This presentation explores the affordances of eportfolio in supporting the design of authentic assessments. As described in Hobbins’ (2021) paper, the key elements of authentic assessments include representation of real-world experiences, cognitive challenge, scaffolded instructions and the opportunity for students to engage in self and peer assessments to apply and practice their evaluative judgement. This presentation also investigates how an eportfolio tool can enable Torrens University Australia to achieve its strategic goals of producing global graduates with strong industry connections and nurturing a community of lifelong reflective learners in view of the University’s Smart Skills Framework.

1. Designing Experiential Learning and
Authentic Assessments Through
Eportfolios
By: Nijel Ratonel
Email: nijel.ratonel@torrens.edu.au

2. Acknowledgement of Country
Designing Experiential Learning and Authentic Assessments Through Eportfolios
Torrens University Australia
acknowledges the traditional
custodians of the land on which we’re
meeting and pays respect to Elders
both past and present and extends
that respect to all Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people.

3. Presentation Agenda
Experiential Learning
05 September 2022
Authentic Assessments
Formal Definition of Eportfolios
Eportfolio Solutions
Key Features and Functions
of Eportfolio Tools
Mt. Coot-tha Metaphor

4. What is an eportfolio?
An eportfolio is formally defined as a collection of learning artefacts, achievements
and activity logs over a period that students collate for reflective thinking and practice,
authentic assessments and experiential learning through placements and career
development (Andrade, 2019; Holtzman et al., 2022).
Designing Experiential Learning and Authentic Assessments Through Eportfolios

5. Example of Eportfolio: Employability Showcase
05 September 2022
Career Summary
Career Snapshot
(Interactive Infographics)
• Interactive Contents
Developed
• Learning Technologies
Training Statistics
Showcase of Projects
• E-Learning Projects
• Digital Learning
Contents
• Print Media
• Photography
Conference
Presentations and
Publications
https://bit.ly/nijelportfolio
Nijel Ratonel’s
Professional Eportfolio
Tool: Canvas Eportfolio

6. Reflective Journal
05 September 2022
https://bit.ly/nijelportfolio
Nijel Ratonel’s
Professional Eportfolio
Decision Making: Normative vs.
Naturalistic Approach
Tool: Canvas Eportfolio

7. Mentimeter Polling
Eportfolio for Employability Showcase
Let’s have a quick show of hands.
Go to www.menti.com and use the code 1490 5737
or navigate to https://www.menti.com/6kbuum16i2
05 September 2022

9. How does an eportfolio support the
design of authentic assessments?
Designing Experiential Learning and Authentic Assessments Through Eportfolios

10. Authentic Assessments
05 September 2022
• This involves learner
engagement through
problems or situations
that typically occur in
everyday life or in
contemporary
workplaces.
Representation of
real-world
experiences
• Authenticity in
assessments comes
with timely, meaningful
and sequential
pedagogical structures.
Cognitive challenge
and scaffolded
instructions
• A higher-order thinking
skill that involves
judging features or
criteria of a subject and
explaining the opinion
of its value.
Evaluative
judgement
• The evaluative
judgement of one’s own
learning and the
reflective practice of
acting upon feedback
received from peers.
Self and peer
feedback
(Hobbins et al., 2021)
Four Key Elements

11. Mentimeter Polling
Designing Authentic Assessments
Let’s brainstorm.
Go to www.menti.com and use the code 1490 5737
or navigate to https://www.menti.com/6kbuum16i2
05 September 2022

15. Eportfolio Evaluation Project
Designing Experiential Learning and Authentic Assessments Through Eportfolios
• As a Learning Experience Designer,
I led the formative evaluation of
eportfolio solutions
• Blackboard’s Eportfolio is ‘clunky’
• TUA’s Strategic Goal: To be an
Industry’s University producing
graduates with strong industry
connections
(formerly known as Chalk and Wire)

16. Formative Evaluation of PebblePad
05 September 2022
Pedagogical Structures
• Structured Reflection
• SMART Action Plan
• Journal Entry
• Action Plan
• and other customasible
default/built-in templates within
PebblePlus (A portfolio tool
within the PebblePad Eportfolio
Solution)

17. Mentimeter Polling
PebblePad: Have you used or heard of it before?
Let’s have a quick show of hands.
Go to www.menti.com and use the code 1490 5737
or navigate to https://www.menti.com/6kbuum16i2
05 September 2022

19. Structured Reflection Template within PebblePad
05 September 2022
Prompt for Reflection:
e.g.
Describe your thoughts or feelings
to an event (either a personal
experience or a new insight gained
from studies or at work).

20. Agency: Selecting Evidence of Learning
05 September 2022
Substantiate Learning:
e.g.
Upload a photo from your local drive, a video
from your PebblePad Assets, or any artefact as
evidence to support your claim that you have
developed the knowledge, skill or ability.

