ePortfolios

Beyond assessment to empowerment in the learning landscape

Abstract

The purpose of education is to allow each individual to come into full possession of his or her personal power (Dewey, 1938, p. 10).

Over the past decade, Universities in Australia have experienced a shift towards outcomes- based education. Since 2000 in particular there has been an increased emphasis on core, generic skill development as this relates to course outcomes in individual programs. This paper investigates the implementation of ePortfolios as a means of assessing student achievement and development in the Bachelor of Education Program at a Western Australian University. The complex process of embedding and developing the ePortfolios is discussed, including the stages throughout the four year degree where they are assessed.

The key factor of student ownership is examined as one of the most powerful elements of building such an assessment protocol. This paper describes the outcomes of a content analysis which has been conducted upon two of the major course outcomes as represented in the ePortfolio student sample. The students also participated in an open-ended questionnaire which asked them to reflect upon their experiences with the development of their ePortfolio in terms of intended and unintended outcomes as well as their attitudes towards the process used, how the ePortfolios related to overall learning outcomes of the program and their perceptions of future ePortfolio use.