Purpose, Audience, and Engagement in Spelman College's eFolio Project

Abstract

This chapter reports on the pilot phase of a longitudinal study that tracks Spelman College’s transition from a paper-based First-Year Writing Portfolio to an electronically based one. It presents data from interviews with students, faculty, and administrators, as well as surveys administered to a pilot section of students composing eFolios. These data indicate that the transition will require a re-evaluation of the First-Year Writing Portfolio’s current conception of audience and purpose. Further, they indicate that assigners of eFolios should discuss audience and purpose directly with all stakeholders in the eFolio composition process, including students, administration, and faculty, since these elements may be differently conceptualized by different individuals and/or across different contexts.