Summary


An e-portfolio is a digital collection of evidence and artefacts that represents the knowledge, skills, and accomplishments of an individual or group. There are different types of e-portfolios but in SMLC we use the ‘assessment portfolio’, where our students can reflect about their learning, achievements and challenges in their own time. Thus, it can be very beneficial in the promotion of metacognition. It can also include more specific tasks or group work projects. Another advantage of using these online platforms is that students can be creative and include audio-visual materials.


Theory


E-portfolios have great potential as a tool for assessment, learning and employability (Bolliger & Shepherd, 2010; Pegrum & Oakley, 2017). The ability to assess one’s own strengths and weaknesses and reflect on one’s progress is a skill inherent to building an e-portfolio as students add new artefacts to their collection and review old ones. This record of personal and professional growth allows them to analyse their learning over time, increase knowledge retention, refine short-term and long-term goals, and gain insights they might have missed if they had not tracked their progress in such a manageable and visual way (Miller & Morgaine, 2009). It offers flexibility for the students as they can work on it during the academic year in their own time.

Some recent literature on the field:

  • Ciesielkiewicz, Monika, ‘The use of e-portfolios in higher education: From the students' perspective’, Issues in Educational Research, 29(3), 2019, 649-67.
  • Chaudhuri, Tushar, Cabau, Béatrice (Eds.), E-Portfolios in Higher Education: A Multidisciplinary Approach (Singapore: Springer, 2017).
  • ‘How to enhance student learning, progression and employability with e-portfolios. Case studies and guidance on e-portfolios for UK further and higher education’ https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/e-portfolios#

Measurable Benefits


  • To improve metacognition.
  • To provide flexibility in assessment.
  • The opportunity to receive feedback during the creation process.
  • To increase students’ self-knowledge and confidence.
  • Self-assessment.
  • Digital skills.

How it Works


  1. Clear guidance and instructions from tutors, with real examples of e-portfolios.
  2. Continuous support and feedback at different points of the year are very beneficial.
  3. Flexibility in content, format, layout.
  4. Clear marking criteria if used as an assessment tool.
  5. If used in first-year UG courses, some guided tasks may help students to start their e-portfolios.

Practical Example


Modern Spanish Language (HP101) E-Portfolios as a tool for assessment.

This e-portfolio includes two sections:

  • Section 1. Students reflect about their Virtual Intercultural Exchanges, explaining their learning, their challenges, how they tackled those challenges and what they would change/improve in future interactions. Students are encouraged to include practical examples, with images, audios, videos, etc.
  • Section 2. Group-work: Audio-visual translations. Students choose a piece of audio-visual material (a song, podcast, TV programme) in Spanish and have to produce their own translation into English. They also need to include a reflection about the process, discussing the tasks distributions, main challenges and resources used.

Individual Perspective


I’ve found this pedagogy offers a lot of flexibility and creativity to both students and staff. Students tend to perform better in this type of assessment than in exams. It also helps them to reflect about what they are learning and about what works best for them as learners. It’s also easy to mark.