eLearning Portfolios

What is an Electronic Learning Portfolio?

Electronic Learning Portfolios (ELPs) represent an emerging practice across higher education that not only serves as a more compelling source of evidence for student learning and aptitude, rather than mere grades and GPAs, they also promote deeper and more durable learning as the practice itself is grounded in how people learn. Reflection, self-assessment, evidence gathering, curation and presentation are all key factors in the learning process. A third benefit is that upon graduation, student will be able to use their learning portfolio as a promotional tool for future employers. In general, a portfolio is simply a composite of an individual’s (or group’s) best work. Artists, architects, lawyers all use portfolios to court clients and/or employers. A learning portfolio is what students use to capture the important mile-markers of their learning experiences coupled with their own reflective commentary on the extent to which these experiences are preparing them for certain career paths. An electronic learning portfolio is simply a way of presenting your portfolio in a digital format - in our case, it will be a bog platform. Professors are now turning to electronic teaching portfolios as a way to demonstrate their growth and effectiveness as teachers. Absent a teaching portfolio, all we would have to go by are the end of course evaluations! Absent a learning portfolio, all students would have is a resume or vita, and a cover letter. 

What goes into an Electronic Learning Portfolio? 

At the core, an ELP contains (1) a narrative that outlines the trajectory of your academic / career path, (2) the evidence (data) that you will accumulate over the course of your graduate school experience that will serve as evidence of your learning / progress, and (3) your reflections on your learning experiences. In some cases you will simply use evidence that may already exist (writing samples, data analysis, projects - the kinds of things you would produce for a class), or you may have to seek or generate your own evidence (letters of recommendation, classroom observations, paper presentations at conferences, etc. ).

Narrative 

• • Personal statement (see below)

  • Undergraduate experience, graduate experience, career aspirations / goals

  • What skills, methods, experiences (see essential learning outcomes below) are you currently seeking to improve in order to be successful in your career path

  • Where do you see yourself in 5 years and how do you plan to get there

  • You may also want to post a work plan, or learning path - a semester by semester plan for evidence gathering

Evidence

• • Personal – papers, projects, posters, grades, video/audio, vita/resume

  • Peer – written feedback, peer guided - assessment

  • Professional – awards, distinctions, letters of recommendation, etc.

  • Remember, all of your evidence will need to be digitized if it isn’t already (scan, save, store, back-up)

Reflections

• • How do you learn best? 

  • What are you thoughts / feeling as you head into your first semester?

  • What are you thoughts / feeling after your first semester?

  • What are you thoughts / feeling regarding your achievements, or a specific achievement?

  • Knowing what you know now, what would you tell yourself when you first entered the program?

Assessment

• • Self-Assessment - Ultimately, you are the most important assessor in the equation. As you accumulate more and more evidence, you will need to curate your evidence in order to privilege your best work over your most recent best. you may also find better ways to present your work in an online digital format

  • Peer-Assessment - seek feedback from your own cohort, as well as those the may have preceded you by a year or two.

  • Faculty-Assessment - members of the graduate program committee will provide feedback at the end of each semester over the first two years.