As traditional calendar schools and institutions begin their school years, educators might be supporting students to embark on evidence collection for their ePortfolios. This blog is especially for those who have used ePortfolios or ePortfolio-adjacent structures. The Association for Authentic, Experiential, & Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL) publishes the AAEEBL ePortfolio Review, an open-access journal featuring ePortfolio practices that might inspire or challenge us as educators. Or, in the journal’s own words, “open the door to new methods of innovation that develop professional and personal growth in the ever-changing realm of academia.”

The Spring 2026 issue was titled ePortfolios in Times of Disruption, and opened with a letter from AEEBBL President Debbie Oesch-Minor that emphasized people and the humans of academia matter, and thus, so does the use of the ePortfolio. The hopes and aims for the ePortfolio are bold:

ePortfolio integration, when maximized through folio thinking, empowers users to take control of their educations, their digital footprint, and their personal narratives. Every student you connect with matters. Each project, course, consultation, and programmatic innovation is an opportunity to bolster learning and reinforce meaningful individual, professional, and global change. (Oesch-Minor 2026, 4)

Two Perspectives on ePortfolio Practice

Two articles published in this issue were “From Classroom to Career: Dual Perspectives on the Power of ePortfolios” by DJ Jaeger and “Using an Openly Licensed ePortfolio Template To Support Student Agency in a Career Preparation Course for Language Majors” by Amber Hoye. Both pieces highlight how students in higher education can document themselves through an ePortfolio authentically and accurately in the ways they aspire to be represented and presented.

Additionally, digital ethics principles for ePortfolios are introduced and overviewed, and in a future blog, we’ll dig into those more and how they connect to the work of another Center for Engaged Learning (CEL) Scholar. For now, this blog overviews a feature from each of the articles mentioned above to spotlight some of the current work and considerations around ePortfolios.

Four Standout Components of an ePortfolio

Jaeger names four standout components of the ePortfolio, comparing them to teacher candidates merely submitting a resume in job applications. Jaeger notes that these components may be especially important in a time of rapid Artificial Intelligence (AI) advances.

I summarize them here:

• Reflection with Evidence: Artifacts that are carefully curated, with an articulation of why they matter to the ePortfolio composition holistically.
• Practical Design and Usability: Organized scannability and clarity can speak volumes—about the candidate themself and about their ability to do such work and apply it to future contexts.
• Iterative Process: Proof that the work was done and reflection on how to improve it moving forward.
• Interview-ready Material: An ePortfolio that gives an interviewer something to ask about: “a tricky decision, a constraint you worked around, or a results story with measurable impact.” (p. 15)

Jaeger’s components and article overall spurred thoughts about what the ePortfolio might offer to engaged, authentic learning and, thereby, authentic employment in a time when students have unlimited access to generative AI. This thinking aligns with the Center for Engaged Learning (CEL)’s current 2026–2028 research on Rethinking Engaged Learning in the Age of GenAI.

From Platform Challenges to Student Agency

Hoye allowed the reader to journey with them through the considerations of technology and platform when using ePortfolios, as well as the technological challenges that can hinder the ePortfolio process.

The institution no longer supported a proprietary ePortfolio program, leaving students and the instructor without access to their work. Hoye also encountered challenges when using a free version of WordPress, which allowed for more freedom and access but placed unsustainable technological support demands on the instructor. After troubleshooting students’ ePortfolio compositions across platforms through trial and error, Hoye shifted their thinking away from the platform itself and toward how to scaffold student agency while using a platform.

The previous challenges and this shift in thinking led to the creation of an ePortfolio template openly licensed with Creative Commons Zero. Without a template, the instructor spent time supporting technology use and design. With the provision of a template, students had the freedom to create and represent themselves through the content of the ePortfolio, and the instructor could center support and time on providing feedback on that content. The template design was the scaffold for student identity to flourish through the ePortfolio. Hoye’s An ePortfolio Template for Language Majors is available as an openly licensed resource that educators and students can duplicate and adapt for their own ePortfolios.

Authentically sharing this journey of challenges and solutions, and of the template itself, emphasizes how the ePortfolio really can be a meta High-Impact Practice, seamlessly connecting to the newest designated practice of Open Educational Resources.

Broadening My Thinking About ePortfolios

When I started my reading journey around the ePortfolio, I was focused on its use in teacher education because of my own higher education home. This journal, and specifically this special issue, became one of the first steps in broadening my readings, discussions, and collaborations around ePorfolios.

I’ve already shared Jaeger’s four standout components of ePortfolios with a colleague supporting senior capstone transition in her program from mere resumes to a more comprehensive portfolio, and I’ve shared Hoye’s template with both higher education colleagues and K–12 colleagues thinking about how they might better scaffold ePortfolio practices for students.

Hoye’s mindset around templates as a catalyst for more authentic learning that facilitates student creativity from a starting point has been helpful in my own reflection on designing my 2026–2027 courses and assignments in our university learning management system. It has also prompted me to think about where and how I might offer templates.

References

Hoye, Amber. 2024. “An ePortfolio Template for Language Majors.” An ePortfolio Template for Language Majors. Boise State University. https://boisestate.pressbooks.pub/world300template/.

Hoye, Amber. 2026. “Using an Openly Licensed ePortfolio Template to Support Student Agency in a Career Preparation Course for Language Majors.” AAEEBL ePortfolio Review. Association for Authentic, Experiential, & Evidence-Based Learning.

Jaeger, Danielle. 2026. “From Classroom to Career: Dual Perspectives on the Power of ePortfolios.” AAEEBL ePortfolio Review. Association for Authentic, Experiential, & Evidence-Based Learning.

Oesch-Minor, Debbie. 2026. “From the AAEEBL Board.” AAEEBL ePortfolio Review. Association for Authentic, Experiential, & Evidence-Based Learning.

About the Author

Katie Baker is Associate Professor of Education and Associate Chair of the Department of Education and Wellness at Elon University’s Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education. She serves as the 2026–2028 CEL Scholar, where her research focuses on ePortfolios as a high-impact educational practice. Drawing on her experience as the edTPA coordinator for Elon’s teacher preparation programs, her scholarship explores ePortfolios, teacher education, mathematics education, and performance-based assessment.

How to Cite This Post

Baker, Katie. 2026. “ePortfolios in Times of Disruption: A Review and Considerations.” Center for Engaged Learning (blog). Elon University. September 1, 2026. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/eportfolios-in-times-of-disruption-a-review-and-considerations.