21. Opportunities for Self and Peer Review/Feedback
05 September 2022
Sharing Capabilities:
• Click on ‘I want to…’
• Share to recipients:
• Peers
• Learning facilitators
• External assessors; or
• Potential employers
Option to allow recipients to leave a comment

22. Evaluation Instrument
05 September 2022
• Capability to attach an evaluation instrument
for a formal peer review/assessment
• This evaluation instrument (either a rubric or
a scorecard) can also be used for a
summative assessment wherein learning
facilitators or an external assessors assess
students reflections and provide feedback.
Option for assessors to provide feedback and allow students to incorporate
feedback and resubmit.

23. How can we design experiential
learning through eportfolios?
Designing Experiential Learning and Authentic Assessments Through Eportfolios

24. Experiential Learning
Designing Experiential Learning and Authentic Assessments Through Eportfolios
Opportunities for learners to take
initiative, make decisions, and be
accountable for the results.
Knowledge acquired from formal
settings is applied to a “real world”
setting (Boston University, n.d.)
Decision
Accountability
Initiative
Decision
Decision
Toowoomba Metaphor

25. Experiential Learning
Designing Experiential Learning and Authentic Assessments Through Eportfolios
Elements (Kolb’s Cycle):
• Concrete Experience
• Reflective Observation
• Abstract Conceptualisation
• Active Experimentation
(Boston University, n.d.)
Reflect and form
abstract concepts
from perception
George Street Metaphor
Concrete Experience
Experiment:
To enter or
not to enter?
Experiment: Walk down the stairs
without holding the hand rail.

26. Experiential Learning
Designing Experiential Learning and Authentic Assessments Through Eportfolios
Examples:
• Work-Integrated Learning or
Placement at a Host Organisation
• Clinical Placement for Nursing
students
• Internships for Business students
• Student teaching for Teacher
Education students
(Boston University, n.d.)
View of the Story Bridge
and Brisbane City at TUA
Bowen Hills Campus

27. PebblePad Use Case for Clinical Placements
05 September 2022
Nursing students can:
• Create reflective journal entries in a
Clinical/Nursing Workbook
• Log measurable activities (e.g. 2 hours
of work communicating professionally
and expressing empathy for a patient)
• Map record of learning to a
Clinical/Nursing Knowledge Area
• Substantiate their learning
• Share work to their placement
supervisor for evaluation
PebblePad Capability: Map evidence against a knowledge area or a learning outcome
(e.g. Demonstrate extensive knowledge of human sciences and health assessment)

28. Eportfolio Use Cases
05 September 2022
Use Cases Description References
Student's digital portfolio for career
development
Current students build and reflect on their digital collection of learning artefacts to
develop personal and professional skills for future employment applications and
fulfilment of career aspirations.
(The University of Queensland, n.d.-a)
Repository of learning artefacts A learner records, stores and reflects on evidence of learning. (The University of Queensland, n.d.-b)
Evidence-based assessments for deep
learning
A learner submits a written or oral response to a summative or formative task for the
assessment of domain-specific knowledge and skills, reflective and critical thinking,
creativity or higher-order thinking skills, self-direction in learning and ability to learn
through feedback and apply it for future application.
(Hallam & Creagh, 2010; Weeks et al., 2016)
Work Integrated Learning (WIL) A student enrolled in a course with a placement subject/component or deployed at the
host organisation of their placement.
(Weeks et al., 2016; Naumann et al., 2016;
Griffith University, n.d., Griffith University
Learning Futures, 2018a; Griffith University
Learning Futures, 2018b)
Academic professional learning An academic or a Higher Degree by Research (HDR) student documents evidence of
scholarship, publication and citation for professional development.
(Sankey, 2018)
Capstone Projects A current student submits a culminating assignment at the end of an academic program
or the final year of a qualification.
(Clarke & Boud, 2019)
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) A current student submits evidence of competency acquired through formal or informal
learning to meet the requirements of a unit of study.
(Pebble Learning, 2022)

29. Use Case: Japanese Eportfolio
05 September 2022
By: Niannian Liu (Lynn)
• An international student (China) from the University
of Melbourne
• Homework: Weekly Reflective Journals
• The journey of learning Hiragana (Japanese writing
system/syllabary)
• Collection of learning artefacts documenting the
formative learning exercises she completed each
week.
(Liu, n.d.)
Lynn’s Japanese Eportfolio
https://canvas.lms.unimelb.edu.au/eportf
olios/5693/Home
Tool: Canvas Eportfolio

