E-Portfolios as a tool to enhance student learning experience and entrepreneurial skills

Abstract

Increasing digitisation has put pressure on institutions of higher learning around the globe to find effective solutions to better prepare their students for the 21st-century world of work. The paper presents the findings of a qualitative inquiry into the attitudes, feelings, and experiences of entrepreneurship students in a selected private institution of higher learning on the use of e-portfolios as a tool to enhance the learning experience. Data was collected using a combination of focus groups and semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis conducted for this study revealed five (5) emergent themes on the contributions of e-portfolios in enhancing the learning experiences of the modern-day scholar. The resourcefulness, flexibility, engagement, entrepreneurial skills improvement and collaboration emerged as the outstanding contributions of e-portfolios towards enhancing learning. The emergent themes are in line with the entrepreneurial behaviour, imperative for every 21st-century world of work. The value the findings of this study lies in its exploratory utility in exposing the lived-experiences, attitudes, and feelings of modern day students on the role of e-portfolios as a tool to enhance their learning experience and cultivate entrepreneurial behaviour in the modern world of work. Recommendations to explore the technological advantage presented by e-portfolios are presented. 

References

Abrami, P.C. & Barrett, H. (2005). Directions for research and development on electronic portfolios. Canadian Journal. 31(3), 1-15.

Ahmed, E., & Ward, R. (2016). Analysis of factors influencing acceptance of personal, academic and professional development e-portfolios. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 152-161.

Akcil, U. & Arap, I. (2009). The opinions of education faculty scholars on learning processes involving e-portfolios. Paper presented at the World Conference Education Science held on 5 January in Nicosia, North Cyprus.

Alam, F., Chowdhury, H., Kootsookos, A. & Hadgraft, R. (2015). Scoping e-portfolios to engineering and ICT education. Procedia-Engineering. 105(2015), 852- 857.

Alexiou, A. & Paraskeva, F. (2010). Enhancing self-regulated learning skills through the implementation of an e-portfolio tool. Procedia - Social and Behavioural Sciences, 2 (2), 3048-3054.

Barbera, E. (2009). Mutual feedback in e-portfolio assessment: an approach to the netfolio system. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40, 2, 342–357.

Bhattacharya, M. & Hartnett, M. (2007). E-portfolio assessment in Higher Education. Paper presented at the 37th Frontiers in Education Conference, 10-13 October, Milwaukee, New Zealand.

Bryant, L. & Chittum, J. (2013). ePortfolio effectiveness: an ill-fated search for empirical support. International Journal of ePortfolio, 3(2), 89-198.

Cakan, M. & Mihladiz, G. (2010). How portfolio use affects scholars' learning and their attitudes toward 6th-grade science lesson. International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 2(2), 362-377.

Caveller, V (2011). Portfolios for entrepreneurship and self-evaluation of higher education institutions. Procedia Social and Behavioural Sciences 12(2011), 19-23.

Cuenca, L., Fernández-Diego, M., Gordo, M., Ruiz, L., Alemany, M. M. E., & Ortiz, A. (2015). Measuring competencies in higher education. The case of innovation competence. In Sustainable Learning in Higher Education (pp. 131-142). Springer International Publishing.

Chau, J. & Cheng, G. (2010). Towards understanding the potential of e-portfolios for independent learning: A qualitative study. Australian Journal of Educational Technology. 26(7), 932-950.

Damoense, M. (2003). Online learning: implications for effective learning for higher education in South Africa. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 19(1), 25- 45.

Ellis, C. (2017). The Importance of E-Portfolios for Effective Student-Facing Learning Analytics. In E-Portfolios in Higher Education (pp. 35-49). Springer Singapore.

Green, J., Wyllie, A. & Jackson, D. (2014).Electronic portfolios in nursing education: a review of the literature. Nurse Education in Practice, 14 (2014), 4-8.

Hall, J. M., & Townsend, S. D. C. (2017). Using critical incidents and E-Portfolios to understand the emergent practice of Japanese student-teachers of English. Teaching and Teacher Education, 62, 1-9.

Harris, A., Jones, M. & Baba, S. (2013). Distributed leadership and digital collaborative learning: A synergistic relationship? British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(6), 926–939.

Hartnell-Young, E., Harrison, C., Crook, C., Joyes, G., Davies, L., Fisher, T., Pemberton, R. & Smallwood, A. (2007). The impact of e-portfolios on learning. [Online]. Available: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/1468/7/becta_2007_eportfolios_summary_Redacted.pdf [Accessed: 12 March 2014]

Haverkamp, J. J., & Vogt, M. (2015). Beyond academic evidence: Innovative uses of technology within e-portfolios in a Doctor of Nursing Practice program. Journal of Professional Nursing, 31(4), 284–289.

Hodgson, P. (2017). Student E-Portfolios: Unfolding Transformation in University Life in General Education Program. In E-Portfolios in Higher Education (pp. 171-181). Springer Singapore.

Horris, M.H. & Liguori, E. (2016). Annals of Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy. Cheltenham UK, Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Jaffer, S., Ng’ambi, D. & Czerniewicz, L. (2007). The role of ICTs in higher education in South Africa: one strategy for addressing teaching and learning challenges.International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology, 3(4), 131-142.

