Creating an ePortfolio
The journey of creating an e-portfolio was not easy as well as it was intriguing. The choice of the browser to establish it was the first challenge. That moment kept coming to me back and forth especially while encountering difficulties or when things were vague to me, especially that I am a first-time-Wix-user to. The start was very fascinating. Charming themes, animated items and colourful illustrations, that is exactly what represents my aesthetics. However, the demands and the expectations of mine created a number of queries. How to insert comments in an open page? How to link a number of pages while hidden from navigation? How to limit a page? and many other hows! I have honestly worked on my Wix page a couple of weeks. I suddenly created another e-portfolio in another server. I really liked how professional and straight forward to work on Google Site, but I really missed the beautifully crafted illustrations. Therefore, I created another Wix Page from scratch.
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This reminds me of two e-portfolios I have previously established. One was on my BA degree blog. It was one of the most interesting experiences where I had gathered my work of that technology course into one whole in a very creative and interactive format. However, once the website provider contacted me that he was closing the website due to flow issues. I begged him not to do it for academic and assessment purposes. He was kind and helpful though it is gone by now.
Mulleur (2018) and Mayer (2018) affirm that portfolios are aim at showcasing learner’s development and achievement throughout the learning experience as it targets students to use their prior knowledge, recent learning, and relevant skills to complete complex, real-world projects. It takes a form of authentic assessment that represents real life activities and relevant to life that captures authentic representations of their skills and acquired knowledge. In other words, it is performance-based assessment. It also adds to nourishing students’ problem solving skills as well as communication since students will share and search for resolutions to the various challenges. That communication may take more than one form, learner to learner or learner to technology, a thing that helps in shaping and sharpening.
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I personally believe that portfolios are a representation of fostered soft and hard skills. It touches upon content related mastery as well as skills beyond content, using computer, aesthetics, proof reading learner’s own artwork as most obvious examples. It mosaic-ally gathers students’ skills and best work into a highly crafted piece of work. It is a midpoint between academia and art which encompasses a double shot value. Hence, I believe the introduction of e-portfolios in the Omani context, government schools in particular, may show very few challenges due to the increasing computer literacy awareness, availability of devices among students and their domestic environment and the literacy level among parents. These factors and more do facilitate the introduction of e-portfolios as an authentic form of assessment in the Omani schools with an attempt to transform the assessment and the learning process from merely traditional into a redefined and modified level through the integration of technology and the 21st century skills.
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