e-Portfolios

Karen chaired a meeting recently regarding e-portfolios. We had an interesting discussion. It was good to see different points of view on this issue being exchanged.

My, possibly laboured, point keeps coming back to the educational purpose of e-portfolios. What do we want them for? What value will they have for our students? I think that we need to be very clear on educational purpose from the start.

I think the "for our students" bit is important in the question posed in the last paragraph. An e-portfolio's purpose shouldn't be to make our administration easier.

My point at the meeting was that an e-portfolio is an Internet-based space owned by the student. The life-cycle of the space should transcend the the time spent by the student at Stevenson. I showed how my Google account could act as an e-portfolio. My account is a place where I can access all the blogs, sites, groups that I'm involved with. It also acts as a space to work, online, collaboratively on word, excel or PowerPoint documents. I can also develop my online CV from this space. Of course, all of this comes free.

I think (if I can condense the views at the meeting) that there were differences of opinion based on where control should reside with an e-portfolio system: the student or the college.

It might be a good idea for the people involved in the e-portfolio group (and anyone else) to respond to this post so we can thrash out through robust dialogue our vision of e-portfolios. A way forward may just become apparent ...