This paper discusses the findings of a research study concerning the use of e-portfolios to develop independent learning, from the perspectives of teachers and students in a Hong Kong university. While most of the findings confirm the value of e-portfolio practice reported in other contexts, they throw into relief a complicated interplay and conflict of factors that may thwart the good intentions of e-portfolio design and implementation. Insights derived from this research will illuminate the issues about eportfolio-mediated independent learning across a range of settings and learners.
IntroductionThe pace of utilising information technologies to support learning in higher education has accelerated over the past two decades, encouraged in part by research findings that technologies could provide improved support and added value for student learning. This development generally pursues two directions: through 'e-initiatives' adopted by educational institutions worldwide to formalise the process of assembling student work as a means to showcase student achievements over time (Foti & Ring, 2008;Meeus, Van Petegem & Engels, 2009), and secondly, through the use of participatory tools, including podcasts, wikis, blogs and other social networking software, to offer more personalised learning opportunities for students (Moskaliuk, Kimmerle & Cress, 2009;Richardson, 2009;Yang, 2009).As advocated by cognitive constructivism, students construct new knowledge based upon their prior experience and personal interpretation of the world rather than passive reception of information (Piaget, 1971). Hence, learning should build on students' existing knowledge about a given topic and improve this understanding (Kolb, 1984). However, the perception of traditional institutions being places that disengage learners persists: honest self-assessment is rarely encouraged, and 'learning and evaluation are not meaningful acts of improvement but detached and punitive symbols of failure ' (Abrami et al., 2008, online). One possible way to engender a paradigm shift to a more learner-centred approach is through the introduction of electronic portfolios (e-portfolios) to support learning (Herrington et al., 2009;Little, 2009;Stoicovy & Sanchez, 2007).Recent literature on e-portfolio practice validates e-portfolios as a platform which allows learners to collect, organise and present digital evidence in a variety of media types over time, for different purposes and audiences (Hartnell-Young et al., 2007; Chau and Cheng 933 Joyes, Gray & Hartnell-Young, 2010). In general, three types of purposes can be identified (Milman & Kilbane, 2005). The first purpose is for students to develop, demonstrate and reflect on their own learning (Stefani, Manson & Pegler, 2007; JISC, 2008). The second is to provide teachers with a form of assessment other than standardised testing, by capturing more fully the multi-faceted, complex nature of student learning (Cummins & Davesne, 2009), while the third is for graduates to showcase their competence to potential...