Use of LTC's e-Portfolio System Continues to Expand - March 17th., 2008

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Students simply enter information into the My Invites form, and an e-mail with the URL to view their Web pages is automatically sent.

The Learning Technology Center’s IDEA Studio continues to refine, improve, and expand the use of its e-Portfolio system this semester. Students in three College of Education teacher education cohorts are now using the system to store up to 1 GB of coursework files, create Web pages to organize and display their work, and invite others to view the resulting “online resumes.”

“We are in a debugging phase this semester,” says IDEA Studio coordinator Karen French. “Yoo-Jin Kim, the Studio’s Web designer/programmer, will continue to work with the cohorts to address any issues that may come up.”

Ease-of-use is the e-Portfolio’s most distinguishing feature. Files are easy to upload into the system in the My Files section. Lots of templates in the My Pages section take the design headaches out of creating Web pages. And in the My Invites section, when students are ready for others to see their work, they simply enter an address and set the temporary access dates to send an e-mail providing the URL to view their pages.

Instructors are eager to use the system as a developmental tool. They can assess students’ growth in knowledge and skills as they view coursework over time.

Two more cohorts will adopt the e-Portfolio system this semester, as its use continues to expand. In the fall, if ITAC funding is provided, development will begin on a second, more fully featured version. Plans for this version include the ability to add comments on the students’ work, provide more extensive user profiling features, and allow users to e-mail one another within the system.

—Laurie Caldwell, LTC Communications Coordinator