Many educators see e-portfolios as vital to learning, teaching and assessment. Our quick guide takes you through the basics.
What is an e-portfolio?
It is a digital presentation of a learner’s experiences, achievements and aspirations for a particular audience. It is much more than a paper portfolio, and the term often refers to the underlying tools, techniques and systems in addition to the content or work.
However, it is the learning that matters. Creating an e-portfolio involves skills essential for 21st-century learning – organising and planning material, giving and receiving feedback, reflecting, selecting and arranging content to effectively communicate with a particular audience.
These processes support an engaging and enriching experience for learners and staff.
What are they used for?
Different sectors, disciplines and professional bodies have their approaches, but our research shows that e-portfolios are valuable at all stages in the learning lifecycle.
A well-managed approach to e-portfolios offers students, staff and employers ways of:
- Evidencing employability skills and attributes
- Assessing learning in a more authentic way
- Making sense of learning and achievements across various parts of the curriculum
- Engaging with personal and continuing professional development
- Making coherent links between different stages of learning
- Achieving deeper learning through reflection and dialogue
- Developing lifelong learning skills
Further resources
Find inspiration and discover tips and strategies for implementing e-portfolios from our resources:
- See our blog post on the future of assessment and feedback
- Please read our guide principles of good assessment and feedback
- Review the results of our 2021 survey on assessment and feedback practice in higher education
- Listen to our Beyond the Technology podcast on rethinking assessment
Digital e-portfolio examples
Jisc’s subject specialists have created some e-portfolio examples using different tools to inspire you.
Padlet
Google sites
Other sites
- e-portfolio example using Wakelet
- e-portfolio example using OneNote
- e-portfolio example using Adobe Express
Useful links
Our Watch a video on how to set up Google Sites as an e-portfolio provides a framework and guidance to help dialogue, decision making and planning for developing learner employability.
The pedagogy toolkit will give inspiration when using blended learning tools and techniques to gather evidence of learning that can be collected in an e-portfolio.
