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Implementing Electronic
Portfolios through Social
Media Platforms
By David W. Denton
Seattle Pacific University
Abstract
Over the last two decades, students and teachers, across educational levels and
disciplines, have been subject to a variety of school reform efforts. Nevertheless, some
instructional practices, such as portfolio assessment, persist and grow in popularity even
in the midst of changing educational reform goals and shifting priorities. Teacher education
programs have used paper-based portfolios for more than three decades. Recently,
institutions have migrated to electronic portfolios since these provide several advantages.
Early models of these systems required special technical skills, hardware, or fee-based
contracts with service providers. The newest iteration of portfolio platforms are based on
social media applications, which are easy to use, free, and more sustainable. However,
the accelerated adoption of social media applications as repositories for student portfolio
content has produced several gaps in the literature. Two of these include steps for
implementing electronic portfolios in social media platforms and instructional methods for
soliciting quality entries from students through questions and prompts. Basic instructions
for implementing social media portfolios and for promoting quality entries are discussed.
Education Reform
K-20
Accountability
Transparency
Reduced costs
Oversight Federal
Regional
State
Assessments
Published standards
Sanctions for failure
Teacher Education
Professional knowledge and skills
Battery of assessments, TPA
Compete for RTTT $(many are called, few are chosen)
Addition-subtraction of
standards & assessments = ↑
complexity
Portfolio Assessment
Portfolio assessment involves the collection and presentation
of different types of student work samples, gathered over
time, to show depth and breadth of learning. Work samples are
collected systematically to validate accomplishments relative to
specific instructional objectives. Portfolios contain written
entries, often accompanying work samples, which are
characterized by self-assessment through reflection.
(Shermis & DiVesta, 2011)
NCLB – Forget About It
Higher
Education
Additional Assessments
Certainly electronic
Perhaps portfolio
Paper Server Social Media
→ →
Electronic portfolio
A digital container capable of storing visual and auditory content
including text, images, video and sound
(Abrami & Barrett, 2005)
AdvantagesSearch
Retrieve
Change
Link
Organize
Show
Types
Add-on
ePortfolio + Blackboard
Independent
Live Text
Social media
WordPress
Easy
Dashboards are getting easier to use
Cost
No Cost
$10 to $30 per user per year
$0, but sometimes ads or restrictions
Specific Support – General Support
Surplus Shortage
Literature on Social Media Platforms
Efficacy of portfolios for learning
Quality of portfolio entries
Implementation
Promoting quality entries
Link to K-12 student
learning
Implementation: Defining Scope
and Purpose
Class – program
When and how to add content
Implementation: Selecting a
Platform
Implementation: Instructing on
Appropriate Use
International Society for Technology in Education
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
Additional suggestions
Eliminate personal information
Conceal institutions and individuals
Avoid content that is overly critical, biased, or error prone
Promoting Quality Entries
Questions and prompts
Summaries
Pre- and postassessment
Item analysis
Case study analysis
Self-evaluation with artifacts
Paper Publishing
Google Drive Coauthoring
Paper Publishing
Primary Lines of Inquiry
Link to K-12 Student Learning
