Engaging Assessment with Efolios

Stuart Sims, Becky Holman & Simon Archer

1.00pm to 2.00pm

This session will introduce the Mahara platform for electronic portfolios. This will include a discussion of how portfolios can be an effective tool for formative and summative assessment, particularly with students at a distance. The diversity of assessment type coupled with an iterative approach can facilitate engagement over longer periods of time and support personal development Lopez-Fernandez & Rodriguez-Illera, 2009). Portfolios also allow students to make linkages between related concepts which often appear separate, due to this integrative approach (Bhattacharya, & Hartnett, 2007) We will unpack the collaborative and community focused potential of these platforms, drawing on real example assessments used on the Academic Professional Apprenticeship course and the reflections of a course member.

Session Aims

The aims of this session are to:

• Understand the practical elements of using the Mahara Efolio system

• Explore the benefits of using portfolio assessment to structure distance and blended learning

• Engage with real example assessments of best practice