Educators across the globe are using technology in greater numbers than ever before. Students of most schools, all over the world,  use some sort of technology to complete their daily tasks, assessments, and projects. The question to be asked is are schools using technology to enhance learning, or are we just using it because it exists? Here's why they are important.

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ePortfolios are commonly used by students to compile their work, focus on their achievements and shortcomings, and aim for improvement. Using ePortfolios would greatly improve student ownership and if used correctly, relieve frustration and stress for teachers because student work would be in one central location (for grading and review purposes).

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Some educators might not realize it, but they are already using a form of ePortfolios in their classroom. A shared drive, students sharing self-created folders, Bulb, binders, Seesaw, Google Slides, Google Sites, etc. Being guided through the process of what ePortfolios are, their benefits, and how to utilize them in a classroom would benefit not only teachers but students as well. This, in turn, could make the ease of transitioning into using ePortfolios throughout a school district much smoother.

 

What Works:

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In the article, Empowering knowledge-building pedagogy in online environments: Creating digital moments to transform practice, the authors mention that authentic practices arise as students immerse themselves in digital technologies and take on the role of performers in determining which tools are more effective in guiding the learning process (Barber, 2014). If we don’t allow our students to take ownership and teach them to reflect and reform, then we are doing them a disservice. ePortfolios are just one way that will allow students to have a vessel for their work and allow them to return to it multiple times to reflect and learn. Students who use ePortfolios are more engaged in their studies and perform better in class. When students review their learning, the ePortfolio offers a foundation that scaffolds their progression into the stages of deep learning (Brandes & Boskic, 2008).

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Education benefits greatly from a well-executed e-portfolio initiative. They offer authentic evaluations of student learning and encourage deeper learning that we desire for our students. I'm not sure why more institutions aren't using them. A big plus for using ePortfolios is, of course, the ability to use visual material (rather than just paper and pencil work), but what's fascinating in this is how the ePortfolio can be used as a networking platform that helps teachers, parents, and students communicate.

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ePortfolio-based learning can be a valuable tool for students to engage in practical and honest learning. Institutions must concentrate on the pedagogy and learning experiences that a well-designed ePortfolio will enable as they become more common in education. “ePortfolios can help learners develop new or deeper learning, which results in higher grades; help learners develop a better sense of themselves as students and as individuals; be shared with friends and family members, and showcase learners’ achievements when they are applying for a job” (University of Waterloo, n.d.).

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The skill of a student to gather, concentrate on, and choose suitable content for an ePortfolio is a function of their ability to manage their skills in a manner that supports pedagogy and technology use as a 21st-century learner. “Knowledge building in online environments requires students to take risks, try new digital tools, and find the modalities that work best to express the new knowledge they are creating” (Barber et al., 2014). Students leverage their learning artifacts to show success in various subject areas while also developing expertise in areas such as future job preparation and when forming who they are as a learner (Rowley & Munday, 2018).

 

What Improvements are Needed?

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When internet service is sometimes unavailable due to unreliable technology, students can find it difficult to keep up with their ePortfolios. Due to school policies on access, links to site-building websites could be blocked. Lack of a stable infrastructure, site entry, connectivity, socioeconomic status, and a paucity of an integrated understanding of ICT, topic expertise, and confidence were all obstacles to ePortfolio adoption (Kok and Blignaut, 2009). 

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It can be difficult to persuade students to participate in a course beyond handing in homework and taking exams. Students often fail to draw distinctions between classes and don't understand why they're expected to complete those tasks, dismissing them as just another assignment they have to complete and turn in to their teacher (Noll, 2017). When a student is capable of seeing what works for them and where they can improve, then they are able to grow as learners and can mentally prepare for next steps. They can see a light at the end of the tunnel and look at their assignments as more than “just another assignment”. Professional development is always in high demand when it comes to new and improved ideas in education.

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Gaps in Research:

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One of the main issues educators face is the lack of research on ePortfolios in the elementary and secondary levels. Of course, there is always the sound advice of a master teacher that also happens to be utilizing ePortfolios in his/her classroom, but how often will you come across that regularly nowadays. 

 

Applying the Lessons Learned: 

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Many institutions fail to prepare or have the requisite instruction for students, teachers, and staff to fully learn how to use e-portfolios (Birks et al., 2016). Educators would need to continue consulting with the IT department to review, or possibly create the framework for incorporating ePortfolios and ensuring that students have access to the appropriate technology to be successful.

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Teachers should build their ePortfolios in order to then lead their students through the process. According to studies, university teachers and students need to learn the expertise and procedures needed to incorporate ePortfolios, which are widely being used in universities to help develop self-reflective practitioners (Rowley & Munday, 2018). Professional development can help guide teachers in the creation of their ePortfolios if they are lacking the confidence and knowledge on creating one of their own. 

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Students could be given resources to conduct their research on how to create ePortfolios and how to glean the full potential and benefits of using an ePortfolio. Ross Miller states that; “E-portfolios provide a rich resource for both students and faculty to learn about the achievement of important outcomes over time, make connections among disparate parts of the curriculum, gain insights leading to improvement and develop identities as learners or as facilitators of learning.” (Miller, 2009) 

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Implementing the Plan:

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Teachers are critical to the success of this plan's implementation. Teachers are in charge of their classes and have a lot of power over their students. This proposal would need cooperation from the representatives who have influence over the teachers in order to achieve buy-in from them: The admin team, Digital Coach, AVID Lean, students, etc. On my page Leading Change, I go over the strategy for leveraging the influencers, as well as the resources and preparation that would be required to help teachers succeed.

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Our teachers will need rewards in addition to resources and instruction to keep them focused on the task. These milestones will help them determine if they are on track or need further assistance. In my strategy to Execute Change, I describe how we will provide teachers with benchmarks.

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References

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Bala, S.S., Mansor, W., Stapa, M., & Zakaria, M.H. (2012). Digital portfolio and professional development of language teachers. Science Direct. Retrieved April 22, 2021, from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82577371.pdf

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Barber, W. (2014). Empowering knowledge-building pedagogy in online environments: Creating digital moments to transform practice (Vol. 12). Issuu. May 2, 2021

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Miller, R. (2009, Winter). The benefits of eportfolios for students and faculty in their own words. Peer Review, 11(1). https://tomprof.stanford.edu/posting/954

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Rowley, J., & Munday, J. (2014, July). A 'Sense of Self' through reflective thinking in eportfolios. International Journal of Humanities, 1(7), 78-85. https://www.academia.edu/7813875/A_Sense_of_Self_through_Reflective_Thinking_in_ePortfolios?email_work_card=title

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Rowley, J., & Munday, J. (2018). The evolved landscape of eportfolios: Current values and purposes of academic teachers and curriculum designers. Journal for Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 9(1), 2-21. file:///C:/Users/jestanley/Downloads/The_evolved_landscape_of_ePortfolios_Cur.pdf

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University of Waterloo. (n.d.). ePortfolios explained: Theory and practice. University of Waterloo. Retrieved April 23, 2021, from https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/educational-technologies/all/eportfolios#:~:text=ePortfolios%20can%3A%20help%20learners%20develop,are%20applying%20for%20a%20job.