Literature Review

The Benefits of ePortfolio Use in the Classroom:

An Innovative Tool for Effective Learning and Assessment

Students that are tech-savvy fill many classrooms across the country. However, they often are met with instruction that does not incorporate learning with digital support tools. This can be a hindrance to students' ability to be successful in today's technology-driven world. Digital support tools can aid students' learning, leading to success in their education and future careers. For students to be successful in the current education system, they need to have a mastery of both content and skills. Unfortunately, the traditional way that students learn is not always effective. One way to improve learning is to use ePortfolios to track student progress. Ark (2015) said every student should have a digital portfolio that showcases their development and accomplishments and is simple to share in full or in part. Hay & Xu said (2019) eportfolios are used in the learning process to encourage students to reflect on and inquire about their own learning and integrate their learning from other courses.

According to Barrett, portfolios should be analyzed as a way to improve students' understanding of their learning; more importantly, it is to be expected that the portfolios will show a deeper degree of students' personal growth over a lengthy period of time (as cited in Saarinen et al., 2016)

This literature review aims to analyze literature that supports the benefits of eportfolios in educational environments, uses of eportfolio, assessments of student learning, self-reflection and self-regulation, COVA, and parent-teacher discourse. This literature is diverse, as it includes studies from educational systems worldwide.

Benefits of an ePortfolio

There are many benefits of an ePortfolio in the classroom. The ePortfolio offers a technique that combines technology and functionality. It is a personalized learning tracking system that uses real-world data (Barrett, 2010, as cited in Saarinen et al., 2016). Saarinen et al. ( 2016) said the digital medium provides you with a plethora of possibilities, such as ways of showing content and presentation (multimedia text, audio, video, etc.). The ePortfolio technique is predominantly individual (Saarinen et al., 2016). Saarinen said students are encouraged to focus on their own learning by tracking and documenting specific aspects of it. However, it can also be creatively used to reach a wider audience, such as the teacher (for information/ assessment/ management), other students (peer-assessment), and parents (a showcase).

There are benefits to using electronic portfolios instead of paper portfolios. Bowan et al. (2016) discovered advantages to managing student portfolios on an electronic platform, such as improved mentor usability and student motivation when accessing and evaluating their portfolios. They discovered that the paper-based and electronic portfolio products had the same student work and reflection quality.

Uses of an eportfolio

Electronic portfolios are often used for assessing and learning. Sherman argues that too much emphasis has been placed on the general educational role of ePortfolios as a way of evaluating performances or as a showcase for exceptional work (as cited in Saarinen et al., 2016). He listed various ways that ePortfolios might support teaching and learning, including creating artifacts, context, purposeful learning and goal-setting, reflection, communication, and providing samples of the worst and greatest work related to particular tasks (as cited in Saarinen et al., 2016). According to Lehman et al. (2021), LaGuardia has a long-standing history of supporting ePortfolio as a high-impact practice to help students track and manage their academic learning inside and outside the classroom.

Assessment

The ePortfolio provides opportunities for assessment. This technology can be used in the classroom to assess students' learning. The ePortfolio allows teachers to record what students have learned and provides a way for students to reflect on their learning. Authentic assessments provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned about the subject they are studying by creating a task in real-life situations (Tangdhanakanond & Archwamety” (2019). According to Hay & Xu (2019), through a range of material, including presentation slides, video clips, podcasts or other audio files, images, diagrams, and more, ePortfolios have the ability to demonstrate the real-world performances and skills of student work. Hay and Xu said that due to this, ePortfolios outperform more conventional paper-based assessments. According to Cousins (2016), electronic portfolios gave us the opportunity to fundamentally alter our connection to assessment, not just in the collecting and evaluation of artifacts, which are now quicker and more effective, but also in our reactions to them, which are now more meaningful. Cousin also said assessing works composed years and levels apart gives a unique insight into intellectual development, as students develop simple and increasingly complex means of expression and analysis.

Self Reflection and Self-Regulated Learning

The use of ePortfolios promotes lifelong learning and helps students become self-reflective learners. According to Campbell and Tran (2021), self-reflection refered to the processes a learner goes through to determine how past learning experiences led them to take actions and what exploration of connections between the knowledge that was taught and the learner's ideas about them. Students can use an ePortfolio system as a powerful tool for self-reflection promotion throughout their future academic careers (Campbell & Tran, 2021). Campbell and Tran found that the ePortfolio was an important part of course design and allowed student self-reflection, which in turn promoted student learning. Campbell and Tran also found that self-reflection has a positive impact on student performance and enhances student self-efficacy and resilience.

What is self-regulated learning? According to Segran and Hasim (2021), Self-regulated learning (SRL) requires that students be self-motivated to reach the goals they set for themselves as they self-monitor throughout the learning process. Due to this, students must individually plan, manage, and access their learning (Segran and Hasim, 2021). Reflection is key to being self-regulated: Reflection helps a learner to assess his or her learning techniques which, in the case of the ePortfolio, are captured in an online platform (Segran and Hasim, 2021).

COVA

COVA is a learner-centered active learning approach that gives individuals choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning experiences (Harapnuik, n.d). Electronic portfolios include all the elements described in COVA. The advantage of e-portfolios is that they give students a choice and ownership over their learning. Students can choose what to include in their portfolios and how they want to present (voice) it. This allows them to be more authentic in their work and showcase their best skills and abilities.

