Electronic Portfolios: Why Now?

Multiple factors drive the mushrooming practice of electronic portfolios. Diverse students coming to college with job-related goals, moving among institutions on the way to degrees, and requiring lifelong learning learn from portfolios about self-assessment, their own learning processes, and representing competencies rather than course credits. Faculty members in all disciplines examine their pedagogies in light of student learning, design inquiries open for peer review and use, and use portfolios to document their learning over time. Colleges and universities address many publics who have different questions about how and what students learn at their institutions. Portfolios can connect student, faculty, and institutional learning in innovative ways. Let's discuss how e-portfolios contribute to learning, assessing, and accountability.