Bob Barrett chief learning officer for Burson-Marsteller stated that “If we don’t have the best people creating the best product, we can’t compete. What I’m after is creating the best people in the industry. E-Learning is an option that provides us with real competitive edge – it helps us maximize our intellectual capital” (Koprowski, 2000, pg. 1). Thus, as noted in the previous discussion points, there is a growing need for educational institutions to produce not only quality graduates, but graduates that can help organization to remain competitive and be a more strategic part of the organization. Not only do these companies in today’s marketplace want employees, and potential candidates, to be competitive and high –achievers, but also these workers want to achieve the most that they can. Knowles (1980) stated that “adult [learners] see education as a process of developing increased competence to achieve their full potential in life. They want to be able to apply whatever knowledge and skill they gain today to life more effective tomorrow.” We need to question whether or not our educational institutions are providing enough learning opportunities and projects (hands-on applications) to help satisfy the needs of the adult learner, as well as meeting the growing workforce needs of society’s business needs. Students do want to achieve, and there is a reason why they have returned back to school. Many are returning for job opportunities, career development opportunities (in a new field) or to see if they have the potential to do different job rules and functions with their current skills (or obtainment of new skills). According to Paris and Ayres (2002), “Learners deserve to be active participants in assessment of their own learning rather than “passive respondents to a series of tests” (p. 6). As a result more educational institutions are looking at meeting academic standards (program and course objectives), as well as offer more action learning (i.e., hands-on applications) to help motivate learners and offer more “real world” conceptualization of their inclass learning. One of these hands-on applications is the creation of a portfolio, namely an “e-Portfolio” or “Virtual Portfolio.”
5. What is a virtual portfolio? More universities are now starting to introduce the concept of portfolios. While the idea is not a new one, the changing nature of technology, as well as the online learning format, has made this concept into a more desirable component of academic learning. Thus, many learners are starting to work on their first academic portfolio, which can be used later for career development opportunities. However, the author would like to note here that not all educational institutions make these portfolios readily available to its students (and sometimes do not tell them that one does exist) (Barrett, 2012). While the concept of portfolios has been used in many different academic disciplines, the purpose of this paper is to view them in the context of the business discipline. In particular, the reference of portfolios will be used with either of the following terms: electronic portfolios, e-Portfolios or Virtual Portfolios. Electronic Portfolios (e-Portfolios) have been described in many different ways in terms of how they are designed and developed, as well as implemented and evaluated. According to the University of Berkeley, “An e-Portfolio functions like a file cabinet with file drawers and file folders. Students store personal, educational, career, skill assessment, non-academic/work experience, certification, and rewards information in their portfolios. The information placed in an ePortfolio is referred to as an artefact.” (LDP e-Portfolio Report, 20008). For the adult learner, their portfolio can serve as a dual purpose. First, it can serve as an academic project for credit in their learning process. Second, it can serve as a foundation for future artefacts to be added, almost like a living portfolio (document), which the adult learner can use for future job interviews. After considering the needs and uses by business and students in term of Virtual Portfolios (or e-Portfolios), there is another concern for the use of these applications, namely economics. While some academic institutions are eager to employ and use e-Portfolio software systems, others educational institutions may want to consider their own creation (design and development) and implementation of an e-Portfolio system (evaluative project). Goldsby and Fazal (2001) stated that student-created portfolios are commonly “used in teacher preparation programs to demonstrate teaching skills and expertise. Why use these portfolios in the online learning environment? Well, many schools have started to use this practice, since they have realized that test scores alone lack the comprehensive scope needed for effective assessment and evaluation, portfolios can be implemented to interpret/make decisions regarding learning of teaching competences” (pp. 607-608). Further, eportconsortium, noted that the role and function of an E-Portfolio was “. . . . [to] facilitate[e] and captur[e] the evolution of concepts and ideas through revisions of work and interactions with instructors, mentors, classmates and friends, electronic portfolios can be much more than a Web site that
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