Teach T@lk Webinar: ePortfolios, Helping Students Assess Their Learning

On Tuesday, April 7, we had a webinar on using eportfolios in the classroom.  Below is a summary of some of the key points and resources:

ePortfolios are an archive of materials created by students to showcase their skills and knowledge. They are basically a website with text, videos, images, link and files. There are 3 main types of eportfolios:

• Personal- includes items from an interest or hobby
• Showcase- includes information and evidence of skills, often used in interviews to showcase someone's work, or for requesting funds for special projects.
• Learning- a collection of a students' projects and assignments for a class, used to provide evidence of whether a student met the learning objectives and how they met them. It often includes drafts of assignments to show the process, not just the final product.

Students are encouraged to follow a 5 step process to build eportfolios which includes:

• collecting the data
• selecting what to showcase
• reflecting on the work and how to improve
• presenting it to others 
• evaluating the feedback and improving the eportfolio.

The BIO594 Adv. Scientific Teaching course was discussed as a case study for eportfolios that were created to highlight a students' experience with teaching. Some best practices from the case included:

• Giving the students indepth training on how to use the technology
• Providing detailed instructions on what is expected, and examples
• Requiring students do reflections throughout the process on ways to improve and what they learned
• Include peer reviews so students can learn to give each other constructive feedback, and learn collaboratively
• Design small progress "milestones" to keep students on track

There are a number of technologies that work well with eportfolios, including Google Drive, PowerPoint, Wix, Weebly, and Blogger. ASU supports Digication, and the link is: https://asu.digication.com/  Some faculty allow students to choose their favorite, since sharing a public link it available in nearly all the technologies. 

"Get Started" Resources:

• If you would like to try eportfolios, please contact your instructional designer, or amy.pate@asu.edu.
• Recording of session: https://connect.asu.edu/p38z4525fi8/ 
• Slides: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12594701/eportfolio_040715.pptx
• Handouts from BIO594 eportfolio project: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12594701/ePortfolio%20Project-2.doc