Embedded Files
Integrating ePortfolios into Online Teacher Education Coursework
Firefly Landing @ Indiana State Museum
The goals for this course, T320: Sociocultural Learning in Urban Elementary Schools, are to provide teacher candidates with opportunities to apply “theory to practice” by making connections between concepts/theories presented in their early childhood education coursework and clinical field experiences. Another goal of this course is to develop students’ capacity to make interdisciplinary connections between teaching methods courses that impact positively impact teaching, learning, and child development in early childhood education spaces. Throughout the semester, students were enrolled in 6 other courses focused on teaching methods for math, literacy/language, social studies, art, music, and science. ePortfolios were used throughout the Spring 2026 semester as repository for the various artifacts (photos, videos, lesson plan PDF’s, critical self-reflective narratives, etc) that allowed students to demonstrate their capacity to plan interdisciplinary instruction and engage young learners. Teacher candidates and critically reflected on their in-person clinical field experiences associated with this course. Consequently, ePortfolios served as an assessment of student learning and engagenment during their online coursework and clinical field experiences throughout the semester.
My Goals for Implementing for ePortfolios
My Goals for Implementing for ePortfolios
Foster engagement and teacher identity in an online teacher education program
Cultivate teacher candidates' praxis, or ability to apply learning theories to their teaching practices
Provide opportunities for teacher candidates to demonstrate competencies in interdisciplinary, inquiry-based, and culturally responsive lesson planning and design of early childhood learning environments
Support students' critical thinking and professionalism
Encourage critical self-reflection and embrace the roles of researcher, learner, collaborator, and positive change agent
Document their engagement in the community and learning with young children in local early childhood education settings
SP26_T320_Syllabus (1).pdfOriginal Syllabus
Original Syllabus
Copy of T320 Syllabus (ePorfolio addendum).pdfePortfolio-Implemented Syllabus
ePortfolio-Implemented Syllabus
My Role as Primary Investigator for Implementing for ePortfolios
My Role as Primary Investigator for Implementing for ePortfolios
My role as primary investigator was to examine the ways that ePortfolios:
Deepened student engagement and learning in an online teacher education course
Cultivated students' connections between learning theory and teaching practices
Fostered teacher candidates' understanding of lesson planning and design
My Reflection on the ePortfolio Integration Experience: Huge learning curve but worth the risk
My Reflection on the ePortfolio Integration Experience: Huge learning curve but worth the risk
ePortfolios helped me cultivate a Third Space, an engaging online learning environment with 15 teacher candidates.
Using ePortfolios, teacher candidates were able to:
co-construct their new understandings of teaching and learning in an online platform/learning space
demonstrate their connections between theory to practice with digital media creativity and interdisciplinary lesson planning and design
cultivate opportunities for student ownership of learning and critical self-reflection of identity as future educator
Having a great time with provocations
Students loved the read alouds!
Learning about curriculum and instruction design
Students loved the provocations!
Wins
Learned more about my students and their identities as learners and future teachers and, therefore, fostered stronger student-teacher relationships
Increased student engagement and learning overall during clinical field experiences
Increased student collaboration, problem solving, and cooperation in group work and independent work
Google Photos for shared access to photos during clinical field experiences fostered engagement as a learning community
Challenges
ECE Program is 100% online EXCEPT: 4 in-person clinical field experiences
T320- online adaptation of an El Ed course (in-person)
Missed opportunity for teacher candidates to share/present ePortfolios with authentic audience
My unfamiliarity with Google Sites
Lessons Learned
Students expressed that the pre-made template was very beneficial for getting started and staying engaged in ePortfolio assignments.
Students expressed that the ePortfolio workshop with Liz was critical to their success use throughout the semester.
Students expressed gratitude for time to complete ePortfolios based assignments together during clinical field experiences.
Next Steps
Implement ePortfolios based assignments in each of 4 clinical field experience courses (M301, M304, M305, M423) and their Canvas sites
Integrate time to share to authentic audience (peers and mentor teachers) during last clinical field experience
Integrate more specific rubrics and examples/exemplars into the assignments
Use my ePortfolio to "tell the story" of the program to department chair, dean, potential and new students
Christina Shine
Christina Shine
Great example of
Nyasia Sanders
Nyasia Sanders
Great example of
Josalyn Kohlberg
Josalyn Kohlberg
Great example of
Field Experience #1:
St. Mary's Early Childhood Education Center
Field Experience #2:
Firefly Landing @ Indiana State Museum
Field Experience #3:
Indianapolis Public Library @ Fort Ben
Field Experience #4:
Celebration @ Jockamo's Pizza
COP Presentation
COP Presentation
May 8th, 2026 @ 11a.m.
Via Zoom
Colleagues in the Community of Practice
Department Peer Presentation
Department Peer Presentation
Day/Date
Location
Audience
Local, National, or International Presentation or Publishing [optional]
Local, National, or International Presentation or Publishing [optional]
Day/Date
Location
Audience
3a7ea220-8b06-4348-bbc6-741119a9d0e6.pdfSpring 2026 Pre Survey Results
Spring 2026 Pre Survey Results
Information across the full cohort, including every student that submitted after January 13th, start of semester.
