Theresa Conefrey: Keep effortful learning in a portfolio, especially when using AI

Artificial intelligence, in particular generative AI, can produce writing that - at first glance - looks polished. But does that indicate that a student has learned? That this is their own experience? Teaching Professor Dr Theresa Conefrey from Santa Clara University in California, U.S.A., is all for her students using AI to support their writing, to tweak it, and to find ways to express themselves better. However, she advocates for students to stay in control of their writing, reflect on the AI suggestions, and iterate over their texts, doing the learning themselves. Learning requires effort, and students should embrace that effort and also reflect on their learning to make it stick.Theresa teaches in the English department and in others, including Engineering. She is also the Director of Santa Clara University’s Peer Educator Program. Theresa is passionate about all things ePortfolio and has been a member of the AAEEBL Task Force on Digital Ethics in ePortfolios since 2020. Her research interests include ePortfolios, student learning, particularly first-generation university students' learning, and artificial intelligence in eduction.ResourcesConefrey, T. (2026, June 17). AI on our side in learning ePortfolios. AAEEBL Symposium 2026, Online.Mize, M., & Tyson, E. (2026, June 17). Centering student voice in an AI-mediated world: ePortfolios as a site of agency. AAEEBL Symposium, Online.Mize, M., & Tyson, E. (2026, June 17). Inviting curiosity about AI, writing, and design through ePortfolios. AAEEBL Symposium, Online.Riff - the AI reflection partner by Dr Leticia Britos Cavagnaro at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school) at Stanford UniversityAAEEBL Digital Ethics in ePortfolios Task ForceAAEEBL AI webinar seriesScott, S. (n.d.). Martin Buber (1878-1965). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: A Peer-Reviewed Academic Resource. Retrieved September 6, 2026.Related episodesLeticia Britos Cavagnaro: Make learning visibleMike Altieri: Use reflection bot Riff for deeper and more meaningful portfolio reflectionMario A. Peraza: Use AI to help curate your digital presenceMichael Sankey: The portfolio as the place of representation for emerging professionalsSubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios.Production informationProduction: Catalyst ITHost: Kristina HoeppnerArtwork: Evonne CheungMusic: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

Dipl.-Lehrerin* Enikö Parrag sees portfolios as vital educational practice in schools, vocational education, and beyond, especially at present when artificial intelligence can produce content easily. Portfolios are much more than an educational technology tool. They foster reflection, collaboration, and tell the learning journey of a student.Artificial intelligence can be used to augment portfolio work, for example by creating a first draft of templates and by supporting students in their reflections.As Founder and Managing Director of EDUTECSOL GmbH in Switzerland, Enikö and her team provide educational consultancy services, in particular around educational technology and artificial intelligence. EDUTECSOL has been a Mahara Business Partner since 2024. * Enikö's academic degree is that of a 'Dipl.-Lehrerin', which is a teaching diploma roughly equivalent to a postgraduate teaching qualification.ResourcesEnikoe's newsletter 'Portfoliopraxis mit Mahara'RiffMahara Hui SchweizWebinar recording of 'Mahara and AI: What are you interested in?'AAEEBL AI webinar seriesRelated episodesLeticia Britos Cavagnaro: Make learning visibleMike Altieri: Use reflection bot Riff for deeper and more meaningful portfolio reflectionMario A. Peraza: Use AI to help curate your digital presenceZala Volcic: Develop community, relationships, and compassionSubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios.Production informationProduction: Catalyst ITHost: Kristina HoeppnerArtwork: Evonne CheungMusic: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

