By: Allie Davidson, EDC ePortfolio Analyst
Update: To learn more about ePortfolios at Carleton, visit the cuPortfolio information page.
There are many strengths and advantages to a bachelor’s degree; however it does not come without some drawbacks.
An inherent limitation of an undergraduate program lies in the fact that a student’s academic experience is fragmented into the many courses they take. They receive plenty of support and education within each course but are left to their own devices to make the connection between courses. Another common limitation is that there is little opportunity for student-centered learning. Most educational experiences in undergrad are top-down and have an instructional focused approach.
What if there was a way to enrich the bachelor’s degree by creating more student-centered learning opportunities and encouraging students to reflect on their academic experience as whole?
We are working on an ePortfolio pilot project this summer term here at the EDC that we think will help bridge these gaps. An ePortfolio system is a web-based application where students collect artifacts (images, text, multimedia, software, assignments, presentations, etc.) to showcase and reflect upon their accomplishments, achievements and learning. In addition, professors can use ePortfolios to assess and provide rich feedback to students on their demonstrations of learning and skill development.
The ePortfolio system we are using at Carleton is called Mahara. It is compatible with Moodle (cuLearn) so it easily interoperates with our existing system. Mahara is highly customizable and provides students with a personal online learning space where they have the ability to produce and contribute to online content. In the pilot program, we are testing Mahara out in individual courses. Although the intention for the future is to support students throughout their degree, Mahara is also highly useful within individual courses.
Mahara is an excellent tool to encourage student reflection and help develop critical thinking skills. Students can upload, produce, organize and synthesize any number of artifacts to a portfolio page. They can then post a reflection of their work directly onto this page and share it with their instructor or supervisor for feedback and/or assessment.
An ePortfolio system is a unique online educational tool as it has the potential to be used to compile a student’s accomplishments, achievements and learning across multiple courses and multiple years. As a student progresses through a program, they can collect artifacts from their learning experiences to create an online portfolio that reflects their holistic experience at Carleton. Students then can create public links and showcase their accomplishments to potential employers or academic supervisors.
ePortfolios can also be used to help accreditors assess the university’s programs. Programs that incorporate an ePortfolio system can provide rich examples of assessments and students’ achievements that are more easily reported to accreditation bodies.
We are still in the early stages of introducing ePortfolios to Carleton but are excited about the potential it offers. If you are interested in getting involved or would like to learn more about ePortfolios, please contact the EDC.