Learners are given choice in how they wish to organize, structure, and present their learning experiences and evidence of learning (Harapnuik, n.d). Choice also extends to the actual project or learning experience (Harapnuik, n.d).

Learners are allocated control and ownership over the entire learning journey, which includes the selection of projects, the ePortfolio process, and all their learning tools (Harapnuik, n.d). Compared with other applications and technology seen in universities, such as learning management systems, ePortfolios provide students more ownership of their work, as students at times can grant access to their own ePortfolios, as well as retain materials after graduating (Hay & Xu, 2019).

Learners are given a chance to utilize their own voices to build their work and ideas and share those visions and knowledge with their colleagues within their organizations (Harapnuik, n.d). Students learn to trust their inner voice by gaining an increased understanding of their own views (Buyarski et al., 2015)

Learners are given a chance to select and engage in authentic learning opportunities that help them make a real difference in their learning environments (Harapnuik, n.d). The ePortfolio allows learners to reflect on their learning and connect with the authentic world around them.

Parent-Teacher Discourse through E-portfolio

Parent-teacher communication can be enhanced with the help of eportfolios. Parental engagement is imperative in education. A child's success in school is often related to the level of engagement and support they receive from their parents. In order for schools to be successful, it is vital that parents are active participants in their children. Parents reported that having knowledge about their child's activities led to more meaningful discussions with their child (Higgins & Cherrington, 2017). Higgins and Cherrington (2017) said the ePortfolio platform offered tools that were unavailable via hard-copy portfolios. Higgins and Cherrington highlight that the online communication supported by an electronic portfolio enhances and reinforces the real-time face-to-face communications between parents and teachers, teachers and teachers, and families and children. Fox (2017) found that parents and teachers participating felt that the ePortfolio helped strengthen relationships with each other.

Conclusion

The eportfolio provides many benefits for student learning. They allow students to choose and showcase their work in creative ways., They also provide a space for reflection and growth, which can help improve skills and knowledge. The use of an eportfolio increases parent and teacher communication. EPortfolios are an excellent way to document a learning journey and can be a valuable resource for educators and students.

References

Ark, T. V. (2015, August 13). Every student should have a digital portfolio. Retrieved from http://www.gettingsmart.com/2015/06/every-student-should-have-a-digital-portfolio/

Bowman, J., Lowe, B. J., Sabourin, K., & Sweet, C. S. (2016). The Use of ePortfolios to support metacognitive practice in a first-year writing program. International Journal of EPortfolio, 6(1), 1–22.

Buyarski, C. A., Aaron, R. W., Hansen, M. J., Hollingsworth, C. D., Johnson, C. A., Kahn, S., Landis, C. M., Pedersen, J. S., & Powell, A. A. (2015). Purpose and pedagogy: A conceptual model for an ePortfolio. Theory Into Practice, 54(4), 283–291. https://doi-org.libproxy.lamar.edu/10.1080/00405841.2015.1076691

Campbell, C., & Tran, T. L. N. (2021). Using an implementation trial of an eportfolio system to promote student learning through self-reflection: Leveraging the success reflection: Leveraging the success” Education Sciences, 11.

Cousins, J. (2016). Student assessment and the ePortfolio. Assessment Update, 28(2), 5–14. https://doi-org.libproxy.lamar.edu/10.1002/au.30052

Fox, D. K. (2017) Technology and the classroom; bringing twenty-first century technologies to the law library. AALL Spectrum, 21(5), 32-35.

Harapnuik, D. (n.d.). COVA [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6991

Hay, S., & Hongying Xu. (2019). ePortfolios for Assessment Purposes in the Foreign Language Classroom: A Project Outline. Materialien Deutsch Als Fremd- Und Zweitsprache, 102, 131–146.

Higgins, A., & Cherrington, S. (2017). What’s the story? Exploring parent--teacher communication through ePortfolios. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 42(4), 13–21. https://doi-org.libproxy.lamar.edu/10.23965/AJEC.42.4.02

Lehman, R. M., Mills, M. D., Gupta, R., & Calderon, O. (2021). Pedagogical intersections: ePortfolio practice and essential learning outcomes for 21st century success. New Directions for Teaching & Learning, Vol. 2021(166), 59–91. https://doi-org.libproxy.lamar.edu/10.1002/tl.20452

Saarinen, A., Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, P., & Hakkarainen, K. (2016). The Functions and Benefits of the ePortfolio in Craft Education at the Primary Level. Design and Technology Education, 21(3), 29–40.

Segaran, M. K., & Hasim, Z. (2021). Self-Regulated Learning through ePortfolio: A Meta-Analysis. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction, 18(1), 131–156.

Tangdhanakanond, K., & Archwamety, T. (2019). Teachers’ Misconceptions and Current Performance in Implementing Student Portfolio Assessment in Elementary Schools in Thailand. International Journal of Psychology: A Biopsychosocial Approach / Tarptautinis Psichologijos Zurnalas: Biopsichosocialinis Poziuris, 23, 39-62. https://doi-org.libproxy.lamar.edu/10.7220/2345-024X.23.2