Relational marking, a variant of negotiated marking, is part of the ungrading movement. It emphasises learning, regular feedback, and taking all of a student's work during a term into consideration. Thus, it is in direct opposition to anonymous marking where only the final output counts. Portfolios are very well suited for relational marking, and students - as well as faculty - reap enormous benefits when taking this approach, as Cathy Elliott shares in this episode.Professor Dr Cathy Elliott, SFHEA, is Vice Dean (Education) in the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences at University College London (UCL), UK. She teaches a political science class on nature and supports over 1,000 faculty and 7,000 students in the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences at UCL.ResourcesElliott, C. (2025). Against anonymity: Relational marking and awarding gaps. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (Special Issue 35: Liberating Learning).Blum, S. D. (Ed.). (2020). Ungrading: Why rating students undermines learning (and what to do instead). West Virginia University Press.National Union of Students. (2008). Mark my words, not my name: The campaign for anonymous marking.'Freedom to learn' movement at UCLRelated episodesCathy Elliott: Creativity and feedback in assessment portfoliosCathy Elliott: Have fun, be flexible, and encourage feedback in your portfolioFergus Green: The portfolio is a bit like jazzZala Volcic: Develop community, relationships, and compassionDebbie Oesch-Minor and Salsabil Qaddoura: Foster student ownership and empowerment through a portfolioSubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios.Production informationProduction: Catalyst ITHost: Kristina HoeppnerArtwork: Evonne CheungMusic: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

Professionals in the workplace can benefit greatly from portfolios. They can reflect on their practice, get feedback from colleagues, collaborate with others, and tell their whole learning story while also gaining a certification.Tabitha Parker, GradDipl HE, is an Education Consultant, Learning Solutions Architect, and Technical Lead working on large-scale change projects in the space of learning management systems and portfolio solutions who has been supporting students and professionals for many years in their portfolio work, designing programmes that fit them and that also respect the people creating portfolios.Additionally, she's active volunteering for education projects. For example, she was the lead volunteer in Aotearoa New Zealand for One Laptop Per Child and Sugar Labs for several years, and is co-founder of the Manaiakalani Education Trust Hackers where she meets fellow volunteers on a monthly basis to further the mission of the trust.ResourcesQuiding, J., Laidlaw, M., Parker, T., & Hoeppner, K. (2020, February 20). Portfolios come full circle in the world of work. SoTEL, Auckland University of Technology.Laidlaw, M., Parker, T., & Quiding, J. (2022, March 31). PDRP at Waitematā DHB. HiNZ Conference, Online.Hoeppner, K. (2018, July 13). Who creates open source software? ITx, Wellington, NZ.Related episodesStephen Harlow: Tell your story through your portfolioDavid Hicks: The portfolio tells the story of growthZala Volcic: Develop community, relationships, and compassionJaye Ryan: Showcase yourself through your portfolioSubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios.Production informationProduction: Catalyst ITHost: Kristina HoeppnerArtwork: Evonne CheungMusic: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

Portfolio work can start at the school level and foster digital resilience through supporting students' technological adaptability, self-directed learning and metacognition, and critical digital engagement, says Molebogeng Esther Thage, MEd. She and Amokelo Given Maweya, MEd, developed a conceptual model to draw these connections and illustrate why portfolios are important in teaching and learning and why students benefit from reflecting on their learning.Molebogeng is a teacher and a departmental head at a high school in the Tshwane West District, in the Gauteng Province in South Africa. Currently, she is also pursuing her PhD in Educational Foundation at The Tshwane University of Technology. Together with Amokelo, she wrote the chapter 'Digital resilience in the 21st century: The role of ePortfolios in fostering adaptive and technological competencies'.ResourcesModise, M.-E., & Vaughan, N. (Eds.). (2025). Digital resilience of ePortfolios during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons for the future. Open Education AlbertaSAERA ConferenceData Driven Districts (DDD)ePortfolios South Africa YouTube channelRelated episodesMpho-Entle Modise & Norm Vaughan: The portfolio as enabler of changeAntje Koenen: Engage with your students as partners through a portfolioSubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios.Production informationProduction: Catalyst ITHost: Kristina HoeppnerArtwork: Evonne CheungMusic: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

