Electronic Portfolios: Emerging Practices in Student, Faculty, and Institutional Learning

The portfolio is a powerful tool for learning and assessment. Introducing the electronic into the mix increases its power, especially through the key feature of interactive hyperlinks and the potential to promote continuous reflection on, and updating of, learning. This introduction examines the potential of electronic portfolios by addressing: rationales for creating an electronic portfolio; possible features of the portfolio; examples of current practice; cautions; and recommendations. Chapters by nineteen portfolio practitioners from a range of disciplines and institutions describe the construction and use of electronic portfolios. They describe the uses:

* By students to display and reflect on work for a specific course or program

* By faculty to document and reflect on their classroom practice and allow comment by colleagues or others

* By institutions to demonstrate accountability to their stakeholders and as a vehicle for institution-wide reflection, learning, and improvement. The section on institutional portfolios includes chapters on the incorporation of institutional research and data, and the potential role for such portfolios in accreditation.

Section editors: Susan Kahn, Daniel P Tompkins, and Kathleen Blake Yancey.