Development Of E-portfolio Research Articles

WhatsApp Support for School Experience e-Portfolio Development: A Conversational Approach

This paper reflects on the different ways of learning fostered by Whatsapp in the development of school experience e-Portfolios. Student teachers in one institution went through their school experience and practice teaching with an expectation to submit portfolios in an electronic format as evidence of their engagement with the theory and practice of teaching. WhatsApp interactions between student teachers, the school experience co-ordinator, and the practitioners in the Academic Development Centre, supporting the development of e-Portfolios, had to be relied on during the process of developing e-Portfolios. Informed by Laurillard's conversational framework on the six ways of learning, this study analysed the possibilities of WhatsApp support in the development of e-Portfolios by student teachers in one university. First and fourth-year education students on school experience provided qualitative data on the ways of learning that are best and least served by WhatsApp. Their accounts and evaluations of their interactions and support through WhatsApp were expressed narratively. Meaning units were extracted through content analysis and allotted to themes and categories suggested by the conversational framework. This study reports on the usefulness of the framework to evaluate WhatsApp support as well as the ways of learning that are most and least served by WhatsApp support on the development of e-Portfolios of evidence on practice teaching. Recommendations on the efficacious use of WhatsApp support for e-Portfolio development, the practices that would foster the realisation of all the six ways of learning, and enhancement of e-Portfolio development for the school experience are furnished. Suggestions are also proffered on further research about purposive use of WhatsApp and the conversational framework on e-Portfolio development.

Development and Validation of E-portfolio for Undergraduate Medical Students in Pediatrics

Development and Validation of E-portfolio for Undergraduate Medical Students in Pediatrics

Student Perspectives on WhatsApp Support for Developing School Experience e-Portfolios on Google Sites

This paper sought to reflect on the task of putting together an e-Portfolio of evidence under conditions of imposed emergency remote online teaching and learning with WhatsApp support. Student teachers in one institution had to undergo their school experience and practice teaching under emergency remote online teaching and learning. Further, these students had to produce and submit portfolios of evidence in an electronic format. Given that there were no contact lectures and tutorials during this period, WhatsApp support had to be relied on to assist these students with the development of their school experience portfolios. Informed by the e-learning ecologies framework, this study analysed the affordances of WhatsApp support in the development of e-Portfolios by student teachers in one university. First and fourth-year education students on school experience provided data through a qualitative survey in which their accounts and evaluations of interactions and support through WhatsApp were expressed narratively. Meaning units were extracted through content analysis and allotted to themes and categories suggested by the affordances framework. This study reports on the usefulness of the framework to evaluate WhatsApp support as well as the affordances that are most and least served by WhatsApp support on the development of an e-Portfolio of evidence on practice teaching. Recommendations on the efficacious use of WhatsApp support for e-Portfolio development, the practices that would foster the realisation of all the affordances, and enhancement of e-Portfolio development for the school experience are furnished.

The experiences of preparation and engagement of educators in teaching e-portfolio