Dr Heather Pate is a Lecturer in the Academic Practice Team, and Rebecca Scriven, SFHEA, is the Digital Learning Lead, both in the Centre for Learning and Teaching at Edith Cowan University (ECU). They are instrumental in supporting the curriculum shift to a programmatic approach to learning that centrally features portfolios.In this episode, they talk about how portfolios were used at ECU in the past and why the shift to programmatic learning is imperative. They also touch on the absolute need for the support from the whole institution, in particular the leadership to bring everybody along.ResourcesePortfolios Australia community of practiceEportfolio Forum 2026, 23-24 September 2026 in Sydney and onlinePate, H., & Scriven, R. (2025, November 12). Finding the sweet spot: Portfolios, programmatic learning, and student belonging [Presentation]. Eportfolio Forum, Launceston. Recording.Beck, E., Scriven, R., & Coleman, K. (2026, June 2). Differences in opinion: Portfolio definitions, practices and approaches [Webinar]. 2026 Eportfolio Webinar Series, Online.Dollinger, M., Dawson, P., Ford, A., Liu, D., & Rekhari, S. (2026, June 4). Assuring online degrees in the age of gen AI [Panel conversation]. TEQSA Talks, Online. Recording to be published on the TEQSA Talks page.TEQSA Generative AI knowledge hubColeman, K. (2017). An a/r/tist in wonderland Exploring identity, creativity and digital portfolios as a/r/tographer [PhD Thesis, University of Melbourne].ECU Newsroom. (2026, June 15). Programmatic learning delivers early results.Related episodesKate Mitchell: Deliberate and programmatic designMark Glynn: Take a programmatic approach to assessment with portfoliosSubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios.Production informationProduction: Catalyst ITHost: Kristina HoeppnerArtwork: Evonne CheungMusic: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

Prof Dr Candyce Reynolds (Boise State University), Prof Dr Debbie Oesch-Minor (Indiana University Indianapolis), and Dr Helen L. Chen (Stanford University) were on the organising teams of the AAEEBL Annual Meeting and / or AAEEBL Symposium, held in June 2026.In this episode, we look back at these two events, what we are taking away from them, and share what some of the plans are for the Association for Authentic, Experiential, and Evidence-Based Learning in the coming months.ResourcesAAEEBL Annual Meeting and Symposium 2026 websiteAAEEBL Symposium 2026 recordingsAAEEBL Annual Meeting 2026 recordingIntegrative Learning Portfolio Lab at Stanford UniversityePortfolio Studio at Indiana University IndianapolisTaxonomy of Reflective Inquiry (TORI)International Journal of ePortfolio (IJeP)AAEEBL ePortfolio Review (AePR)Modise, M.-E., & Vaughan, N. (Eds.). (2025). Digital resilience of ePortfolios during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons for the future. Mount Royal University Library.Yancey, K. (2023). The value of purposeful design: A case study of an ePortfolio reflective prompt. Across the Disciplines, 20(3/4), 31-49.Riff - Reflection partnerAAEEBL Digital Ethics in ePortfolios Task Force application; deadline: 15 September 2026AAEEBL newsletterUpcoming eventsFollow AAEEBL events to receive notifications about upcoming eventsAAEEBL Shark Tank, August 2026; pitch submission deadline: 31 July 2026Eportfolio Forum in Sydney, Australia, and online, 23-24 September 2026FLANZ conference 'He Tāngata' in Ōtepoti Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand, 7-9 October 2026Assessment Institute in Indianapolis, IN, USA, 18-20 October 2026Related episodesCandyce Reynolds & Sonja Taylor: Hashtags, social media, and portfoliosDebbie Oesch-Minor and Salsabil Qaddoura: Foster student ownership and empowerment through a portfolioHelen L. Chen: Reflect through conversation to tell your storySubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios.Production informationProduction: Catalyst ITHost: Kristina HoeppnerArtwork: Evonne CheungMusic: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

Developer Doris Tam, BE, and Senior Visual Designer Evonne Cheung, BDes, from Catalyst IT talk about the redesign of Mahara that went live at the end of April 2026. The redesign marks a milestone in the almost 20-year history of the Mahara project. It overhauled the look and feel of Mahara entirely, aligning it to modern principles of design-led and responsive web design. This makes it easier for portfolio creators to use and interact with.Learn about some of the thinking and the process that went into this release as we pull back the curtain from the software development lifecycle that is typically hidden.ResourcesOpen Source AcademySummer of TechMahara UX review 2024: WireframesMahara 26.04 highlightsMahara demo siteSubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios.Production informationProduction: Catalyst ITHost: Kristina HoeppnerArtwork: Evonne CheungMusic: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

