Artifact: Annotated Article
Date: October. 2007
Course: Practicum ADHE
Competency: Knowledge of learning approaches and principles

In e-Portfolios for Whom Javier Ayala (2006) responds to the discourse on techno-rationalism currently surrounding e-Portfolios. Ayala (2006) notes that research on e-Portfolios predominantly examines their application and benefit as tools for student assessment, rather than addressing how they are perceived and experienced by learners. Specifically, he claims the following critical questions have been overlooked: how do learners feel when they are tasked with creating e-Portfolios?; and do e-Portfolios enhance students learning?These are important questions that the literature, which primarily focusing on institutional goals and procedures for implementing e-Portfolios, often neglects (Ayala 2006).The problem, in Ayala’s (2006) view, is that e-Portfolio programs are often forced on learners without adequate consideration of process outcomes—to the detriment of learning.

In my own experience facilitating e-Portfolio workshops with teacher candidates at UBC, I have also seen this challenge surface on several occasions. Though most of the learners I worked with use computers everyday for social interaction, some candidates had very little computer knowledge thus struggled to use the e-Portfolio software.This will, I predict, create a barrier to their reflection and possibly detract from their final product. For these learners paper portfolios would provide a more suitable medium. I believe that Ayala’s critical examination of e-Portfolio is necessary as institutions of higher and adult learning embrace e-Portfolios—an emphasis which is indicative of the larger trend of institutional and academic accountability.Ayala correctly brings the learners back into the analysis and suggests that while assessment goals may be important, it is also necessary to consider the learners and how they relate to the technology and the value they place on it.

References

Ayala, J.(2006) e-Portfolios for Whom? Educase Volume 29, Number 1, 2006. Retrieved on Oct 3, 2007 from http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/ElectronicPortfoliosforWh/39960