E-Portfolio in the ABLE Clasroom
In the last decade, technology has seen several advances. Are teachers taking advantage of these changes in technology to benefit their learner’s future? There are several cases that lead to the benefits of e-portfolios. An e-portfolio is a single place that students can share and create old and new ideas in a way that they choose. With Barbers Hill Independent School District serving children with and without disabilities we must continue to develop effective assessment tools (Clancy & Gardner, 2017). The following literature review will show how allowing Adaptive Behavioral Learning Environment (ABLE) students to create this type of assessment tool can give them control of their learning, provide them with a source of current and future deliberation, and allow them to expand on their growth and development.
Gives Student Control of their Learning
The study that was done by Lambe et al. (2013), mentioned that their participants responded that the e-portfolio allowed them to portray their new knowledge in a contrasting appearance. As stated in Watters (2015), it is necessary for an individual to have their own location in order to create and flourish their ideas and pursuits. Let individuals have their own digital ownership, protection, control, and purpose, so that they do not see it as a grade but an invention of themselves (Watters, 2015). As Harapnuik (2021) mentions in his blog, Who owns the e-portfolio, “we must not only give students a choice, ownership, voice, and authentic learning (COVA) over their digital domain we must give them COVA” (as cited in Thibodeaux, 2015). Giving students the choice on how they present their ideas, allowing them to take ownership and implementing their voice in their project. Doing all of these while giving them a chance to choose and participate in authentic learning (Harapnuik, 2018).
Source of Current and Future Deliberation
According to Eynon et al. (2014), more than 50 percent of the United States (U.S.) Colleges and universities had a model for their students to encounter the development of an e-portfolio. The Special Education program at Texas A&M is one of many U.S universities that has their model of an e-portfolio that every student has their own access to create. According to Eynon et al. (2014), 70 percent responded that they would value their e-portfolio by showing future employers and professors what their talents and accomplishments are. To further this statement, one of the participants in Lambe et al. (2013) case study responded with the following comment; “I could keep my qualifications and references in one section and teaching and general work experiences in another. These would be really easy to access for a potential employer” (p.192). According to Ada et al. (2016) , teachers everywhere can use students’ e- portfolios to get to know the individual students in their classroom to assist them in building individual relationships (as cited in Agustina, 2011).
Reflections
According to Eynon et al. (2014), 70 percent of their participants answered that their e-portfolio assisted them in making relationships between different concepts. Lyons (2010) explained what a reflection is and how it can be meaningful to an individual. Reflections can be made in many different ways including in conversation with others. Generally, reflections have to do with connections that an individual has made between ideas and knowledge they have learned across different environments (Lyons, 2010). The collection of knowledge in one space over time and in diverse environments has allowed students to explore and reflect on their personal apprehension, knowledge, explanations, and observations in a digital society (Eyon et al., 2014; Watters, 2015).
Expand on Students’ Growth and Development
According to Eynon et al. (2014), 65.6% of their case study participants mentioned that using an e-portfolio allows them to be more aware of their growth and development as individual learners. Throughout a student's kindergarten-12th grade and college years, an e-portfolio can monitor their growth. It can also project their learning as they progress through these years in their educational journey (Watters, 2015). The Alajmi (2019) case study “Found that e-portfolios improve capabilities, skills, and knowledge” (p.1714). E-portfolio can allow students to have a clear understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, and can guide them on how to enhance their accomplishments (Alajmi, 2019).
Communication
In Johnson and Skarphol (2018) case study, 76 percent of the students responded to a post-assessment that they would like to grow their e-portfolio in the future. Their case study responded with that the students’ engagement and communication increased in their secondary classroom. Students’ communication and skills can be portrayed through multimedia components such as videos, images, audio recordings, and hyperlinks within their e-portfolio (Watters, 2015) . The intent and meaningful communication of these digital tools allowed the students to portray their ideas to peers, teachers, family, and colleges (Johnson & Skarphol, 2018). These people and places are allowed to comment on the ideas that the students have introduced in their e-portfolio, and this will allow students to continue to grow and develop as an individual (ChatGPT, 2023).
Conclusion
This literature review portrayed how allowing ABLE students to create an e-portfolio can give them control of their learning, provide them with a source of current and future deliberation, and allow them to expand on their growth and development. An e-portfolio will allow ABLE students to have control, ownership, a voice, and an authentic project they will be able to share with future teachers, employers, peers, and family. With the assistance of current and future teachers they will be able to reflect on their knowledge through high school and beyond. According to Chat GPT (2023), ABLE students “can actively participate in documenting their progress, setting goals, and reflecting on their learning experiences. E-portfolios can empower students to take ownership of their educational journey and develop important self-advocacy skills.”
References
Ada, S., Suna, H. T., Elkonca, F., & Karakaya, I. (2016). Views of academicians, school administrators, and teachers regarding the use of E-portfolios in transition from elementary education to secondary education. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 16(2), 375–397. https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.12738/estp.2016.2.0148
Alajmi, M. M. (2019). The impact of e-portfolio use on the development of professional standards and life skills of students: A case study. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 6(4), 1714–1735. https://doi.org/10.9770/jesi.2019.6.4(12)
Clancy, M., & Gardner, J. (2017). Using Digital Portfolios to Develop Non-Traditional Domains in Special Education Settings. International Journal of e-portfolio, 7(1), 93–100. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1142753
Eynon, B., Gambino, L. M., & Török , J. (2014). https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1107844. International Journal of e-portfolio, 4(1), 95–114.
Harapnuik, D. (2018). COVA [web log]. Retrieved 2023, from https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6991.
Harapnuik, D. (2021). Who Owns the E-Portfolio? [web log]. Retrieved 2023, from https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6050.
Hopper, T., & Sanford, K. (2007). E-portfolio in teacher education: Pre-service teacher ownership of their learning and the Standards to be certified as teachers . Research Gate.
Johnson, M and Skarphol, M. (2018). The Effects of Digital Portfolios and Flipgrid on Student Engagement and Communication in a Connected Learning Secondary Visual Arts Classroom. Retrieved from Sophia, the St. Catherine University repository website: https://sophia.stkate.edu/maed/270
Lambe, J., McNair, V., & Smith, R. (2013). Special educational needs, e-learning and the reflective e-portfolio: Implications for developing and assessing competence in pre-service education. Journal of Education for Teaching, 39(2), 181–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2013.765191
Lyons, N. (Ed.). (2010). Handbook of reflection and reflective inquiry: Mapping a way of knowing for professional reflective inquiry. Scholars Portal.
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
Watters, A. (2015, July 15). The web we need to give students. BRIGHT Magazine. Retrieved 2023, from https://brightthemag.com/the-web-we-need-to-give-students-311d97713713.
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