Interactive Colloquia

Description: According to Helen Chen (2004), "folio thinking" enables students to (1) integrate and synthesize learning, (2) enhance self-understanding, (3) make deliberate choices in their learning career, and (4) develop an intellectual identity. Virginia Tech's ePortfolio Initiatives is working in support and extension of this concept by using flexible software to encourage portfolio use by individual students and teachers, by courses, and by entire programs. As a way to encourage students to synthesize and reflect on their educational experiences, ePortfolios emphasize connections between curriculum and student practice. In this short course, co-sponsored by FDI, CIDER, and ePortfolio Initiative, we will explore concepts of folio thinking and how that mode of thinking can apply to the work that we do in our classes, research, and student programs. Participants will have a chance to see how faculty have used portfolios to engage their students in active learning, to increase a student's ability to reflect and synthesize learning, and to assess their students in new, effective ways. "Best Practices" for ePortfolio adoption will be discussed, and participants should leave understanding how to go about adding ePortfolios into their course or program's curriculum.

Special Note: co-sponsored by FDI and the VT ePortfolio Initiative