eportfolio book review

Electronic Portfolios: Personal Information, Personal Development and Personal Values.

Electronic Portfolios: Personal Information, Personal Development and Personal Values.








This book was written by Simon Grant of JISC CETIS fame, covers all things eportfolio.  It’s a very easy book to digest for senior managers, and practitioners alike who need to know, “just what is an eportfolio, and why and what would we need it for”? Dip into the bits you need and pass it onto others.
The book begins with an overview of current thinking; by identify 4 primary areas of use;

• Supporting the overall learning process ing
• Supporting transitions between learning experiences or learning organisations
• Assessing the learning process
• Presenting the outcomes of the learning processes

Ref: http://wiki.rscwmsystems.org.uk/index.php/Eportfolios  (see BECTA video which also explains these areas – link on above page).
Simon then complements the above areas of eportfolio “use” with 3 primary principles, namely;

1.     

1. Purpose – usually very specific (assessment, reflection, CPD, PDP, etc);

2.    Information – personalised – which is the underlying message of the book. The eportfolio owner chooses to share the contents with whomever and whenever they choose;

3.    Functionality – what bells and whistles can the platforms offer? Or indeed what kind of learning approach is afforded by its interface + feature set.

Simon argues that if we remove any of these 3 pillars, our ability to understand eportfolio based learning and try and implement or support it becomes implausible. 

 
The book is fronted by a chapter on typical scenarios which help to contextualise all of the possible uses of an eportfolio that are currently being implemented in academic, work, and professional (CPD) areas.  These scenarios help to set the scene and guide readers through this daunting subject area. 


 
The book does not purport to give you the answer to which platform to choose, but it does give a well thought out set of guides, underlying principles, and current practice, that will help inform all interested stakeholders.
See also:

• ‘Study on the role of e-portfolios in formative and summative assessment practices’ by a team led by the Centre of Recording Achievement, is now available from: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/eportfolios/studyontheroleofeportfolios.aspx
  

• http://kev-brace.blogspot.com/2009/10/eportoflio-evaluation-survey.html (current evaluation of popular eportfolio platforms)
• http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/e-portfolios (a very comprehensive guide)
• http://www.qaa.ac.uk/scotland/PDP/PDP.asp  (Effective PDP planning)
• http://delaney.typepad.com/files/e-portfolios.pdf (the state of play in the USA)
• http://www.wlecentre.ac.uk/cms/files/occasionalpapers/op5_eportfolios_models_and_implementation.pdf 

(this paper explores the use of ePortfolio tools to support teaching, learning and the personal and professional development of postgraduate students at the Institute of Education (IOE). The needs of tutors and students are considered alongside the affordances and limitations of specific tools in relation to these needs.)