The 2020 ePortfolio forum was hosted online on 29th-30th October with the theme Digital Identity – Ethics and Experience. The 9th ePortforum, organised by ePortfolios Australia and supported by Deakin University, hosted presentations, workshops and facilitated conversations and networking. ePortfolios Australia is a professional network which aims to support the use of e-portfolio practice in Australia and beyond through professional development activities and the sharing of resources, ideas and practice.

The opening keynote was delivered by Associate Professor Inger Mewburn, Director of Research and Training, Australian National University. She reflected on her 10 years of blogging and social media and how this practice helped to create a digital footprint, supporting a professional identity across multiple platforms. The closing keynote was delivered by Jeanette Cheah, CEO and founder of Hacker Exchange, which is a tertiary accredited organisation helping the next generation of entrepreneurs turn their ideas into reality and build a powerful community along the way. She talked about how entrepreneurship and innovative thinking can create the ultimate digital identity, drawing on insights from thousands of student entrepreneurs and her dedication to helping leaders grow as global citizens.

Jo Elliott along with Chie Adachi from Deakin Learning Futures presented a shortened peer review paper on the topic, ‘Building their portfolio: Using ePortfolios in teacher PD to build capacity’. This session discussed how universities must invest in building teachers’ capacity to confidently embed portfolio activities, given ePortfolios present the opportunity to work with students on reflective practice and digital fluency.

Deakin alumni from the Faculty of Business and Law, Daniel Nguyen, Shriya Gupta, Ashish Khadka, along with current Deakin student, Soumya Gupta, participated in a panel discussion on the topic, ‘What happens once the course is over? ePortfolios provide graduates with a digital identity and footprint – so who is responsible for this ePortfolio?’. This interactive session highlighted stories of students, alumni and learning designers in their experience with ePortfolios and how should this concept be introduced throughout university.

Deakin is currently working on pedagogical and technical use of ePortfolios with two portfolio tools, PebblePad and Portfolium, in pilot phase. Currently, the use of PebblePad provides evidence and reflection by staff-built workbooks as well as a tool for students to record activities, which can be accessed by staff to provide feedback. This is in line with the increasing presence of portfolios in university curriculum and the curation of evidence to enhance graduate employability.