Conversation around ePortfolios lately has turned to the layered benefits of having students use digital workspaces to think more intentionally about their learning and make connections across the curriculum.
The Georgetown University ePortfolio Initiative builds coherence around three main principles: making reflection an integral part of learning (metacognition), making connections across courses and programs (integrative learning), and highlighting the social component of learning (social pedagogies). The initiative’s focus on principles that are consistent with the University’s ideals and values is expressive of the unique character of the Georgetown University ePortfolio Initiative.
Students in Betsi Stephen’s STIA honors program in the School of Foreign Service create ePortfolios which allow them to synthesize the interdisciplinary work that they have done over the course of their degree at Georgetown.
Adam Rothman uses what we describe as the "hub and spoke" model in his history courses, which combines a course blog and ePortfolios to encourage students through a synthesis of collaboration and ownership. This integration of shared (the course blog) and individual (each ePortfolio) gives students a chance to participate on multiple levels as well as complete the course with an ePortfolio to continue to build up or share.
As students in the Masters in Nursing Education program approach the end of their time in the program, they are required to build a portfolio to document their nursing education credentials and reflect on their growth as practitioners. While some students choose to create a traditional paper portfolio, others like Katherine elect to create an ePortfolio for its accessibility.
For more examples of ePortfolios and a fuller description of some popular ePortfolio models, please see the Commons page on ePortfolios.
Blogs: WordPress blogs provide a simple way to bring together the various elements of an ePortfolio. Through the Georgetown University Commons, Georgetown’s online space for collaboration and communication tools, students and faculty can explore examples of ePortfolio blogs and can adapt existing templates for their own use. As many students already use Commons blogs in courses, learning to use an ePortfolio blog requires little effort.
Digication ePortfolios: We are also piloting the Digication ePortfolio system at Georgetown. Digication offers a rich environment specifically structured to encourage thoughtful ePortfolio creation, and features designed for faculty offer incentive to use Digication ePortfolios at the course or curricular level. For more information about Digication ePortfolios, please email Anna Kruse.