The Good Side of the Internet

Properly Employing ePortfolios in the Classroom

Authors

  • Reidun Garapick

Abstract

EPortfolios are an online space in which students can continuously collect, document, and create academic submissions throughout their university career, supporting not only the product of learning, but the process of learning itself. Research has shown that ePortfolio performance is positively related to skills such as organization, critical thinking, self-regulation, and peer learning (Cheng & Chau, 2013), as well as leading to higher class averages, earlier graduation, and increased retention rates in a college setting (Shada, 2011; Nicolaidou, 2013). However, the modern classroom faces the challenge of determining of how to properly introduce, and subsequently utilize, the ePortfolio system. Currently, students and faculty alike freqeutnyl experience frustration in learning how to use the software itself, therefore fostering a lack of appreciation for the software and its relevance to class material. In this article, we discuss how adequate software orientation, early introduction, complementary curriculum, and self-reflection promotion can aid the modern classroom in better utilizing the ePortfolio resource to improve large-scale post-secondary education.

Published

2018-11-22

Issue

Section

Advanced Topics