News

2010.1109

NTNU Launches an E-Portfolio System to Push for Holistic Education

<div> <p>    In an attempt to promote the idea of holistic education and help students to expand their knowledge in liberal arts, the NTNU has launched an e-portfolio system for students to keep a record of their work and learning achievements, and has also created a knowledge database of holistic education and encouraged freshmen to take knowledge tests in the coming years.</p> </div> <div> <p><span>    E-portfolio systems are commonplace in today’s colleges, providing a space for college students to record and store their learning experience for future reference. They also serve as a tool through which students can think about personal development planning after graduation, be it pursuing further studies or seeking employment. Starting from Academic Year 2010, e-portfolios are officially available to students at the NTNU, with freshmen and sophomores as main beneficiaries. </span></p> </div> <div> <p>Shu-Chen Lin, Dean of Student Affairs at the NTNU, said that the e-portfolio system integrates all the information relevant to students, who could use their student ID to sign in to the platform and develop their own academic resumes. The records are divided into those authenticated by schools and those documented by student themselves. The former include knowledge test results, campus activities, certification, course enrollment, book loans, physical fitness, and career competencies, while the latter may contain students’ reading lists, exercise habits, and extracurricular activities. It is expected that such a system would help students sort out their learning experience systematically while in college.</p> </div> <div> <p>According to Lin, holistic education is characterized by campus activities that center on balanced development in the five aspects of education: virtue, knowledge, PE, sociability, and aesthetics. The e-portfolio system allows for online registration for such activities, and students could have their participation authenticated with their RFID cards. After quantifying activity participation, the system will produce a chart that matches students’ learning outcomes with the eight core competencies advocated by the NTNU. In addition, there is an alert mechanism that enables students to have a better understanding of the performance among peers and thereby address their own inadequacies. Advisors from each department will also pitch in to provide guidance to students in order to form a comprehensive counseling mechanism.</p> </div> <div> <p>For off-campus courses or campus workshops that offer no certificates, students can also use the e-portfolio system to obtain authentication. Students are encouraged to update their portfolios on a regular basis, at least once every semester, in order to have a general idea of where they should focus their efforts in career planning.</p> </div> <div>Apex Lin, Vice President of the NTNU, indicated that many students do not realize the importance of good English proficiency until they start job-hunting. If, as freshmen, they could start to explore careers of interest to them and map out their coursework accordingly, they will be better prepared for the future. He also stressed that e-portfolios are significant in keeping track of students’ academic records and participation in club activities. Upon graduation, students can adapt their portfolios into CVs and even submit them to potential employers for qualification assessment.</div>