How important is a portfolio? By Nelson Dordelly-Rosales

An e-portfolio on educational research provides us with the opportunity to share our views about this important field. The challenge to shift to new strategies to assess academic success entails many decisions and changes. This portfolio aims to select, collect, reflect and connect links and publications providing the opportunity for feedback. The focus is on introduction to educational research using an e-portfolio. Through this activity I show that designing an e-portfolio is a matter of assessment and decision making process: Why e-portfolio is a decision-making process to assessing academic success? How do I make e-portfolio decision-making an ongoing and consistent process to assess academic success?According to George Lorenzo and John Ittelson (2005) portfolios can help show the student’s talents; that is, students will be able to display their best products by creating their portfolios. In addition, “positive effects on students’ learning have occurred through the use of portfolio assessment” (Hewett, 2008 p. 3202). E-portfolios “have opened the doors to many opportunities for the person who has a professionally organized display of their finest works” (Hewett, 2008 p. 3200).

How to design an e-portfolio?

1. An Overview of E-Portfolios
- What is a portfolio and why use a portfolio?
- How to develop an e-portfolio: a multidimensional process
- Key Steps in Portfolio Design.
- E-Portfolios in Higher Education

2. E-portfolio as a different way to assess academic success
- A multi-faceted process
- Candidate-centered
- Development of effective e-portfolio:
a) Collection and Selection
b) Reflection and Direction
c) Connection and Publication

3. E-portfolio as a decision-making process to assess academic success: How do I make e-portfolio decision-making an ongoing and consistent process to assess academic success?

Decision 1 Audience: Who should be involved?
Decision 2 Outcomes: What are the purposes?
Decision 3 Contents: What do I need to know?
Decision 4 Strategies: How and when to accomplish the assessment?
Decision 5 Evaluation: Is it an ongoing improvement process?
Continuous process of evaluation and future use

Conclusion and suggestions for future research

Bibliography

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