From Classroom to Career Development Planning: Eportfolio Use Examples

Abstract

Abstract-In this paper we will present several examples of different maturity levels of ePortfolio usage at the Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb, Croatia. Firstly, we will illustrate basic in-class uses of ePortfolio in which students are introduced with the ePortfolio concept, self-reflection, self-monitoring and knowledge management. The primary goal of this phase is to show students how to record, plan and improve their professional skills in order to facilitate their preparation for the labour market. This phase is also aimed at recording and showcasing of students' work and self-assessment. The second example of ePortfolio usage in this paper concerns self-guidance monitoring at the postgraduate level, where it is used to monitor the activities and progress of PhD students as well as to simplify communication between supervisors and doctoral candidates. In addition, by using the ePortfolio pattern, doctoral students are encouraged to start planning their careers as scientific researchers and experts. Finally, we introduce an example of using ePortfolios for academic human resources management as part of institutional quality assurance. For that purpose, a career development plan was developed to collect and monitor the work and progress of academic staff (both young researchers and teaching assistants).

Assessment of E-Portfolio in Higher Education

“…At Sookmyung Women's University (Seoul, South Korea), an e-portfolio is used as a tool for reflection on learning and professional development, as well as assessment. Students can create a product, process, or demo portfolio [31] based on their professional goals; they choose artifacts and write reflections on them in accordance with the overall goals of the portfolio. Artifacts are the product of various projects presented throughout the course improved after receiving feedback from the teacher and allowing students to assess their own progress.…”

International Perspectives on ePortfolios in Higher Education: Case Studies from Asia, North America and Europe

“…Regarding success factors, in the U.S. and South Korean cases, the flexibility of platform and types of artifacts to include was perceived as motivating by the students. Furthermore, the South Korean case allowed students the option to choose between doing a Product, Process or Showcase portfolio [4], [27]. The availability of choice promoted a personal connection and a sense of ownership to the resulting website.…”

“…Students can choose between doing a Process, Product, or Showcase portfolio [4], [27] whichever is more suited to their professional goals. They can also choose which platform they wish to use develop their ePortfolios (e.g.…”

“…In this information age, where technology exerts an ever-increasing influence in educational settings across the globe, ePortfolios are steadily replacing traditional paper-based portfolios in higher education programs as tools for reflection, professional development and assessment [1], [10], [22], [27], [32], [33]. Eynon and Gambino (2017) [12] define student ePortfolios as "web-based, student-generated collections of learning artifacts (papers, multimedia projects, speeches, images, etc.)…”

Adults and Children Engaging With Eportfolios in an Early Childhood Education Setting

“…ePortfolios can be valuable for accountability and accreditation (Lumsden, 2007) for tertiary teachers and providers. Samardzija and Balaban (2014) also suggest that they can be used to help academics design their career aspirations, and for institutions to support this development. For students, ePortfolios have the benefit of allowing them unlimited storage space (Ledoux & McHenry, 2006;Ntuli, Keengwe, & KyeiBlankson, 2009), assisting them in becoming reflective practitioners (Chambers & Wickersham, 2007;Ledoux & McHenry, 2006), and as a possible tool for future employment (Boulton, 2014;Goldsmith, 2007;Heinrich et al, 2007).…”