30. The Road Ahead…
Designing Experiential Learning and Authentic Assessments Through Eportfolios
• PebblePad is not a licensed and
supported tool within TUA’s current
Digital Learning Ecosystem.
• Employability Steering Committee’s
endorsement of PebblePad
• We are working on a Business Case
for the provision of PebblePad
licenses.
• We are aiming for Term 1 2023 for
rollout (but this is subject to legal,
funding and change management)
Brisbane Metro Showcase at the
2022 Royal Queensland Show (Ekka)

31. Mentimeter Polling
Would you like PebblePad to be one of the supported tools within Torrens University
Australia’s (TUA) Digital Learning Ecosystem?
Let’s have a quick show of hands.
Go to www.menti.com and use the code 1490 5737
or navigate to https://www.menti.com/6kbuum16i2
05 September 2022

33. Summary and Conclusion
05 September 2022
Other Potential Use Cases
of Eportfolio Solutions
Story Bridge Metaphor
Formal Definition of Eportfolio
Four Key Elements of Authentic
Assessments (Hobbins et al., 2021)
An Example of Eportfolio for Employability Showcase
Pedagogical Structures and Placement
Functions within PebblePad
Experiential Learning through WIL
How eportfolio tools can support Experiential
Learning and Authentic Assessments

34. The ball is now in your court…
05 September 2022
West End Basketball Court Metaphor

35. References
Andrade, M. S. (2019). Eportfolios and online learning: applying concepts of organizational behavior. International Journal of E-Learning & Distance Education, 34(1).
https://lesa.on.worldcat.org/oclc/8671065630
Boston University. (n.d.). Experiential learning. BU Centre for Teaching & Learning. https://www.bu.edu/ctl/guides/experiential-learning/
Clarke, J., & Boud, D. (2019). A retrospective eportfolio capstone project Jillclarke [PowerPoint Slides]. SlideShare.
https://www.slideshare.net/eportfoliosaustralia/a-retrospective-eportfolio-capstone-project-jillclarke
Griffith University. (n.d.-a). Nursing and midwifery. https://www.griffith.edu.au/griffith-health/fit-for-professional-practice/schools/nursing-and-midwifery
Griffith University Learning Futures. (2018a, May 28). PebblePad: Reflection for work integrated learning placements for health students [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9MXBSGZb8s
Griffith University Learning Futures. (2018b, June 29). PebblePad: Work integrated learning walk-through [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7QDAK152tQ&t=2s
Hallam, G., & Creagh, T. (2010). ePortfolio use by university students in Australia: a review of the Australian ePortfolio Project, Higher Education Research and Development, 29:2, 179-193,
https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360903510582
Hobbins, J., Kerrigan, B., Farjam, N., Fisher. A., Houston, E., & Ritchie, K. (2021) Does a classroom-based curriculum offer authentic assessments? A strategy to uncover their prevalence and incorporate
opportunities for authenticity, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2021.2009439
Holtzman, D. M., Kraft, E. M., & Small, E. (2022). Use of ePortfolios for making hiring decisions: A comparison of the results from representatives of large and small businesses. Journal of Work-Applied
Management, 14(1), 18-34. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWAM-01-2021-0001
Liu, N. (n.d.) Japanese eportfolio. The University of Melbourne. https://canvas.lms.unimelb.edu.au/eportfolios/5693/Home
Naumann, F., Yang, J.-L., Thai, T., Ford, C., & Polly, P. (2016). Virtual patient consultations and the use of an eportfolio assessment to support student learning of integrated professional skills. Focus on
Health Professional Education: A Multi-Disciplinary Journal, 17(3), 69–81. https://doi.org/10.11157/fohpe.v17i3.178
Pebble Learning. (2022). Charles Darwin University chooses PebblePad to power technology-enhanced learning. https://resources.pebblepad.co.uk/press-release-charles-darwin-feb-2022
Sankey, M. (2018). Design heuristics to consider when transitioning across ePortfolio systems (Mahara to PebblePad): Wins, losses and reflections. 2018 Eportfolio Forum: Exploring, Experiencing,
Engaging, Energising, Expanding. PP. 33-41. 9-10 October. Griffith University, Brisbane.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328190474_Design_heuristics_to_consider_when_transitioning_across_ePortfolio_systems_Mahara_vs_PebblePad_Wins_losses_and_reflections
The University of Queensland. (n.d.-a). My eportfolio: Showcase your employability. https://employability.uq.edu.au/eportfolio
The University of Queensland. (n.d.-b). What is an eportfolio? https://elearning.uq.edu.au/guides/eportfolio/what-eportfolio
Weeks, R., Bleasel, J., Haq, I., & Burgess, A. (2016). Feedback using an eportfolio for medicine long cases: quality not quantity. BMC Medical Education, 16(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-016-
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