IntroductionA teaching e-portfolio is used to organize the collation and presentation of documents about teaching for the development and evaluation of educators. The current study was aimed at describing teaching e-portfolio components at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. As well, we examined the performance and experience of educators in engaging in the teaching e-portfolio.Materials and methodsThis study was conducted at Shahid Sadoughi University in 2018–2022 in three main stages: (1) Development of the teaching e-portfolio; (2) Implementing teaching e-portfolio, and evaluating teaching documentation quantitatively; and (3) Exploration of educators’ experiences by a conventional content analysis introduced by Graneheim and Lundman. The teaching e-portfolio was developed from the perspective of the components, domains, and criteria of scholarship of teaching and learning. The teaching e-portfolio documented the educational activities of educators in 12 areas, including philosophy of education (1 activity), curriculum planning (4 activities), evaluation (7 activities), teaching and learning (1 activity), e-learning (1 activity), professional development in education (1 activity), scholarly activities (2 activities), mentoring and counseling (3 activities), educational leadership (2 activities), education research (6 activities), education reform project (1 activity), and production of scholarship of teaching and learning (13 activities). The educators recorded the documentation of educational activities in their teaching e-portfolio. Their documentation was reviewed by two peers. The reviewers delivered constructive feedback to improve the educators’ performance. The quantitative performance of educators in different activities in teaching e-portfolio was examined by descriptive tests (frequency and percentage). The experiences of educators were explored by the conventional content analysis approach which was introduced by Graneheim and Lundman.ResultsIn the present study, 148 educators registered in the teaching e-portfolio. A total of 1488 documents of educational activities were registered in the e-portfolio from 2018 to 2022, and 55.24% of the activities received feedback in the peer review process. The experience of participants was categorized into a theme “fear and hope in utilizing teaching e-portfolio”. This theme consisted of three categories: “motivational roadmap for personal and professional development in the future”, “concern about the consequences of continuous monitoring”, and “restriction of resources and capability as resistance sources”.ConclusionThe current study showed that the participation of educators in a teaching e-portfolio was at an acceptable level. Support systems and educational policies played an effective role in guiding educators to participate in educational development activities. The educators perceived the teaching e-portfolio as a two-faceted tool. Teaching e-portfolio can provide a road map for their personal and professional development to achieve excellent teaching. As well, the teaching e-portfolio was recognized as a tool for continuous performance monitoring and detection of the inefficiency of teaching quality activities. This perception, along with limited resources such as time, weak technological literacy, and difficulty in working with electronic devices and systems, led to resistance from educators to involve in teaching e-portfolio.

Supporting the journey of architecture students towards graduation through a design ePortfolio

This paper presents the different steps of the journey that led to the development and implementation of a design ePortfolio as part of the “Architecture Major” of the “Bachelor of Design” (BDes) at The University of Melbourne, Australia. This design ePortfolio was developed over 2 years through interviews, focus groups with students, and the development of exercises and assignment guidelines. The implementation took place in different phases, starting with the introduction of four thematic exercises in the Capstone Architecture Design Studio of the BDes, and then, more broadly, at the curriculum level, with similar activities that prepared the students to already start developing a reflective journal from the first year of their studies. The objective of this research has been to explore the potential of integrating a design ePortfolio with traditional design portfolios on the curricular activities of an undergraduate architecture degree to prioritise the students’ reflections on their personal qualities, growth, career trajectory and goals, as well as on the relationship between curricular and extracurricular activities rather than those of a conventional design portfolio, which tend to be focused more on showcasing skills and competencies. The results of this two-year project illustrate the potential of such a teaching/learning tool to link the personal and professional interests and achievements of students holistically, therefore highlighting the relationship between curricular and extracurricular activities, as well as indirect connections between design studios and seminar-based subjects, that is, history and architectural technology subjects. So far, our design ePortfolio has been successfully used to encourage architecture students to reframe problems through a different lens and, as a key to creativity, to distinguish themselves from the homogeneity of students the university produces through its degree structure and modes of operation. The significance of this teaching and learning project lies in the identification of patterns in the curricular and extracurricular experiences of students that helps them define their identity, goals, and purpose. For this reason, this research has the potential to be linked to the University’s “Student Life” project, which is related to academic advice, personal growth, mentorship, and the well-being of students.

Faculty E-Portfolio for Professional Credentialing

This study was conducted in Cebu Technological University Main and Extension campus. It is a descriptive-developmental research that utilized survey questionnaires and content analysis. A purposive sampling identifying AACCUP Area 2 accreditors, task force and focal person. Frequencies, percentage and weighted mean were used as data treatment. Assessed the acceptability of developed Faculty E-Portfolio for Record Management System of Cebu Technological University – Main and Extension Campus, Cebu, Philippines. Identifies the information related and the AACCUP Area 2 Faculty parameters as basis of development of Faculty E-Portfolio for Record Management system. The acceptability of the developed Faculty E-Portfolio based on technology acceptance model. It also identifies the barriers and challenges in implementation of the Faculty E-Portfolio for Record Management System. Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that the Cebu Technological University Main and Extension Campus needs an information system that focuses on the record management of AACCUP Area 2 in Faculty parameter. The study also revealed that the technology adaption of Faculty E-Portfolio for Record Management System is recommended.

