Sharing the Evidence of Learning:
Exploring Free-to-Use Tools for
Student ePortfolios
Brad Wuetherick and Heather M. Ross
Introduction
• Why ePortfolios?
• What has the research shown about the effective
use of ePortfolios?
o Literature Review and Results from a Study at U of A
• Why Free-to-Use Tools?
• Exploration of Different Free-to-Use Tools Available
for ePortfolios
o
o
o
o
WordPress
Evernote
Weebly
Google Tools
• Benefits and Drawbacks for using Free-to-Use Tools
Why Portfolios?
• Shulman (1998) – benefits/risks of portfolios:
o Permit tracking of longer episodes of teaching more effectively
than single observations do
o Encourage important connections between process and product
o Institutionalize norms of collaboration, reflection, and discussion
o Shift responsibility for demonstrating learning to the student as a
participant rather than observer
o Risks of ‘lamination’, ‘heavy lifting’, ‘trivialization’, ‘perversion’,
and ‘misrepresentation’
• effective formative and summative approach to
learner-centred and authentic student assessment
(Mason et al, 2004; Wade et al, 2005; Kersten, 2004;
Klenowski et al, 2006; etc.)
Effective Use of ePortfolios
• ‘Portfolio pedagogy’ – (Kimball, 2005)
o “Students are not just the users of the system, they are or should
be the authors”
• Students encouraged to prepare a thoughtful collection
of their work, organized and bound together by their
own reflections and metacognitive connections
_____________________
• For institutions - support student advisement and career
preparation, student credential documentation,
institutional/program accreditation processes
• For students - document learning
(knowledge/skills/abilities), track development within a
program, find a job, monitor/self-assess their
performance (Lorenzo and Ittelson, 2005)
Effective Use of ePortfolios
• Van Wesel and Prop (2008):
o Challenges in implementing eportfolios
• Self-reflection skills – moving past superficial to critical
• Computer skills – validity issue due to student variability
• Fair assessment – should focus on content rather than
appearance (due to variability in technology skills)
• Reviewer’s reliability – (not unique to ePortfolios)
establish appropriate rubric and have multiple reviewers
• Course characteristics – one size does not fit all,
requires commitment to students’ independent learning
Student Perceptions of ePortfolios
• Surprisingly unimportant to reflect on learning at the
program level (ie. progress from course to course)
o essentially because it is not reinforced and assessed effectively – not
emphasized within individual courses
• Most important characteristics (in order):
o
o
o
o
transportability (between courses/at graduation)
ease of use/storage
ability to include all forms of digital content
Importance of being able to give remote access (varies by discipline)
• Those who had experience with portfolios reported that
they were a useful component of their program
o Ongoing/formative feedback from instructors
o Ongoing record of accomplishments allowed one to monitor their
own progress and to show one’s work to others
• Recognition of importance of portfolio once program
completed
o communication for employment/further education
Faculty Perceptions of ePortfolios
• Significantly more reluctant than students to want to use
ePortfolios
o questioning the appropriateness of program level requirements
• Concerns with the variability in students’ experience and
comfort level with technology – while also emphasizing
their own variability in this respect
• Significant preconceptions about usefulness of portfolios
in certain disciplines
• Instructor readiness is an issue at multiple levels:
o Technology-related skills
o Understanding of course design with ePortfolios, particularly how
to do student assessment
o Willingness to give up ‘academic freedom’ to implement across
the program
Wordpress
Weebly
Google Sites
Evernote
Evernote
In Conclusion
• Strengths
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o
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Portability
Student comfort with familiar tool
Ease of sharing
Potential for easy collection
Cost
• Weaknesses
o Lack of consistency within a class or program
o Potential issues with supporting students
o Storage location of data
• Suggestion – Combination of tools
o Evernote or Google Drive for collection
o Wordpress, et al. for clean presentation