There is a tension in deciding when to have students create their eportfolios.
When students select what materials go in their eportfolios, there is a continuum of students doing an assignment that demonstrates the proficiency and putting it immediately in their eportfolios and, at the other end, of waiting until the end of the semester for the students to see all of the assignments that meet that proficiency and then selecting a particular assignment before they puts it in the eportfolios.
The immediate end of the continuum creates less panic and less end of the semester frustration; however, very likely the students may not be including their best evidence of achievement of the proficiency if they put in their first assignment for that proficiency. Often students grow in their understanding of the proficiency during a semester; they come to better comprehend the breadth and depth of the proficiency. On the other hand, when the students wait until the end of the semester, the students may feel overwhelmed by the task of selecting from all their possible assignments and may or may not select their best evidence. Usually their end of semester reflections are better since they have had more time to think over how an assignment demonstrates the proficiency.
When do your students create their eportfolios?
© Harry Grover Tuttle, 2007
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Education with Technology Harry G. Tuttle 
