ePortfolios at UWindsor

Beginning in Fall 2013, the Office of Open Learning initiated a pilot project in collaboration with some of our 2013 Open Learning Grant recipients to introduce ePortfolios (electronic portfolios) to the University of Windsor community. The initial pilot included a number of potential tools to support the development of ePortfolios, with Wordpress eventually being chosen as the most suitable tool for most ePortfolio needs. Blackboard also has a built in portfolio system that is used in some departments on campus.

ePortfolios allow students to capture and curate the wide range of learning opportunities they are exposed to both inside and out of the classroom during their UWindsor career. Portfolios provide students with their own space to display their creative work, including artefacts that demonstrate to potential employers and others what students are capable of. They also provide a space for students to reflect on and articulate their learning in meaningful ways.

ePortfolios are being used at course level, program level and as a personal professional development tool. Our UWindsor ePortfolio community has grown to include thousands of active users contributing to Wordpress and Blackboard platforms!

Wordpress ePortfolios are free and open to all UWindsor students, faculty, and staff (Blackboard portfolios are only available to students through Blackboard Learn if instructors enable the tool in their course sites), and have been used to achieve a wide range of objectives. Personal leadership development, reflective practice, enhancing professional and educational development, and even showcasing learning outcomes and skills are all purposes of integrating ePortfolios into learning and teaching.