RAPPORT
Volume 3 Issue 1 (2018)
on them (Hartnell-Young et al., 2007).
Moreover, ePortfolios have also acquired
relevance as an assessment system in
higher education (López, 2008). As the
author states, ePortfolios emerge:
‘as a new way to conceive the
assessment that offers the
opportunity to design a different
system, with a new tool, which
facilitates the acquisition and pursuit
of learning, through the new roles
assigned for teachers and students’
(López, 2008 p.55).
In this view, ePortfolios can promote
dialogue and understanding about
learning, development and assessment
among teachers and students (Rodriguez
Illera, 2009).
The use of ePortfolios in Europe goes
back to the 90s in educational contexts
(Alcaraz, 2016; López, 2008) and their
use seemed to respond to the need for
fostering teacher and student-focused
innovative practices. Moreover, much
innovation carried out with ePortfolios
has been related to learning and
assessment (Alcaraz, 2016; Pérez-
Gómez & Serván-Núñez, 2016). In this
way, some authors (Pérez-Gómez &
Serván-Núñez, 2016; Scully, O’Leary &
Brown, 2018) conceptualise ePortfolios
as Learning Portfolios due to the fact that
learning and assessment could be
promoted by their significant use.
Scully, O’Leary and Brown (2018) identify
three different types of Learning
Portfolios: firstly, the Learning Portfolio as
process which is useful for students to
reflect on their competencies and
development; secondly, the Learning
Portfolio as product where ‘the primary
purpose [...] may simply be to showcase
examples of work and/or achievements’
(Scully, O’Leary & Brown, 2018 p.2) and
carry out summative assessment; and
last but not least, the one that ‘leads to
the most favourable outcomes’ (Scully,
O’Leary & Brown, 2018:19), combining
the previous two and termed the dual
goal orientation Learning Portfolio. In this
latter type, the student ‘may include
drafts and ‘unpolished’ work, with the
focus broadened to include the process
of compiling the portfolio, as well as the
finished product’ (Scully, O’Leary &
Brown, 2018 p.2).
As the present research is carried out in
the Basque Autonomous Community in
Spain, it is necessary to mention that it
was not until the beginning of the 21st
century that Learning ePortfolios were
used in our context (Alcaraz, 2016).
However, the use of Learning ePortfolios
in Spanish higher education contexts has
become commonplace in the last decade
(Alcaraz, 2016; Cobos, López & Llorent,
2016).
As mentioned above, Learning
ePortfolios are widely used in teaching
and learning processes due to their
potential to promote metacognitive
development (Klenowski, 2004) and to
broaden learning experiences (Scully,
O’Leary & Brown, 2018). But as
Klenowski (2004) claims, ePortfolios can
be used in five ways: 1) summative
assessment; 2) competence certification
and candidate selection; 3) promotional
use; 4) teaching and learning support;
and 5) professional growth.
Reflection, formative assessment and
feedback are important elements of the
learning process and, as Klenowski,
Askew and Carnell (in Scully, O’Leary &
Brown, 2018 p.2) state, ‘[ePortfolios’]
overall goal is to facilitate and document
learning and development over time’. And
that is the aim of the dual goal orientation
Learning Portfolio (Scully, O’Leary &
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