p align=”left”>Conflicting Paradigms in Electronic Portfolio Approaches
In this article Barrett & Wilkerson tease out some of the tensions that exist in E-portfolio development in teacher education programs. They concentrate on models of E-portfolio development used in higher education in the United States; however her discussion is relevant to the Canadian context and the use of E-portfolios in teacher education at the University of British Columbia.
Initially it is important to discuss what an E-Portfolio is. In the previous post I discussed Judith Brown’s article in which she describes the educational value of portfolios and as Barett & Wilkerson note in this article an E-Portfolio is not significantly different from a portfolio completed using a three ring binder or even a shoe box. The main difference between the two mediums is the delivery system. E-Portfolios are typically created using classroom management systems or Web design programs. Additionally E-Portfolios an provide larger storage capacities and capabilities such as imbedding, pictures, video and digital stories. E-Portfolios also enhance the social nature of the portfolio allowing for hyperlinking, commenting on artifacts, and collaboration. Just as a scrapbook is not the same as a portfolio a web page or blog is not necessarily an e-portfolio. The main difference is purpose. While a scrapbook is organized around the creators life an Portfolio is linked together around a overarching purpose. The authors define E-Portfolios as a collection of authentic and diverse evidence drawn from a larger archive representing what a person or organization has learned over time on which the person or organization has reflected, and designed for presentation to one or more audiences for a particular rhetorical purpose. Thus E-portfolios are not haphazard collections of artifacts but a collection of artifacts, descriptions and reflections that are linked by a purpose.
The competing paradigms in E-Portfolio development according to Barrett are the Positivist and Constructivist approach to E-portfolio development.
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