The changing landscape of e-portfolios: Reflections on 5 years of implementing e-portfolios in pre-service teacher education

E-portfolios are becoming an increasingly common component of higher education programmes, serving as constructivist learning spaces where students can reflect on their learning journeys, as centralised collections of work on which students can be assessed, and as integrated showcases where students can demonstrate their accomplishments to potential employers. At the same time, many working professionals are currently being required or encouraged to build e-portfolios which demonstrate continuing learning for the purposes of maintaining employment, seeking promotion, and applying for new positions. Pre-service teacher education courses are among the higher education programmes where participants are now commonly asked to build e-portfolios which they will be able to continue to expand and develop once they have obtained employment as teachers. This chapter is based on the reflections of two teacher educators in a pre-service teacher education programme in Australia, looking back on the first five years of an e-portfolio initiative, covering the period 2011–2015. They reflect on key lessons learned about engaging students, engaging staff, and integrating technology. They outline changes which have occurred in the e-portfolio space over the past half-decade, due both to the changing nature of technology users and the changing nature of technology itself. It is suggested that e-portfolios may have a role to play in supporting a shift away from today’s administratively oriented, pedagogically limited learning management systems (LMSs), and towards personal learning environments (PLEs) where students can engage in more individualised, autonomous learning practices.