Class Specific Pre Survey Results
Class Specific Pre Survey Results
Post Course Results for eP.pdfSpring 2026 Post Survey Results
Spring 2026 Post Survey Results
Information across the full cohort
Post Course Results for T320.pdfClass Specific Post Survey Results
Class Specific Post Survey Results
Certificate of Completion
Certificate of Completion
IU_IEL_Workshop_Certificates_Bangert.pdfCertification of Workshop Completion
Certification of Workshop Completion
Letter of Completion
Letter of Completion
CONGRATULATIONS on your completion of the ePortfolio Institute!
You played a valuable role in our faculty cohort; we served 130 students as part of the Spring of 2026 IEL ePortfolio Institute. Your contributions to the institute added an experiential component to student engagement, helped students become more technology-savvy, and expanded students' openness to new technologies.
Your successful integration of a High-Impact Practice into your course helps IU Indianapolis support students as they develop expertise in their chosen field/s and expand their career readiness skills. These are important steps in navigating IUI's Path to 2030 and Beyond.
VERIFICATION OF WORK COMPLETED
This correspondence serves as verification that you completed the "When Done Well" institute requirements which included:
AWARDED FUNDING: As a finalist/participant in the "When Done Well" ePortfolio Institute: You responded to a CPF [75% acceptance rate] and were awarded $1,500 in funding for integration of ePortfolios into your course
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: You participated in full-day workshop as part of your professional development in the "When Done Well" High-Impact Curricular Engagement Institute
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: You participated in the ePortfolio Community of Practice
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: You participated in the ePortfolio Faculty Learning Community
SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING [SOTL]: You supported opportunities for your students to participate in a multi-year, ePortfolio study of student perceptions of ePortfolio curriculum and the benefits of ePortfolio integration into the curriculum
INVITED PRESENTATION: As an invited presenter, you presented your ePortfolio work in an IUI, Institute for Engaged Learning, Community Of Practice: Zoom webinar
OPEN-SOURCE, COHORT PUBLICATION: You had the option to publish your work in an open-source ePortfolio pedagogy website which includes details of your ePortfolio integration experiences, samples of students' work, and reflection
Access to your COP Presentations
As part of the Institute, you presented your ePortfolios integration/optimization in your course for the previous semester. You can NOW access the entire presentation, featuring other faculty, on our shared Google Sites page.
ACCESS YOUR STUDENTS' SURVEY RESPONSES: ePORTFOLIO SURVEY RESULTS ARE IN
As part of your contributions, you were asked to have students respond to pre/post surveys of ePortfolio use in your course. Students reported benefits from ePortfolio integrations. You can access cohort survey responses and your disaggregated student responses on your ePortfolio participant page.
With Your Help the ePortfolio Showcase Topped 1,400 Student Entries
The IU Indianapolis is officially the largest open-source repository of public-facing, student ePortfolios. In May, the Showcase topped 1,400 entries and is itself an example of engaged learning in action. Thank you for encouraging your students to participate and helping us reach this milestone.
CONTINUING YOUR WORK with ePORTFOLIOS:
Collect Surveys + Require Student ePortfolio Showcase Participation
You are welcome to continue ePortfolio surveys of your students. Our team will add these to your ePortfolio Participant page each semester that students identify you as the faculty member. NOTE: The old survey links are closing as we pilot new HICE surveys. Please stay tuned for the new and improved survey links!
Please continue to encourage students to share their work in the Engaged Learning & ePortfolio Showcase. The best way to get students to participate is through a point-bearing Canvas Assignments. The Showcase as a "public display of disciplinary competency" shows that your class meets this Essential Element of a High-Impact Practice. Students benefit from creating work that targets audiences beyond the classroom and can use their Showcase entry as a way to expand their digital footprint and to take control of their professional persona.
The ePortfolio Team is here to support your continued work with ePortfolios.
As you continue your work with ePortfolios, our IEL team is here to meet with you, to build ePortfolio tools to support your work, to help with design of research/analysis tools, to explore dissemination options, and to connect you with grant opportunities. Please email anytime to talk about your ePortfolio work or to share success stories.
We invite you to work with The Institute for Engaged Learning as you pursue other high-impact curricular practices. Please watch your email for future HIP opportunities and contact eportfol@iu.edu with any questions.
Best Regards,
Caitlin Lowenthal
Dissemination
Dissemination
Grant recipients have been asked to:
Present at a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) or Community of Practice (COP) Zoom for the Grant
Share aspects of their work with peers [department chairs, program cohorts/faculty, department faculty meeting]
Response to a Call for Proposals (CFP) or Consider presenting or publishing locally, nationally, or internationally [optional]
Use the space below to highlight this.
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