Electronic portfolios (ePortfolios), when applied as pedagogy (Catalyst for Learning), provide learners with opportunities to create different representations of their various learning experiences, and make visible the authentic “evidence of [their] experience in the ePortfolio (Scott, 1991). Central to this, is the ability of ePortfolios to empower learners to find their own pathway by providing learners the space to reflect on their various learning experiences (Penny Light, 2016). The fundamental piece in a portfolio for learning is that learners are able to develop their reflective and intellectual abilities over the course of their learning career. As diverse learners comprise a larger percentage of our learner population, it is imperative that we look to the ways that culture shapes learner identities, and the characteristics they bring to higher education. Many ePortfolio implementations overlook the significance of encouraging learners to consider the ways that their learning identities are also shaped by culture.
Crystalyn Lemieux graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage with a bachelor in health sciences and a minor in psychology. She received a Fulbright grant to do research on cultural identity ePortfolios with Dr. Tracy Penny Light.