Educator's Voice

Vol 9, Issue 5
September 10, 2008

ePortfolios on the Rise as Potential Assessment Tools

Electronic Compilation of a Student’s Body of Work Provides New Assessment Tool

Institutions have continuously looked for a way to gauge a student’s success or failure within a program using the full width and breadth of that student’s work, versus individual projects assessed over time. The demand for an electronic compilation of this body of work has increased as institutions search for new assessment tools. eCollege ePortfolios provide a variety of solutions for this demand.

The term “portfolio” can have many different meanings. For centuries, artists and writers have used portfolios, cases for carrying loose papers, pictures or writing samples, to collect, transport and protect their work. The case can come in many shapes and sizes constructed out of materials from paper to bound leather. The term “portfolio” could also refer to the contents of a container, rather than the container itself. For the purpose of this article, a portfolio refers to a selection of student work, compiled over a period of time which, in the educational setting, can be used for assessment purposes.  

A contemporary version of the traditional portfolio is the Electronic Portfolio or ePortfolio. Lorenso and Ittelson define an ePortfolio as a “digitized collection of artifacts including demonstrations, resources or accomplishments that represent an individual, group or institution. This collection can be comprised of text-based, graphic or multimedia elements archived on a Website or other electronic media such as a CD-ROM or DVD.” (1994) Currently, the popularity of ePortfolios is growing in the United States.  

Approaches

The popular approaches to ePortfolio construction are Positivist and Constructivist.  Determining which type of portfolio your program prefers will aid in determining which type of portfolio is best for your students.  

The Positivist approach assumes that the ePortfolio requirements are defined by a body higher than the end user. In this approach an institution, or a program at an institution, defines which assignments will be collected, associates standards to the collected artifacts and creates assessments which are standard across users. All students submit the same artifacts, and each body of work is assessed using the same outcomes, standards and/or rubrics. Standards upon which a student’s work is evaluated are determined at the institutional or program level.

In contrast, the Constructivist approach assumes that the user builds understanding through the creation of the ePortfolio itself. The user learns through the process of collecting, selecting and reflecting. The ePortfolio acts as a repository of student work, where the student chooses the pieces they feel are most representative of their abilities. The student determines the format for sharing their work with an external entity. Since the format of a Constructivist created ePortfolio will vary from student to student, it is difficult to assess multiple students with the same standards.  

Types

Academics may debate the total number of ePortfolio types available today. For our purposes, however, eCollege groups ePortfolios into three main categories: personal, presentation and assessment. Audience is the most important factor when determining which portfolio falls into which category.   

The personal portfolio represents a central repository for the collection of student artifacts in which the audience is the creator. This type of ePortfolio can contain many types of media such as presentations, reflections and professional documents. The personal portfolio is simply a repository or a place to store work and lacks an externally imposed organizational structure. Since the personal portfolio is primarily designed as a receptacle for student work, the structure or organization is not as important as the function itself. Students typically use documents stored in the personal portfolio for the next two portfolios described.

The presentation portfolio is student developed for an external audience, with the purpose of showcasing a user’s skills, thoughts or accomplishments. Students can use the presentation portfolio as a way to market themselves to graduate schools or potential employers. The structure or layout of the presentation portfolio can be defined by the user so the final product created by students can vary from user to user.

The assessment portfolio has a structure defined at the program level of an institution. Required artifacts are standard from user to user, so the final ePortfolio product of each student remains constant across a program. Standards or outcomes are often assigned to each artifact and then assessed using a standard rubric. Reports can then be generated for program enhancement or accreditation purposes.

Solutions

When determining what type of ePortfolio to implement, it is important to decide what type of solution best fits the needs of your institution. As ePortfolios grow in popularity, so do the types of solutions. Today, institutions have the option to implement everything from a customized, homegrown solution to a more standard, commercial product. Each has benefits and challenges—some of which are detailed below.

Homegrown—The Homegrown solution is a product which is built and maintained by an institution. This type of solution is mostly seen in the traditional university setting as it requires financial backing, technical research, development and expertise that smaller institutions typically do not have. These systems can be attractive to institutions because a custom solution can be tailored to meet their needs; however, there is a great deal of technical support required to maintain a system of this nature. Additionally, portability of the portfolio after a student graduates can become a question—what happens to the portfolio once the student graduates? Has the system been developed in such a manner that the student can easily extract their portfolio?  

Common Tools—The term Common Tools refers to the use of readily available software, such as PowerPoint, to create an ePortfolio. Advocates of ePortfolio creation using Common Tools believe that they afford the user complete autonomy when creating a product that reflects the student’s personal style, while also providing an opportunity for deeper learning since the user has to select and organize each artifact included in their ePortfolio. Critics find that the ePortfolios created using this approach lack uniformity, which makes it difficult to compare the work of many students across a program. Additionally, critics also have found that this format can lead to a final product which is lacking in complexity due to the student’s lack of software knowledge.