Undergraduate Research EFL Students’ Experiences in Building ePortfolios

High-impact practices (HIPs) have been adopted by many universities around the world to enhance student learning. The aim of this qualitative study was to analyzed how building ePortfolios may impact student learning experience via weekly reflections. A total of 47 senior undergraduate English as a foreign language (EFL) students enrolled in research projects shared reflections about their research experiences via the development of ePortfolios. Data analysis was carried out through deductive coding of the transcribed focus groups and weekly reflections. Findings suggest that the participants used their ePortfolios to improve their writing skills and increase their knowledge. Students were able to track their progress and felt more engaged in learning. They also showed appreciation to the feedback provided by their instructors on their reflections. However, the students shared some challenges they faced while developing their ePortfolios. Despite these challenges, there was a positive impact of ePortfolios on students’ learning experiences. Implications and further directions for research are discussed.

Use of ePortfolios to improve English speaking skills by learners of English as a foreign language

High-impact practices (HIPs) have been adopted by many universities around the world to enhance student learning. The aim of this qualitative study is to analyze how building ePortfolios may impact the student learning experience via weekly reflections. A total of 47 senior undergraduate English as a foreign language (EFL) student participants’ shared reflections about their research experiences via the development of ePortfolios. Data analysis was carried out through deductive coding of the transcribed focus groups and weekly reflections. Findings suggest that the participants used their ePortfolios to improve their writing skills and increase their knowledge. Students were able to track their progress and felt more engaged in learning. They also showed appreciation for the feedback provided by their instructors on their reflections. However, the students shared some challenges they faced while developing their ePortfolios. Despite these challenges, there was a positive impact of ePortfolios on students’ learning experiences. Implications and further directions for research are discussed.

Biosystems engineering students’ experiences and perceptions of selfreflection and e-portfolios

Biosystems engineering students at the University of Manitoba participated in a voluntary workshop series as an extracurricular professional development opportunity. The five-workshop series was designed to engage students in reflection and self-reflection as a foundation for the development of e-portfolios to document their learning over time. Following the workshop series, focus group interviews were held with voluntary participants to explore their perceptions and experiences with self-reflection relative to e-portfolios. Themes that emerged from the focus group data related to i) the value of self-reflection as an activity, ii) the value of e-portfolios for career success, iii) observations of the biosystems engineering curriculum and iv) concerns about the status of the biosystems engineering discipline in the engineering community. The motivations to consider an e-portfolio were immediately focused on job-finding, and within that, on clarifying biosystems engineering both to themselves, to other students outside of biosystems engineering, and employers.

Development of an app-based e-portfolio in postgraduate medical education using Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) framework: Challenges in a resource-limited setting

Introduction: E-portfolio may facilitate the entrustment process from supervisors to residents in postgraduate medical education. The present study was aimed at identifying necessary features of an e-portfolio application and to conduct pilot study in a teaching hospital. Methods: Six programs participated. Eight interviews with education directors and six focus group discussions with residents and supervisors were completed for the needs analysis stage. The application was developed based on the thematic analysis of the needs analysis stage. The mobile-app e-portfolio pilot was conducted for four weeks and a modified version of the System Usability Scale (SUS) was distributed to participants following the pilot program. Results: Key features of the e-portfolio were identified. A total of 45 supervisors and 66 residents participated in the pilot study. The residents utilised the application according to the clinical activities and supervision level, and the information was fed to the supervisors as per the application design. Challenges during the pilot study in terms of feedback provision and residents’ workload which influence the e-portfolio use for entrustment decisions are discussed. Conclusion: Current e-portfolio features were created for supervision and are potential to facilitate the entrustment process in Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) implementation. The pilot study highlighted challenges of the implementation which should be considered for future improvement.

