clipped from www.learningfutures.eu

I think we should differentiate between:

• ePortfolios -- that are documents, full stop
• ePorfolio authoring systems -- the tools used by the author
• ePortfolio management systems -- that are tools used by institutions
  

let's take the discussion about "assessment ePortfolios" that some claim alter the "true nature" of ePortfolios — and I'm always a bit wary when people refer to the "true nature" of man made things! One one side, there would be the "good portfolio," that belongs entirely to the individual, who manages it from start to finish (until death do us part) and, on the other side, the "evil portfolio", owned by the institution who uses it as support to the grading system. What I claim is that this is like comparing pears and a stove then claim that all stoves are evil as they can be used to transform pears into "Poire Belle Hélène" — I agree that chocolate can be evil!