Electronic Portfolios: Research Site in Internet Spaces

In the mid-1990s with the birth of internet-based web technologies, ePortfolios emerged as a powerful tool in the institution of education. They are positioned within the online activities of courses and programs of universities, which are a subset of internet learning spaces. These interactions are located virtually on the internet and foster the development of various subcultures as demonstrated by graduate students completing their ePortfolio projects as a manifestation of internet culture. This paper reports on an ethnographic study conducted in three iterations of a capstone ePortfolio project course in a fully online post-secondary institution in western Canada. It also presents the interconnectedness of ePortfolios with the four constructs that underpinned my four years of online observation as a doctoral student in my role as a participant-observer of master’s students in the final course of their program of studies. The findings based on the rich data collected on the perceived experiences of master’s students offer stimulating discussion on the implications for future scholarship and research on ePortfolios as disruptive pedagogy for blended and online learning spaces.