Today, higher education institutions need to prepare for technology integration into even the most sacred of rituals: promotion and tenure for faculty members. A holistic approach is necessary to extract the practices and dispositions of the faculty and support providers. This chapter aims to define the Electronic Teaching Portfolio and to describe some conditions to satisfy before implementing a support system. Furthermore, the chapter describes the design and content of an ideal support system that is feasible to implement, given that the institution is willing to commit necessary resources.
TopIntroduction
As technology permeates every aspect of higher education (Goodyear, 1998; Green, 1994, 1997, 2003; NCES, 1997; Otieno, 2001), institutions will need to prepare for its integration into even the most sacred of rituals: promotion and tenure. Administration, campus offices, and faculty groups will need to assess the technological and cultural landscapes (Strudler, 2002) of the institution in order to design systems to support faculty members desiring to create electronic portfolios used for promotion and tenure (Johnson, 2003). These Electronic Teaching Portfolios can take many creative and innovative forms (Barrett, 2004; Seldin, 1997); however, their creation can extend the capacity of the typical repertoire of information technology support (Tomes & Higgison, 1998; Starrett, 2004). It is in the best interest of the institution to design a predictable, sustainable system (Hartman & Truman-Davis, 2001; Strudler, 2002; Wetzel & Strudler, 2005) for improving faculty technology skills in pursuit of creating defensible Electronic Teaching Portfolios (Arreola, 1995). This chapter aims to define the Electronic Teaching Portfolio and to describe some conditions to satisfy before implementing a support system. Furthermore, the chapter describes the design and content of an ideal support system that is feasible to implement, given that the institution is willing to commit necessary resources.