Reflections on the Seminar "What Triggers Students to Create ePortfolios"

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• The Seminar "What triggers students to create ePortfolios" had it's 4-hour program full of interesting lectures guided by a few professors from all around Europe. It took place on ESE-IPS' auditorium on Saturday, the 25th of March. It was free or charge but needed registration, since the seats were limited.
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  Schedule:
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• On said date and event we spoke not only of “What students want” (Which was a very interesting lecture to begin with), but also mentioned the fact that “Students are not as psyched about ePortfolios as us, teachers, are.”. Either way, the lectures had a great extent on the experimentations and predictions of the use of ePortfolios, as well as the participation of students on explicit and direct questions in loco and on the professors’ local countries.
  
  
  My understanding of the subject was the same as it was reflected on the work and lectures of the professors, in which ePortfolios are an useful tool that makes learning visible which gives students a sense of pride related to their good work, as well as they’d find the need to make a better job, since their projects would be seen by anyone. ePortfolios are good when constantly uploaded, and as the students pass their years studying they get to look at their work done in the past and realize how much they grew personally and work-wise, also highlighting the process other than the results,  also making it a storage of work, and allowing students to reflect, share, collaborate, all in a very dynamic process. 
• The subject that got all my attention though was the use of Badges in college and university. As an active student, i had the change of working with badges before, on the multi language learning app “Duolingo” and for Google’s learning platform, https://atelierdigitalportugal.withgoogle.com/ in which both cases let you share your badges on linked.in, website destined to let you share your professional achievements and curriculum vitae. Badges allow students be proud of what they’ve done, the extracurricular classes and courses they attended to, and it also lets others see the hard work they put themselves under.
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• (image shown during one of the lectures. Found at: http://classhack.com/post/45364649211/open-badge-anatomy-updated)
  
  
  To sum up the reflection over the seminar:
• - One or two aspects you considered relevant? Why?
• It’s mostly good to see that ePortfolios work for many different studying areas, seen as some of the professors had tested ePortfolios on Vet students, Social Communication students, and so on. It is also relevant to underline the sense of “work done” students get when they update their ePortfolios, as if they are fulfilling the need of keeping said platform updated. Related to the seminar, i enjoyed how us students were constantly questioned by the professors, as if they wanted to know what we felt and thought about what they were talking about.
• - What are the most important ePortfolio characteristics for the learning process?
• Having the need and motivation of constantly updating; Making it easy for friends to check your work, as well as see other people’s work too for reference; Somewhat creating a sense of pride over their creations; Making it easier to show your work on possible job interviews; Having easier feedback from the teachers; Having the platform as a way of knowing how much you grew and how much you improved as the years pass by.
• I believe the inclusion of ePortfolios on colleges and universities will change the way students look at their own homework and assignments, increasing their willingness to study and the need to get their work perfectly done.