Desire2Learn ePortfolio

Desire2Learn just announced that their ePortfolio system will be available to clients for installations beginning February 28.

Today's announcement reminded me that I saw D2L's Ken Chapman give a presentation of their ePortfolio system back in July 2007. Though I have not followed the trends and issues of ePortfolios over time (and I'm not even sure where my own institution currently stands on this idea), I came away with a number of impressions.

If some of these notes are vague, it's because my memory has deteriorated since last July. I'm also hoping that what I saw back then is actually still a part of the product set to be released.

• The learner is at the center of their model. Not only can artifacts be added and grouped, but the learner can reflect on these artifacts and collections. Depending on the configuration, instructors, peers and the learner can assess the artifacts.
• A new kind of inline help was developed by D2L for their ePortfolio system. I'm hoping this will eventually show up in the Learning Environment system.
• Feedback, alerts, and comments were incorporated.
• Tagging of artifacts was incorporated. Again, let's hope this appears in the LE at some point.
• "Presentations" allows the learner to select from a number of different views of his/her ePortfolio according to the intended audience. The template designs seemed very modern (similar to Blogger or WordPress-style designs).

Feel free to leave comments if I've erred in my notes.

Also, D2L has scheduled a slew of webinars as part of their Desire2Learn ePortfolio Webinar Series.