EPortfolio in Teacher Education and Academic Further Education

Private and professional life is more and more shaped by rapid changes in society and technology. That’s why continuous further education is essential in order to meet the new requirements. In the context of lifelong learning, this article focuses primarily on “learning to learn” as a key competence (European Union, 2018). Therefore, it is essential to develop the ability to self-regulated learning (Zimmerman, 2000) in the first phase of academic training and beyond. Learners must be able to plan, carry out and evaluate their learning process. In order to monitor it successfully, it also requires the ability to reflect.
 One instrument that can help learners to regulate their learning process is the ePortfolio (McAllister et al., 2008). In an ePortfolio learners can set their goals individually, document and reflect on their progress with the help of artefacts and thus assess their learning strategies and adapt them, if necessary. Futhermore, outcomes of informal learning can be presented within an ePortfolio as well as outcomes of formal learning activities. For example, in the field of teacher education ePortfolios are used quite widely. The ability to reflect one’s actions is an important aspect of professionalism, which helps teachers to improve their teaching (Schön, 1983). Therefore, it is important, as a prospective teacher, to be able to realistically assess one's own abilities and to know how to acquire new competencies. Teachers have to question their actions constantly and adapt them if necessary. In the German State of Baden-Württemberg keeping an ePortfolio is obligatory for students during the practical phases and is continued in the second phase of training, during the internship. A second field, where ePortfolio is gaining importance, is the academic continuing education. The Academy of Advanced Studies at the University of Konstanz offers academic programmes for professionals. A pilot project will be launched next semester in the part-time bachelor study programme in “Motor Neurorehabilitation” for qualified professional therapists in healthcare. Primarily, the implementation of an ePortfolio in this context aims at giving learners the opportunity to manage and personalise their own digital archive (collection of documents). Secondly, it enables the students to reflect more consciously the inputs and outputs collected - particularly during the time they will be attending their practical internships. Thus, the participants should develop a stronger reflective and critical thinking with regard to the acquired new methods and the experiences collected. Furthermore, the ePortofolio should facilitate group work and encourage interaction with other colleagues (peer review) and/or instructors.
 This paper discusses the possibilities of using ePortfolios in teacher training and in academic further education. Based on a theoretical concept for learning and professionalizing with ePortolios in higher education and life long learning, as mentioned before, the potentials in the different fields of application will be presented. Furthermore, we will point out the difficulties and challenges associated with the introduction of an ePortfolio. Finally, an outlook on what is planned for the further development of ePortfolio at the University of Konstanz will be given.

History of Educational Technology – Editorial

This collection brings together four articles which examine both broad approaches to the history of educational technology and more specific analysis of particular technologies. The broader reviews investigate different research patterns and the different challenges and contexts that such research has responded to. The specific analyses examine the development of eportfolios and VLEs. The history of educational technology is under-documented and this collection seeks to add to the literature in this field.

E-PORTFOLIO AS AN ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT FOR IMPROVING GRADUATE'S SOFT SKILLS

E-Portfolio is an innovative platform that can be integrated in the teaching and learning process to develop graduates’ soft skills. E-Portfolio is a dynamic collection that incude reflective practice that enable students to showcase their learning outcome, achievements, skills and experience. E-portfolio is a medium that store a collection of learners’ works / artefacts which include products, demonstrations, self-assessments, resources, and accomplishments in digital.
 E-portfolio is a powerful tool to develop students’ soft skill such as creativity, digital literacy as well as critical thinking skills as it allows students to produce their own reflective writing and showcase their learning outcome / products. Through the E-portfolio, students’ can showcase their best learning practices or learning outcome such as the product that they have created during undergraduate or postgraduate studies to be showcased with the wider audience. The development of E-Portfolio also encourage students to set their career or professional goal and plan, which consequently enable them to showcase their knowledge and skills (including soft skills) to their future employers (Lorenzo & Ittelson, 2005; Reese & Levy, 2009).

The Relationships between the Children’s smartphone Over-immersion and their Hyperactivity, Impulsivity and Inattention

This study examined early childhood preservice teachers` beliefs about e-portfolios as an indicator of their understanding of professional teaching standards perceived through their experience in the development of an e-portfolio. Data were analyzed from 112 preservice teachers in an early childhood teacher education program in the U.S. Midwest. The results from hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that current program status and overall positive experience in the development of an e-portfolio were significant indicators of the preservice teachers` beliefs about e-portfolios reflecting their understanding of standards. The results also showed that lack of technology skills result in low understanding of the role of e- portfolios vis-a-vis the standards. The results highlight the importance of a positive experience in the development of eportfolios in helping preservice teachers better understand the standards pertaining to quality teacher education and standards-based performance. This study discusses educational implications for quality teaching and student learning promoted through the effective use of e-portfolios as a reflective tool in early childhood teacher education.

