ePortfolio practices and technologies have enjoyed increased notoriety through the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to be offered (sometimes incorrectly) as a potential solution to mitigating risks of student use of AI. Regardless of their feasibility for academic integrity, ePortfolio practices and instructional design can help us in redefining the purpose and pedagogies relevant to higher education in an AI-driven world (Lodge et al, 2023).
ePortfolios are however not without their challenges in implementation. Arguably, they are challenging because they require dramatic shifts from educators and support teams – philosophically, pedagogically, technologically, ethically, and logistically/administratively. They often require a whole of program and teaching team approach to see impactful results (Watson, Kuh, Rhodes, Penny Light, & Chen, 2016), the logistics of which can be a challenge in the often siloed and reactive world of higher education. The technologies involved may also place barriers in the way – whether through overly complex design, or insufficient functionality.
Drawing on literature and my own experience as a learning designer, I plan to highlight these challenges as a launching point to discuss practical strategies for scalable, sustainable and systemic ePortfolio implementation. I will discuss the ways in which we need to consider ePortfolios as entangled pedagogy (Fawns, 2022). I will then share examples of reflection activities and templates using tools such as H5P as a low-barrier to entry point for ePortfolio practices. I will also share some approaches to learning design and partnership that may work at programmatic and systemic levels - needed not just for successful ePortfolio implementation, but for robust assessment and holistic student experience.
Open Zoom
