1. ePortfolio Inquiry
Project
Zach Tucker

2. History
• ePortfolios find their roots in traditional paper
portfolios. These were used for collecting
personal info, sample work, evaluations, and
awards.
• “ePortfolios” came into existence in the early
1990s with the rise of internet capabilities.
• People could now upload their portfolios to an
online server and input texts, hyperlinks,
documents, multimedia, and more.

3. History of ePortfolios
• Today, ePortfolios are seeing more widespread
as more people understand their functions
and they become easier to use.
• "The History of ePortfolios." danwilton.com.
N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct 2011.
<http://www.danwilton.co
m/eportfolios/history.php>.

4. K-12 ePortfolios
• ePortfolios are used decidedly less in secondary
school than in college, most likely because college
students are looking to showcase their work for a
wider variety of goals, whereas most secondary
school students have a specific goal of getting
into college.
• GoogleApps divides its ePortfolios for K-12 into
three levels, with Level 1 being the simplest and
Level 3 the most advanced

5. K-12 ePortfolios
• Level 1 – Using an ePortfolio as storage
– Used by younger students because of their
inability to grasp the complexities of higher level
ePortfolios
– Focuses on content
• Level 2 – Using an ePortfolio as a workspace
– Used by mid-range students
– Focuses on reflection of learning and the
documentation of artifacts.

6. K-12 ePortfolios
• Level 3 – Using an ePortfolio as a showcase
– Used by the upper level secondary students
– Focused on the documentation of achievements
– Most similar to college ePortfolios, in that they have a
purpose other than being used for self-benefit.
• "ePortfolios with GoogleApps." GoogleApps.
Google, n.d. Web. 18 Oct 2011.
<http://sites.google.com/site/eportfolioapps/
overview/levels>.

7. College and Beyond
• College students most often use e-portfolios
to showcase their achievements.
• “An ePortfolio is in sense a very advanced
resume, in that it is a resume with other
media (pictures, videos, hyperlinks, letters of
reference, blurbs, etc…) attached. Everything
is then organized to show off the student to
potential employers.” –Zach Tucker

8. College and Beyond
• After college, students will most likely use their e-
portfolios for the same purpose (an advanced resume).
• Businesses may use an ePortfolio to show off the
business as a whole.
• Very professional people sometimes use multiple
ePortfolios to show off different aspects of their lives.
• Stringfellow, Angela. "About Business Potrfolios."
SoYouWanna?. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct 2011.
<http://www.soyouwanna.com/business-
portfolios-20147.html>.

9. Different Types of ePortfolios
• Foliotek
– The motto of this platform is “Assessment just got
easier”
– Suitable for users who have many files for their
ePortfolio
– It distinguishes students ePortfolios from
faculty/administrator ePortfolios
– Supposedly complicated and costs money

10. Different Types of ePortfolios
• Elgg
– A hybrid between social networking and
ePortfolios
– The platform allows for information to be put
together as a profile for others to view
– Similar to other social media sites, it has an “add a
friend” feature
– Enables the user to add information about past
and present life

11. Different Types of ePortfolios
• KEEP Toolkit
– Highly regarded by users
– Has a wide range of tools allowing users to do many
different things with their ePortfolio
– There are examples of ePortfolios to help users create
their own
– Allows webpages to be linked together like a website
– The most helpful of the platforms
• "Different Types of E Portfolio Platforms."
slideshare.net. 2007. Web. 19 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.slideshare.net/AGueva909/different-
types-of-e-portfolio-platforms>.

12. Limitations of ePortfolios
• Lack of Standardization
– Portfolios do not meet the requirements for
standardization because they are tailored to the individual
student.
• Not Feasible for Large Scale Learning Assessment
– Because of the un-standardized nature of the portfolios, a
single reviewer may see the work in the portfolio different
than another making it difficult to adequately assess the
student
– Also, though computer technology has come a long way in
grading, the technology cannot be used in this sense
because of the large scale un-standardized portfolios

13. Limitations of ePortfolios
• Bias
– A portfolio may include photographs, videos, or
other information about student identities
– Because of the lack of anonymity, reviewers may
inadvertently form biases about the student
• Shavelson, Richard, Stephen Klein, and Roger
Benjamin. "The Limitations of Portfolios."
Inside Higher Ed. N.p., 16 Oct 2009. Web. 19 Oct
2011. <http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2009
/10/16/shavelson>.