Presentation from the 2017 Faculty Summer Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

1. BRIDGING THE GAP
WITH
ePORTFOLIOS
Laura Hill and Daniel Hahn
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2. THE GROWTH OF ePORTFOLIOS
• As of 2013, an ePortfolio experience was offered by more than 50% of US
universities
• Especially used in professional disciplines
• Dedicated scholarly journals (International Journal of ePorftolio, started 2011)

3. THE VALUE OF ePORTFOLIOS
• For summative assessment
• To document students’ developmental process throughout an academic
program
• For program review and accreditation
• To capture evolving professional competence and facilitate lifelong learning
• To help students’ reflective process through sharing and evaluating fellow
students’ ePortfolios
•As a tool for job searches

4. RECENT LITERATURE AND RESEARCH
• Integrative eportfolio practice improves student success, as shown by
increased retention rates; it supports reflection as connection (as stated by
Dewey) and encourages deep learning (Eynon, Gambino & Torok, 2014)
•The potential for the technological and organizational aspects of ePortfolio
creation to overwhelm some students, and therefore the need for hands-on
training and the availability of model ePortfolios (Wakimoto & Lewis, 2014)
•The need to provide students with an ePortfolio template to reduce
ambiguity and lessen anxiety, and to provide ongoing technical support to
students and instructors (Janosik & Frank, 2013)

5. PRESENTING OUR EXPERIENCE:
ePORTFOLIOS IN A LANGUAGE-TEACHING METHODS SEMINAR
• The course and the students
• The role of ePortfolios
• Training provided to students and instructor
• Presenting students’ artifacts
• Students’ perception of the tool

6. THE COURSE AND THE STUDENTS
•French 505/Italian 505 (Teaching Secondary and College French and Italian)
• Required of new teaching assistants in the Department of French and Italian
at UIUC
•Fall 2016: 6 graduate students (4 in French, 2 in Italian) teaching their first
semester at UIUC (2 from the US, 1 from France, 1 from Belgium, 1 from Iran,
1 from Italy)
•None had previously used ePortfolios
•Rationale for ePortfolios: to stimulate reflection and professional growth,
prepare for job searches, and for summative assessment in the course

7. THE TOOL AND THE PROJECTS
• Digication on Compass2g course site (Blackboard Learn)
• 3 assignments: “create a Vocabulary lesson, a Grammar lesson, and a Culture
lesson on topics of your choice related to the course you currently teach”
• Students were encouraged to include pictures, video and other media, as
well as a PowerPoint presentation
•They were also asked to provide comments to classmates’ artifacts
• Template was made available (created by instructor)
• Training at the start of the course

8. Tech Overview

9. Orientation
For Students
• Upload a Word Document
• Create a recorded mini-lecture
• Use assigned template
• Publish ePortfolio
• Social Component: how
to comment on another ePortfolio
For Us
• Create the training manual by
becoming a student
• Learning the nuances: Course
Copy & Grading using rubric
• Bridging Digication & Mediaspace

10. Digication and Illinois Mediaspace

11. Resources
Capturespace:
go.illinois.edu/capturespace
Digication channel:
go.illinois.edu/portfoliochannel
Digication link for Illinois affiliates:
go.illinois.edu/digication

12. Summary
Professional Development
&
Concrete Artifact

13. THE RUBRIC
Altogether, eportfolios accounted for 15% of the final grade

14. STUDENT PERCEPTION OF THE TOOL
Final course evaluations pointed out some areas in need of reconsideration:
• “Clearer directions” for eportfolios assignments
• “More time” to complete assignments (two weeks per assignment not
sufficient)
• “More weight” towards final grade in the course

15. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Eynon, B. , Gambino, L. & Torok, J. (2014). What Difference Can ePortfolio Make? A Field
Report from the Connect to Learning Project. International Journal of ePortfolio, 4(1), 95-
114.
Wakimoto, D. & Lewis, R. (2014). Graduate Student Perceptions of ePortfolios: Uses for
Reflection, Development and Assessment. Internet and Higher Education, 21(2014), 53-58.
Babaee, M and Swabey, KJ, et al. (2014). A theoretical framework for use of e-portfolios:
A combination of constructivism, SAL and the 3P model, Proceedings of IAC-ETeL 2014,
28 February - 1 March 2014, Prague, Czech Republic, pp. 1-8.
Janosik, D. & Frank, T. (2013). Using ePortfolios to Measure Student Learning in a
Graduade Preparation Program in Higher Education. International Journal of ePortfolio,
3(1), 13-20.