Development and Use of a Web-based e-Portfolio for Dental Clinical Training

Development and Use of a Web-based e-Portfolio for Dental Clinical Training

Identity Formation and Self-Reflection Strategies in the Development of Apparel Design ePortfolios

Visual literacy, a key element of a design portfolio, is achieved by communicating a consistent visual aesthetic with respect to design elements, design principles and individual style. Yet, students often feel challenged in articulating their personal aesthetic or design philosophy in order to create a unifying design identity within a body of artifacts. This paper shares some best practices on overcoming this challenge through students' engagement in self-reflection and identity formation processes. The implemented innovative strategy in a senior-level portfolio development course for apparel designers involved four different phases: 1) one-on-one meetings to self-reflect on previous design work, 2) selection and revision of artifacts, 3) peer-review and critiques of revised portfolio artifacts, and 4) development of a final ePortfolio to showcase a unified design identity. It was evident that recording students' initial self-reflection in the form of a metacognitive oral report encouraged and motivated identity development in their portfolio. Further, students expressed their satisfaction in the ability to participate in the selection process of artifacts by self-reflecting about what they wanted to highlight about themselves and why. Overall, student outcomes from this strategy exceeded expectations and the portfolios developed were successful in creating a cohesive design identity.

Evaluating a Professional Development cMOOC

This paper focuses upon the evaluation stages of the design and implementation of a lecturer professional development cMOOC embedded within an educational design-based research methodology. In the design and development stages the first iteration in 2015 of the cMOOC informed the redesign of the second iteration in 2016. In this paper the overall impact of the cMOOC is evaluated via evidence of active participation, a post-survey of the 2016 participants, and evidence of impact through the development of participant eportfolios. Based upon our experiences we propose a transferable and scalable lecturer professional development framework that can be mapped to established teaching and learning accreditation pathways such as CMALT.

EPortfolio: A Descriptive Survey for Contents and Challenges

Online learning is currently garnering increasing interest. Through the Internet, all available data can be shared to anyone without limited accessibility. ePortfolio is one of the media for students and lecturers to share their knowledge online. Students can upload and share their works, and lecturers can access the works of students anytime and anywhere as long as they remain connected to each other. This learning process gives students the freedom to show their ability and skills without meeting face to face. In literature, ePortfolio has contributed numerous advantages to students and lecturers in terms of the competency, marketability, self-confidence, and visibility of the students. This paper analyzes the development of ePortfolio contents to ensure the reliability of the instrument used. Furthermore, the challenges to implement ePortfolio in the learning system in Malaysia are determined. A total of 100 respondents, who are educators and students from public higher education institutions in Malaysia, participated in the Google survey form to share their perspective on the development of ePortfolio and the challenges of its implementation in the learning system. The majority of the respondents gave positive feedback on the development of ePortfolio as one of the holistic approaches to evaluate a student’s knowledge and skills.

Are You A Leader? How We Learned to Stop Asking

Smith College initiated an ePortfolio pilot project to guide students in documenting key learning experiences and in linking those experiences to Smith's institutional mission of “developing leaders for society's challenges” (Smith College, 2011). Twenty-one college students volunteered to participate in the pilot, based on the integrative knowledge portfolio process and informed by research in the fields of narrative psychology, integrative learning theory and ePortfolio theory. This article discusses the process of guiding students in integrative learning through the development of ePortfolios and through a curriculum, which engaged them in understanding and articulating their own learning, as well as in connecting it to the college mission.

Effective Implementation of ePortfolios: The Development of ePortfolios to Support Online Learning

This article discusses the ePortfolio system for grades 9–12 at the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School (VLACS). ePortfolio implementation at VLACS developed from an Advisory course curriculum that supports students' journey toward becoming college, career, and citizenship ready. We provide a unique perspective for implementation in that VLACS is completely online. Drawing from experiences in brick-and-mortar schools, online instruction, and research on digital portfolio programs, we utilize online portfolios to build a virtual community and engage students in their learning. The article summarizes key components to ePortfolio implementation and highlights how ePortfolios enable VLACS students to both reflect on their experience as learners and demonstrate academic and professional competencies.