Open Source—There are many different options available in the Open Source category. Some other names for Open Source ePortfolios may include Authoring Tools, Static or Interactive Web Services. Advocates for the Open Source model tend to believe that student portfolios, including artifact selection and structuring, should be user-driven and defined.    

Commercial—The commercial ePortfolio product is a software solution which enables the institution to define portfolio requirements, such as standards, outcomes or structure. Often times institutions interested in implementing a positivist portfolio, where assessment of student work is a key, will choose commercial software. Commercial solutions are attractive to institutions because they can often be quickly implemented and can offer hosting options, data management and reporting systems. The reporting options can be beneficial as the data collected can be used to assist with accreditation processes. Additionally, some commercial ePortfolio vendors also offer communication tools like email or web 2.0 tools which allow users to share their work with peers and instructors. eCollege has integrated with Foliotek to provide our users with an ePortfolio solution.  

Conclusion

As the debate surrounding the best method for student assessment continues, so too will the availability of options for potential assessment tools. When determining which solution is best for your program, consider which approach and type best meets your need.  

-- Stephanie Pfeifer, MA
Academic Trainer and Consultant, eCollege

Works Cited:
Barrett, Helen (2007). Categories of ePortfolio Tools.  Retrieved June 11, 2008, from Web Site: http://electronicportfolios.com/categories.html

Insight Obserbatory for New Technologies and Education (2008).  ePortfolio Scenarios Retrieved August 25, 2008, from Web Site: http://insight.eun.org/ww/en/pub/insight/school_innovation/ePortfolio_scenarios/portfolios_types.htm

Lorenzo, George and Ittelson, John.  (2005, July). “An Overview of E-Portfolios.  Educause Learning Initiative – Advancing Learing Through IT Innovation”  (p.2)

Paulson, Leon and Paulson, Pearl.  (April, 1994)  “Assessing Portfolios Using the Constructivist Paradigm”  EDRS, (p. 7)

Sweat-Guy, Retta and Buzzetto-More, Nicole A. (2007).   A Comparative Analysis of Common e-Portfolio Features and Available Platforms.  Retrieved August 28, 2008, from Web Site: http://proceedings.informingscience.org/InSITE2007/IISITv4p327-342Guy255.pdf

Instructor’s Tip:

Engage Student Attention With the Addition of YouTube Videos in Presentations

Students appreciate the use of multimedia materials in faculty presentations and one of the simplest media to incorporate are videos. YouTube offers a variety of content that can be utilized to illustrate any number of points within a presentation. Follow these simple steps to add YouTube videos to your presentations.

Want to add a YouTube video to your classroom?  It's easy—but there is definitely a best practice associated with this process. We recommend you place the video inside a 1X1 table (1 cell = 1 column & 1 row).

1. Create a 1X1 table, using the table wizard.  Make sure your table has a border color.  Feel free to put text all around this box or nothing at all.  SAVE your changes!
2. Go to the YouTube video and find the "embed" code.  (Hint: It's in a gray box to the right of the video.)
3. Copy that embed code.
4. Come back to your course page, click into the HTML and find the table tag.  It should look like this: <TD></TD>
5. Paste the embed code in between the greater than and less than symbols like this: >embed code goes here<
6. SAVE CHANGES!

--eCollege iSupport Team

In Memoriam

Dennis L. Franz, Ph.D.: Influential Educator and Dear Friend

The eCollege learning community mourns the loss of an influential educator and dear friend. Dennis Lee Franz was a valued instructor and administrator in Midwest community colleges for over 20 years of his life.

“Dennis was a respected educator, whose perspective and enthusiasm for learning touched many students and colleagues. For over 10 years, he worked as a teacher, administrator and consultant at Kansas State University in both on-campus and online environments,” said Jeff Borden, Director of Academic Training and Consulting at eCollege. “Ten years ago, online classes were not as popular as they are today. But Dennis saw the potential that technology brought to education and became a constructive voice for online education. As a result, EduKan today has grown to be a driving leader for Interent-based education and education in general.”
 
Dr. Franz was the Executive Director of EduKan, a consortium of six western Kansas community colleges that offer online learning. He was also a former professor at Colby Community College, Fort Hays State, Kansas State University and Kansas State University of Salina. Dr. Franz served as a media instructional design consultant for national agencies that included NSF projects, Department of Army and Department of Agriculture.
 
“When people think about the EduKan program, they can’t help but think about Dennis,” said Scot Chadwick, eCollege Vice President of Account Management. “Dennis epitomized the term “partner” in how he worked with everyone at eCollege. He touched many people’s lives, and we are much better for it.”
 
In addition to his extensive educational career, Dr. Franz was an accomplished photographer, videographer and business owner. He owned and operated a television production company and multiple radio stations in the Midwest. In 1966 to 1969, Dr. Franz served his country in Vietnam. Dr. Dennis Franz will be remembered as a veteran, a superb educator and a good friend.

Related Links:

>> Educator's Voice Archive