Center for Academic Innovation

What is an E-portfolio?

E-portfolios are a purposeful selection of artifacts together with reflections that represent some aspect of the owner's learning. (Lorenzo & Ittelson, 2005) They create online spaces for faculty and students to communicate, share, reflect and collaborate in and outside of the classroom. Darren Cambridge author of Eportfolios for Lifelong Learning and Assessments   describes E-portfolio as a  genre  rather than a  technology  because it embeds social practices and forms of meaning. The key elements are evidence of learning, reflection on evidence, and connecting evidence and reflections to a shared standard.  

What is it Good For?

It depends on who you ask.  E-Portfolios are excellent for integrating into and improving existing learning and assessments activities. 

There is an extensive body of evidence demonstrating the impact of E-portfolios on learning and assessment. The use of E-portfolios has been linked to increased reflective and metacognitive abilities, student engagement, retention, developing learning skills, self-efficacy, self-regulation, and establishing a professional and disciplinary identity.  (Cambridge, 2009)

E-portfolios can be divided into six major functions:

1. showcasing and sharing learning artifacts
2. documenting knowledge, skills, abilities, and learning
3. tracking program development
4. career search
5. course evaluation
6. developing reflective and metacognitive abilities

What learning activities fit well with e-Portfolios?

One of the big ideas of a college education is to build the skill to reflect and even to reflect on your own reflections. One idea to develop this skill is to prompt students periodically (beginning, middle, and end of a semester) with a guided reflection activity within their e-Portfolio.

Guided Reflective Thinking

• Beginning of the semester: What is reflection? What is action? What do you think we will do to learn about reflection and action in this course?
• Middle of the semester: Considering our course readings, and learning activities thus far, have your ideas on reflection and action changed? If so, how and why have they changed? If not, why do you think that is?
• End of the semester: What were the most important things you learned about reflection and action this semester? What learning activities such as discussions and class readings were most significant to you and why?

 More ideas from Cornell University Center for Teaching Excellence

How do I get started?

At A&M-SA, our official platform for e-portfolios is Digication. Below are additional self-help resources and tutorials! If you are interested in creating program and/or course level e-portfolios, please contact your Center for Academic Innovation Staff.  

• Texas A&M University-San Antonio - Eportfolio/ Digication Website

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