Introduction
In the current regime, technological advancement has increased the learning experience for both students and professionals. The development of electronic portfolios is serving an important role in the education system. The digital tool allows graduates to virtually assess their academic progress, which is vital for their improvement. Similarly, professional nurses can easily record and provide adequate evidence of the skills and knowledge they possess. The paper will critically analyze the content of e-portfolios for both graduate students and Advanced Practice Nurses. It will focus on the importance and uses of the tool.
E-Portfolio Definition for Graduate Student
An e-portfolio is a discerning and organized collection of data concerning a student’s academic achievements. The assemblage includes different kinds of information, including graphics, text-based, and multimedia. Unlike the paper-based portfolio, an e-portfolio is managed digitally using suitable software(“E-Portfolio,” 2022). Furthermore, the e-portfolios exhibit limited web presence as it is mainly shared between the learner and one’s supervisor(s). Accordingly, personal graduate students’ e-portfolios available online are retrievable via a website, while a CD-ROM or DVD delivers student e-portfolios managed otherwise. The learner selects the most appealing academic projects and learnings to feature in the e-portfolio to showcase his or her ability to the supervisor and peers.
E-Portfolio Definition for an Advanced Practice Nurse
An advanced practice nurse’s e-portfolio differs significantly from a learner’s e-folder. Nonetheless, the professional’s e-portfolio contains a highly selected and well-thought-out collection of academic and professional qualification evidence meant to place the person within the global web of practitioners (Chaudhuri & Cabau, 2017). The nurse attempts to show professional attainments to the global network. Moreover, the point that the advanced practice nurse’s e-portfolio targets a wider audience leads to its increased presence online. The content creator utilizes appropriate programs to develop and store the work. Accordingly, the nurse significantly shuns depending on a CD-ROM or DVD due to their limited access by the global family.
Importance of Developing and Using an E-portfolio as a Graduate Student in Higher Education
Creating an e-portfolio leads to the remembrance and appreciation of various kinds of knowledge acquired by the learner over the period. Consequently, the assortment endeavor compels learners to organize their knowledge for effective application, according to Ciesielkiewicz (2019). Appreciating one’s change and progress academically is another benefit of e-portfolio creation among learners. Dray and Howells (2019) say that many learners go through school and acquire various knowledge during different levels of learning but fail to appreciate their growth due to the information’s disconnection.
Importance of Developing and Using an E-portfolio as an Advanced Practice Nurse for Professional Development
Professional nurses establish e-portfolios for various reasons, among them documenting personal knowledge and skills and effective application. Nurses also use e-portfolio to appreciate their academic and professional development and growth (Ellis, 2017). The activity aids in acknowledging past successes and letdowns, which the professional develops effective plans to rectify. Documenting academic and professional journey also allows nurses to appreciate their progress and change, which helps in setting goals for future development (Sultana et al., 2020). Additionally, an e-portfolio enables nurses to connect formal and informal knowledge gathered throughout their academic and career life for holistic development.
Items to be Included in an E-portfolio as a Graduate Student in Higher Education
A student’s e-portfolio mainly seeks to document subjective academic progress for personal appreciation. The portfolio creator is often the primary audience in this kind of e-collection. The supervisor and close faculty peers may also form the document’s audience under special consideration. The aspects thus highly determine the content of a student’s personal e-portfolio. Crucial items to include in this assemblage include personal information, educational background, community-based activities’ involvement, core skills, student works, and a view section (Lam, 2020). The education history section reports on one’s academic journey, including the various learning institutions attended and the various achievements at those levels. The scholar also describes the different social activities undertaken and their relevance to academic skills growth. Accordingly, the view section establishes the possible audience for the document.
Items to be Included in an E-portfolio as an Advanced Practice Nurse for Professional Development
Professional networking is the primary aim of a career-based e-portfolio such as the one developed by the advanced practice nurse. A professional nurse’s e-portfolio thus differs significantly from that of a graduate student. Nonetheless, e-portfolio sections remain identical but differ mainly based on the content. For example, the personal information section in a professional e-portfolio contains the creator’s basic and other career-based material. The second section is further more on professional attainment instead of academic achievements. Unlike the graduate student who may lack employment history, the third section of a professional e-portfolio features past and present employment records to prove the nurse’s career engagements.
E-Portfolio Content for me as a Graduate Student
A student’s e-portfolio mainly seeks to document subjective academic progress for personal appreciation. The portfolio creator is often the primary audience in this kind of e-collection. The supervisor and close faculty peers may also form the document’s audience under special consideration (Lam, 2020). Essential items to include in this assemblage include personal information, educational background, especially BSN attainment, community-based activities’ involvement, enrolment in MSN program: Population Health, student works, and CCM and certification. The first section provides the developer’s basic information, such as name, school, location, and hobbies. Furthermore, the education history section reports my academic journey, including the various learning institutions attended and the various achievements at those levels.
Challenges and Issues Associated With E-Portfolios
Higher learning institutions and different professional lines use e-portfolio to boost learning and collaboration. Lam (2020) cheers for e-portfolio as a new technology-based method of proving learning and professionalism among peers. According to Sultana et al. (2020), an e-portfolio makes teaching and learning evidence-based by requiring learners and specialists to document their skills and knowledge. Nonetheless, the tool exhibits several shortcomings, among them standard issues, timing challenges, and lack of permanence. Totter and Wyss (2019) maintain that many higher learning institutions using e-portfolio lack standards, leading to gaps and inconsistencies in the developed e-portfolios. Moreover, engaging learners and specialists in the e-portfolio culture late in their education or career life leads to a late start problem.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Challenges existing in e-portfolio creation requires solution for the tool to realize its full potential. Several recommendations can be made to improve the situation, including the need for universities to participate in identifying friendly and affordable platforms for learners to create their e-portfolios. A major concern regarding e-portfolio touches on the temporality and timing issues, according to Totter and Wyss (2019). Many educational systems expose learners to e-portfolio late in life, while the engagement lasts for a given duration. Totter and Wyss (2019) insist on the need for universities to establish reliable, affordable, standard, and legitimate platforms to support the professionals’ creation of quality e-portfolios to avert the issue.
References
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Lam, R. (2020). E-Portfolios: What we know, what we don’t, and what we need to know.RELC Journal, 0033688220974102. Web.
Sultana, F., Lim, C. P., & Liang, M. (2020). E-portfolios and the development of students’ reflective thinking at a Hong Kong University.Journal of Computers in Education, 7(3), 277-294. Web.
Totter, A., & Wyss, C. (2019). Opportunities and challenges of e-portfolios in teacher education. Lessons learnt.Research on Education and Media, 11(1), 69-75. Web.