Wednesday, December 13, 2006

EduTools ePortfolio Review

The WCET EduTools study of seven ePortfolio tools has been completed and is online:
In the Spring of 2006, EduTools and ePAC International undertook the review of seven ePortfolio products on the behalf of seven partner institutions or systems of institutions. In consultation with ePAC and the project partners, a set of 69 electronic portfolio features were identified and defined by Bruce Landon. Based on those features, reviews were conducted and completed in April 2006. According to the agreement with the partners, the feature set and reviews are now available for public use.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

-ePortfolio software and portfolio content should be owned by users versus organizations-the organizations that control access and permissions.
-A e-portfolio should show proof of an individual user's learning and performance, versus proof of an orgaization's goals.
-Content and inspiration should outweight standards. Standards are important, but mostly useful for the organizations that support the standards versus eportfolio. Portfolio software should be driven from user requirements analysis versus an organization's objectives.
-An example of this sort of thinking is at www.digitallyu.com

eportfolios said...

Portfolios are about both process and product. There are multiple purposes for ePortfolios. While I agree that a presentation ePortfolio should be owned by the individual who develops it, there are other roles for ePortfolios in education. Institutions are using portfolios as a supplement to traditional accountability measures (e.g., tests) and so standards are appropriate for an assessment portfolio

When I looked at the website you listed, I saw self-presentation, which is a showcase portfolio-as-product, used for employment or application to colleges, a short-term use.

I believe that the most powerful use of the portfolio is as process, for learning and reflection, both individually and in collaboration. That is why I am excited about using Web 2.0 tools to create interactive portfolios to facilitate dialogue about the portfolio content and process. These learning portfolios may not have a very public audience, but I believe they can have a profound impact on learning. So let's not paint all ePortfolios with the same brush. Different strokes for different folks!