According to Halam et al (2008) an ePortfolio ‘is an evolving electronic/online resource that acts to record, store and archive the artefacts of learning and reflection for an individual learner.’ Put differently, it is a collection of evidence or work done in electronic formats (text documents, images, audio and video files etc) to show learning over time. An ePortfolio may contain:

Files in different formats;

Information about courses taken and the program of study;

Writing at different levels, including zero drafts and final versions of term papers;

Project reports;

Field notes;

Evidence of volunteer work;

Quiz and assessment results;

Peer feedback on assignments;

Letters of commendation and recommendation etc.

An ePortfolio can help show professional or personal growth. It is an excellent assessment tool that can measure performance over time rather than a one-time assessment. Students have control over their personal portfolio and can choose to showcase them to other students in part or completely. This way, students are able to get feedback from their peers and learn from them. It supports the concept of formative assessment. So rather than use assessment simply for summative purpose, ePortfolios make it possible for students to use the assessment component of their learning for learning, and not just to show what they have already learned. It also allows students monitor their own progress towards specific competencies. They can tell their areas of strengths and weaknesses and learn from their peers how to improve.

ePortfolios make evaluation task a shared task between teachers and students, because students are able to evaluate their own competencies. Accessing and assessing other students’ personal portfolios give room for peer-learning.

In the sample ePortfolio is presented below, there are buttons for users to navigate to different parts of the ePortfolio, which in this case include Header/Institution, About…, Knowledge and Skills, Work examples, etc. Teachers can retrieve information about students’ performance for specific work and over time but the student can determine what other students can access and what they are able to do to the documents accessed.

https://bpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/blogs.iu.edu/dist/6/48/files/2018/05/EP2-1z66wq2.png

You may read more about ePortfolios at:

The What, Why and How of ePortfolios

e-Porfolio – Center for Teaching & Learning

What is an ePortfolio