ePort­fo­lios involves fos­ter­ing tech­ni­cal pro­fi­cien­cy, encour­ag­ing reflec­tive think­ing, and pro­vid­ing clear guide­lines and sup­port. First, stu­dents need train­ing on the tech­ni­cal aspects of the ePort­fo­lio plat­form, includ­ing how to upload arti­facts, use mul­ti­me­dia tools, and orga­nize their con­tent effec­tive­ly.

Before intro­duc­ing ePort­fo­lios to stu­dents, instruc­tors should first devel­op pro­fi­cien­cy with the plat­form they plan to use. Once com­fort­able, they can guide stu­dents through the basics, such as how to nav­i­gate the plat­form, upload and orga­nize con­tent, and reflect on their learn­ing. Instruc­tors should explain the pur­pose of ePort­fo­lios, high­light­ing how they can show­case aca­d­e­m­ic progress, fos­ter reflec­tion, and sup­port career devel­op­ment. This foun­da­tion­al knowl­edge helps stu­dents feel con­fi­dent in using the plat­form effec­tive­ly.

Equal­ly crit­i­cal is teach­ing stu­dents how to reflect on their work mean­ing­ful­ly. Pro­vid­ing prompts, exem­plars, and rubrics can help stu­dents con­nect their aca­d­e­m­ic expe­ri­ences to per­son­al growth and career goals. Fac­ul­ty can guide stu­dents in select­ing arti­facts that align with learn­ing out­comes and encour­age them to artic­u­late how these arti­facts demon­strate their com­pe­ten­cies. Con­tin­u­ous feed­back and sup­port through­out the process can fur­ther help stu­dents refine their ePort­fo­lios and ensure they feel pre­pared to present their work to diverse audi­ences.

Examples in Action

Here are some ideas of prac­ti­cal appli­ca­tions of ePort­fo­lios:

1. Stu­dent-Curat­ed Dig­i­tal Port­fo­lios: Show­case how stu­dents in dif­fer­ent dis­ci­plines use ePort­fo­lios to present writ­ten assign­ments, research papers, and cre­ative projects. For exam­ple, an art stu­dent may include images of their art­work, while a busi­ness stu­dent might present case stud­ies and reports.
2. Fac­ul­ty-Led Projects: Pro­vide exam­ples of fac­ul­ty incor­po­rat­ing ePort­fo­lios in their cours­es, such as using them for peer reviews or as a tool for for­ma­tive assess­ment, where stu­dents upload work for feed­back and revise it over time.
3. Work-Inte­grat­ed Learn­ing: Demon­strate how ePort­fo­lios are used in intern­ships or co-op place­ments to doc­u­ment learn­ing out­comes, reflect on job expe­ri­ences, and show­case pro­fes­sion­al skills to poten­tial employ­ers.
4. Grad­u­ate Reflec­tion and Assess­ment: High­light how ePort­fo­lios are used in cap­stone projects or senior sem­i­nars to inte­grate learn­ing across a student’s aca­d­e­m­ic jour­ney. These port­fo­lios often include reflec­tions on how stu­dents’ skills evolved through­out their stud­ies.
5. Peer Col­lab­o­ra­tion and Assess­ment: Show how ePort­fo­lios can be used in col­lab­o­ra­tive projects, where stu­dents con­tribute to group port­fo­lios, track their progress, and receive peer feed­back.

Each of these exam­ples demon­strates how ePort­fo­lios sup­port dif­fer­ent types of learn­ing expe­ri­ences, from aca­d­e­m­ic work to pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment, and illus­trates the flex­i­bil­i­ty of the plat­form.

Web­site: Uni­ver­si­ty of Water­loo, Cen­tre for Teach­ing Excel­lence, Exam­ples of Stu­dent ePort­fo­lios. Link

Getting Started

Instruc­tors should first devel­op pro­fi­cien­cy with the ePort­fo­lio plat­form before intro­duc­ing it to stu­dents. Once famil­iar, they can guide stu­dents through the basics, such as nav­i­gat­ing the plat­form, upload­ing con­tent, and reflect­ing on their learn­ing. Instruc­tors should explain the pur­pose of ePort­fo­lios, show­ing how they sup­port aca­d­e­m­ic progress, reflec­tion, and career devel­op­ment.

Once stu­dents are com­fort­able, instruc­tors can inte­grate ePort­fo­lios into assign­ments that encour­age reflec­tion and arti­fact selec­tion. Reg­u­lar feed­back helps refine port­fo­lios, while peer col­lab­o­ra­tion fos­ters engage­ment. Grad­u­al­ly incor­po­rat­ing ePort­fo­lios into the cur­ricu­lum allows stu­dents to build mean­ing­ful, pro­fes­sion­al port­fo­lios.

Helpful Resources

• Eportfolio’s Eval­u­ate Stu­dent Voice Over Work (Uni­ver­si­ty of British Colum­bia) Link
• Eport­fo­lio Resources (Uni­ver­si­ty of Vic­to­ria) Link
• Eport­fo­lio Sam­ples (Thomp­son Rivers Uni­ver­si­ty) Link
• UCal­gary ePort­fo­lio (Uni­ver­si­ty of Cal­gary) Link

References

• Cam­bridge, D. (2010). E‑Portfolios for Life­long Learn­ing and Assess­ment. Jossey-Bass. Link
• Chen, H. L., & Pen­ny Light, T. (2010). Elec­tron­ic Port­fo­lios and Stu­dent Suc­cess: Effec­tive­ness, Effi­cien­cy, and Learn­ing. Asso­ci­a­tion of Amer­i­can Col­leges and Uni­ver­si­ties. Link
• Eynon, B., & Gam­bi­no, L. M. (2017). High-Impact ePort­fo­lio Prac­tice: A Cat­a­lyst for Stu­dent, Fac­ul­ty, and Insti­tu­tion­al Learn­ing. Sty­lus Pub­lish­ing. Link
• Miller, R., & Mor­gaine, W. (2009). “The Ben­e­fits of E‑Portfolios for Stu­dents and Fac­ul­ty in Their Own Words.” Peer Review, 11(1), 8–12. Link
• Uni­ver­si­ty of Water­loo, Cen­tre for Teach­ing Excel­lence. “ePort­fo­lios Explained: The­o­ry and Prac­tice.” Link
• Water­mark Insights. “Using ePort­fo­lios in High­er Edu­ca­tion.” Link
• Yancey, K. B. (2009). Elec­tron­ic Port­fo­lios 2.0: Emer­gent Research on Imple­men­ta­tion and Impact. Sty­lus Pub­lish­ing. Link
• Yang, M. (2024). “An In-Depth Lit­er­a­ture Review of E‑Portfolio Imple­men­ta­tion.” Jour­nal of Edu­ca­tion­al Tech­nol­o­gy Sys­tems, 52(4), 456–472. Link