Frequently Asked Questions

A not-for profit association being developed with the support of European Commission, dedicated to exploring how ePortfolios and ePortfolio related technologies and practices can help empower individuals, organisations and wider society.   

 

Europortfolio provides a network for those doing ePortfolio and related work across Europe; to build the use of e-portfolios across communities, and to provide opportunities for future partnership working.  

Becoming a member is free.

 

You can become a member either as an individual or as an association/organisation. To become an individual member please click here. Organisational membership will be available soon. 

 

Becoming a member allows you to share your work with the Europortfolio community by:

 

1. Adding content to the Europortfolio Portal.

2. Joining different interest groups such as (Inter)National Chapters (see 'What is a Chapter?'), and working groups.

3. Organizing/registering for open-webinars and meetings.

4. Contributing to the Europortfolio newsletter.

5. Making new contacts who share your (ePortfolio) interests.

6. Finding new partners for future Project work.

According to Wikipedia, ‘an electronic portfolio (also known as an eportfolio, e-portfolio, digital portfolio, or online portfolio^[1]) is a collection of electronic evidence assembled and managed by a user, usually on the Web. Such electronic evidence may include inputted text, electronic files, images, multimedia, blog entries, and hyperlinks. E-portfolios are both demonstrations of the user's abilities and platforms for self-expression, and, if they are online, they can be maintained dynamically over time. Some e-portfolio applications permit varying degrees of audience access, so the same portfolio might be used for multiple purposes…. E-portfolios also help to foster an independent and autonomous way of thinking, according to Strivens. This is in large part because people must focus on their collective work, think about how it will be portrayed, and what the work says about them as an individual. The individual is then in charge of their learning and the choice of where to demonstrate their proficiency. People are also forced to reflect on what they have learned and how they plan to build and improve in the future.’

 

 

Inevitably, there are many definitions of ePortfolios, or definitions which emphasise some aspects above others.  Some focus upon developmental or working documents, which maybe private or shared with others, others upon providing material which can be used to reflect upon experience and plan for the future, and others on representing or showcasing achievements, whether for an assessor, an employer, a professional body or another outside body.

Recently I visited a Danish primary school in Denmark, who had asked me this exact question. The ePortfolio project they wanted to start was, maybe self-evidently so, a learning portfolio project with their 7-9 year old first, second and third graders. Here is what I answered very briefly put.

The first step is to start a process, where you ask the pupils to set learning goals for themselves - of course under your guidance. The purpose is to have an aim for the pupil to want to reach, and something to compare the work against, as it is slowly gathered in the portfolio. Once the goal is set you are ready for step two.

The second step is to create a folder for the child to gather his or her work. This could be something as simple as a folder on a personal computer - but it could also be a part of an LMS or a larger portfolio system. Only prerequisite is that the container is easily accessible for both pupil and teacher. As the work is gathered this folder becomes the "work portfolio".

In step three you set deadlines where the pupil select work from the "work portfolio" and move it to a public presentation portfolio, to which you may choose that the other pupils, other teachers and maybe parents have access. The selection of work is where the pupil gets room to reflect on to what degree the learning goals have been achieved. This presentation portfolio should also contain a possibility for the pupil to write down his or her reflections. How often this selection process should take place varies - but it is a very good tool to use for showing progress e.g. when the parents visit the school.

In reality ePortfolio projects are very varied, and generally can be changed to fit to a lot of different circumstances. But I hope this brief introduction gives the reader a bit of structure.

Elisabeth Agerbæk, chairman of the Nordic Chapter of Europortfolio

A  local branch of Europortfolio. Chapters have their own sections on the Europortfolio portal which is written in the Chapter’s primary language e.g. the chapter for Spain would be written in Spanish. These sections are used to keep the local community up to date on local news and events.

 

Chapters are used to develop and strengthen ePortfolio related work in specific country or a region thus helping ePortfolio experts and practitioners to connect, exchange knowledge and experiences as well as to produce Open Educational Resources in their primary language.

 

 

See an example of an existing chapter at https://eportfolio.eu/community/chapters/croatia

To initiate a regional or national Europortfolio Chapter you need to be a registered user and Europortfolio Charter signatory.

 

The Europortfolio Board needs to approve the creation of a Chapter, so interest in creating a new Chapter should be reported to the Board first. Please contact Serge Ravet () or Igor Balaban  () for further information.

 

 

Once the Board approves a Chapter and this has been established, it will be assigned a page within the Europortfolio Portal along with other features. Chapter leaders will be set as Chapter editors and they will have rights to edit content on the Chapter page as well as to recruit and manage Chapter members on the Portal.

Through your local Chapter pages where you will find news and events within your area.

To add content to the Portal make sure you are registered and loged in.

There are several different content types that can be added to the Portal: Article, Event, Initiative, Organisation, Person, and Publication.

Article is "a news type content" very simmilar to blog post and is used to publish all information on the Portal except the one from other available categories. 

1. Once loged in, you will see "Add content" option in the top left corner. Click on it and a list of possible content types will appear.

2. Click on "Article".

3. Enter title and body. For body use WYSIWYG type editor to edit your text and images if any.

4. Pick an Article category under which you want your content to show up.

5. Upload an appropriate image (optional).

6. Set "Featured" to "yes" if you want your article to be promoted to Featured section on front page.

7. Check "Yes" in "Appears on Home Slide" section if you want your article to appear as banner on front page.

6. Add some tags.

7. "Groups Audience" section is used for Chapters. If you want your content to be available only for your Chapter, you should select appropriate Chapter (i.e. Nordic). NOTE: This is optional only for Chapter members. 

8. Click on "Save" button.

Your content is waiting for Editor's approval. Once reviewed, it will be published as you requested or with slight modifications. NOTE: Editor can change the category under which the content will be displayed.