Students’ conceptions of eportfolios as assessment and technology

ABSTRACT

Student beliefs about assessment and technology play an important role in deploying technology-enabled assessments. Using eportfolios to develop and assess the achievement of curricular outcomes is a global trend, yet little research has investigated student technology and assessment perceptions around eportfolios. This paper examines the interaction of students’ perceptions of technology and assessment and impact on performance. Survey data (n = 360) was gathered from multiple faculties at one university in Hong Kong. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling determined relationships among the two conceptual areas and as predictors of educational achievement. Results showed a positive attitude towards eportfolio use led to positive views about eportfolios as contributing to assessment for learning. Endorsing intention to actively engage with eportfolios and rejecting assessment as irrelevant contributed to a moderate, statistically significant increase in students’ self-reported GPA. Implications for continued research into how eportfolios can be designed to promote learning-oriented assessment are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Assessment
• eportfolios
• higher education
• technology-enabled assessment

Acknowledgement

We wish to acknowledge and thank the University Grant Committee and Research Grants Council of Hong Kong as well as the participants in this study.