Future ePortfolios: striking a balance between promoting engagement and discouraging cheating

Authors: Dr Charlotte Hammerton, Dr Carys Phillips, Dr Alison Sturrock, Mr Taylor Bennie and Dr Gil Myers

In 2021 UCL medical school launched a new clinical electronic portfolio (e-portfolio), designed in partnership with students. Consistent with student feedback, this portfolio focused on facilitating instantaneous in-person feedback on work-based assessments. Students are all provided with an iPad to use to access the e-portfolio and the e-portfolio platform is intended to meet at least level 2 (AA) of the W3C’s Website Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Guidelines.

Students had previously reported that getting feedback was complex and unclear in our original portfolio. This version removed barriers and utilised a streamlined approach to simplify engagement.

Students also anonymously reported possible cheating. These concerns were reflected in supervisor feedback, so we introduced an automatic email to the assessor to confirm they had completed this assessment. We also introduced ‘spot checks’ checking assessor sign offs.

In the presentation, we discuss our approach to balancing promoting student engagement and maximising the student experience with their portfolio to deterring possible cheating.

 

UCL Education Conference 23 Presentation v2

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