Jonassen, D. H. (1999). Designing constructivist learning environments. In C. M. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional design theories and models: A new paradigm of instructional theory, Volume II, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Kok, I., & Blignaut, A. S. (2008). Introducing developing teacher-students in a developing context to e-portfolios. Paper presented at the eLearning Forum, 19-20 January 2009. [Online]. Available:http://www.eifel.org/publications/proceedings/ilf09/ilearning-forum-2009-proceedings.pdf [Accessed: 10 October 2017]

Leow, F. T., Neo, M., & Hew, S. H. (2016). Investigating the Key Attributes to Enhance Students' Learning Experience in 21st Century Class Environment. Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 14(4), 244-256.

Little, D. (2009). Language scholar autonomy and the European Language Portfolio: Two L2 English examples. Language Teaching, 42(2), 222-233.

Lorenzo, G. & Ittelson, J. (2005). Demonstrating and assessing scholar learning with e-Portfolios. Educause Learning Initiative, 3, 1-19.

Mason, R., Pegler, C. & Weller, M. (2004). E-portfolios: an assessment tool for online courses. British Journal of Education Technology, 35(6), 717-727.

McDermott, K. & Gallagher, S. (2011). Integration of e-portfolios into cooperative education: lessons learnt. Asia Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 12(2), 95- 101.

McKenna, G., McKenna, G., Baxter, G., Baxter, G., Hainey, T., & Hainey, T. (2017). E-portfolios and personal development: a higher education perspective. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 9(1), 147-171.

McLaughlin, J. E., Roth, M. T., Glatt, D. M., Gharkholonarehe, N., Davidson, C. A., Griffin, L. M., & Mumper, R. J. (2014). The flipped classroom: a course redesign to foster learning and engagement in a health professions school. Academic Medicine, 89(2), 236-243.

Mehtap, C., Gulcan, M. & Belgin, G.-T. (2010). How portfolio use affects scholars' learning and their attitudes towards 6th-grade science lesson. International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 2 (2), 362-377.

Meyer, E., Abrami, P., Wade, A., Aslan, O. & Deault, L. (2010). Improving literacy and metacognition with electronic portfolios: teaching and learning with ePEARL.Computers & Education, 55(1), 84-91.

Mozelius, P., Serey, T & Escobar, R. D. (2016). ePortfolios for Entrepreneurs / ePortafolios para Emprendadoras – Design and Development of an Online Distance Course.

Nicolaidou, I. (2013). E-portfolios supporting primary students’ writing performance and peer feedback. Computers and Education, 68 (2013), 404-415.

Nudelman, G. R. (2017). Engineering identity: Analysing e-portfolios in a professional communications course. South African Journal of Higher Education, 31(2), 211-225.

O'keeffe, M. & Donnelly, R. (2013). Exploration of e-portfolios for adding value and deepening learning in contemporary higher education. International Journal of ePortfolio, 3(1), 1-11.

Parker, M., Ndoye, A. & Ritzhaupt, A.D. (2012). Qualitative analysis of scholar perceptions of e-portfolios in teacher education. International Society for Technology in Education. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 28(3), 99-107.

Pegrum, M., & Oakley, G. (2017). The Changing Landscape of E-Portfolios: Reflections on 5 Years of Implementing E-Portfolios in Pre-Service Teacher Education. In E-Portfolios in Higher Education (pp. 21-34). Springer Singapore.

Raybourn, E. & Regan, D. (2011). Exploring e-portfolios and independent open scholar models: towards Army Learning Concept 2015. Proceedings. Paper presented at Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference held on 28 November-2 December in Florida, USA. p. 1-8.

Saunders, S., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2009). Research methods for business scholars. 5th ed. Harlow, UK: Pearson.

Siemens, G., Mcauley, A., Stewart, B. & Cormier, G. (2010). The MOOC model for digital practice. [Online]. Available: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/MOOC_Final.pdf [Accessed: 12 April 2015]

Yusuf, J. & Tuisawau, P. (2011). Scholars' attitudes towards the use of e-portfolios: experiences from the University of the South Pacific. Malaysian Journal of Education Technology, 11(4), 31-41.

Strampel, K., Sibson, R., & Main, S. (2017). Professional Development to Support the Embedding of ePortfolios in Higher Education Programs. In ePortfolios in Australian Universities (pp. 33-46). Springer, Singapore.

Vasinda, V. J. R. S., & Haas, J. A. R. L. (2017). The Use of ePortfolios in Teacher Education Programs to Support Reflective Practitioners in a Digital World. Deconstructing the Education-Industrial Complex in the Digital Age, 104.

Yastibas, A. E., & Cepik, S. (2015). Teachers’ attitudes toward the use of e-portfolios in speaking classes in English language teaching and learning. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 176, 514-525.

Bennett, D., Rowley, J., Dunbar-Hall, P., Hitchcock, M., & Blom, D. (2016). Electronic portfolios and learner identity: An ePortfolio case study in music and writing. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 40(1), 107-124.

Yang, M., Tai, M., & Lim, C. P. (2016). The role of e‐portfolios in supporting productive learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 47(6), 1276-1286.

Published
2020-02-02
How to Cite
Mapundu, M., and M. Musara. 2020. “E-Portfolios As a Tool to Enhance Student Learning Experience and Entrepreneurial Skills”. South African Journal of Higher Education 33 (6), 191-214. https://doi.org/10.20853/33-6-2990.
Section
General Articles