BUILDING DYNAMIC VIRTUAL AND HYBRID LEARNING COMMUNITIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION THROUGH EPORTFOLIOS AND WEB 2.0/3.0

Since 2005, the Arts and Administration Program has been implementing an eportfolio process for students, which has evolved to encompass courses, department and academic programs, and students in multi-disciplinary learning communities. With the emergence of web 2.0/3.0 tools and a vibrant open source community, the eportfolio project is embracing instructional technologies that employ lifelong digital communication and learning tools in support of student learning and assessment. With a focus on the development of 21st century workforce skills – including innovation, creativity, collaboration, and communication – faculty and instructional support staff create dynamic mediated learning environments that incorporate reflection, analysis, and presentation across degree programs, and that transect the borders between classroom learning and professional development.

Research suggests that participation in eportfolio learning in a web 2.0/3.0 environment enhances student engagement, critical reflection and analysis, and fosters a collaborative teaching-learning environment. Preliminary findings in a two-year study suggests that significant changes in pedagogical approach on the part of faculty are also occurring, leading to transformations in the ways that students (and faculty) are assessed. This paper will present a case study of a five-year initiative to develop eportfolio learning processes across a research university in the U.S.. Challenges to implementation, including navigating institutional approaches to learning and assessment, and larger implications for higher education as a result of participation in building communities of learners in blended and virtual environments, will also be explored.

The ePortfolio project at the University of Oregon is part of the fifth cohort of the Inter/National Coalition of Electronic Portfolio Research. The project was invited to participate in the EIfEL eportfolio learning forums in Maastricht in 2007, and London in 2009. It is supported, in part, through a grant from the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs.