The ultimate feature in ePortfolios: Reflection

What makes ePortfolios a meaningful tool for learning is reflection. If students don’t reflect on their work, the portfolio is nothing but a collection of tasks. Abrami (2008) sees three moments in which students must reflect: before, during and after developing their portfolio. Reflecting before they design their portfolio allows students to set achievable yet challenging goals. This will lead students to be more goal-oriented and see the need of designing a strategic plan in order to reach their objectives. during their ePortfolio development implies self-control from learners. This is, they have stay focused and motivated so that they can do the most of their resources and effort. They may need to make changes along the way depending on their own observations of the task. Once they’ve finished their ePortfolio, students need to reflect again and assess their results. This allows students to develop a sense of achievement and, at the same time, they have the chance to see what they could’ve done better or need to improve.

Some of the benefits I see in this reflective approach are:

·        Learning experience is more stimulating

·        Students focus on the learning process much more than just in the product

·        Students get aware of their learning style

·        Students learn to manage feedback

·        Making mistakes is seen as learning steps

This reflection cycle will make the design of ePortfolios a very enjoyable task!  

Philip C. Abrami, C. Anne Wade, Vanitha Pillay, Ofra Aslan, Eva M. Bures, Caitlin Bentley: "Encouraging self-regulated learning through electronic portfolios." Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology V34(3) Fall 2008