Host Kristina Hoeppner looks back at the advice that the learning designers, faculty, and students from the past year have for learners who create portfolios. Their advice can be put into five different categories:Authenticity and identityEmbracing creativity and riskPurpose and audienceReflection and growthOwnership and prideInterviews in alphabetical order:Amy Cicchino and Brandi Gilbert: Portfolios as high-impact practicesAmy Cicchino, McKenna Slaughter, Nghi Chau: Students support students in creating portfoliosAntje Koenen: Engage with your students as partners through a portfolioChristina Mayes: Portfolio support through peer mentorsCordula Schwiderski, Hannah Brodel, Martina Osterrieder, Martin Sticht: Planning and decision making guide for portfoliosDavid Hicks: The portfolio tells the story of growthDebbie Oesch-Minor and Salsabil Qaddoura: Foster student ownership and empowerment through a portfolioJack Rice: The portfolio as the space for growth in between stimulus and responseJaye Ryan: Showcase yourself through your portfolioLindsay Richardson: Portfolios in large courses with a side of AIMarie 'Bernie' Fisher: Reflecting on portfolio practiceMegan Mize: Ramping up to support 18,000 students with portfoliosMike Altieri: Use reflection bot Riff for deeper and more meaningful portfolio reflectionMpho-Entle Modise and Norm Vaughan: The portfolio as enabler of changePablo Avila: Portfolios at scale at LaGuardia Community CollegeRob Lowney: Create collaborative portfolios to surface group learningSoropepeli Ramacake: Know, grow, and show through your portfolioSue Schibeci: Portfolios in work-integrated learning experiencesTessa Forshaw and Rich Braden: Unleash your innovation and creativity with a portfolioVickel Narayan: Portfolios in the age of AI: A rethink to the approach?Yvonne Moore and James Pearce: Skills portfolios encourage continued reflectionSubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios.Production informationProduction: Catalyst ITHost: Kristina HoeppnerArtwork: Evonne CheungMusic: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

Dr Rob Lowney, SCMALT, SFHEA, SFSEDA, is a Senior Learning Technologist in the Teaching and Enhancement Unit at Dublin City University in Ireland. He's been working with digital technologies for many years and supports students and staff at DCU in their work with them. Rob is also active in the Mahara and Moodle communities because DCU contributes knowledge and features that benefit everyone.Rob talks about the use of group portfolios at DCU as the university has been sponsoring an update to Mahara and the Mahara assignment submission plugin for Moodle to streamline the submission of group portfolios and administer the managing of groups for submission purposes. He also discusses how students and staff are supported on their portfolio journey at DCU.ResourcesMoodleMunchDCU's reflective practice guide and resourcesDCU's transversal skills frameworkDCU portfolio help, including student examplesLowney, R. (2025, June 10). Enhancing engagement with group portfolio submissions. Mahara Hui Online, Online.Scully, D., O’Leary, M., & Brown, M. (2018). The learning portfolio in higher education—A game of snakes and ladders. Dublin City University, Centre for Assessment Research, Policy & Practice in Education (CARPE) and National Institute for Digital Learning (NIDL).Donaldson, L. (Ed.). (2018). Eportfolio based assessment—Inspiring exploration and supporting evaluation for practitioners. Dublin City University, National Institute for Digital Learning, Dublin City University.Donaldson, L. (Ed.). (2021). Exemplars of DCU best practice with eportfolio based assessment. Dublin City University, National Institute for Digital Learning.Upcoming eventsEdTech Conference, 3-4 June 2026AAEEBL Annual Meeting, 10-12 June 2026AAEEBL Symposium, 16-17 June 2026Catalyst Moodle Community Day, 16 June 2026Upcoming Mahara eventsRelated DCU episodesLisa Donaldson: From 0 to 6,000 in six weeksOrna Farrell: Supporting learners and lecturers alike in their portfolio journeyMark Brady: Journal regularly for profound insightSubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios.Production informationProduction: Catalyst ITHost: Kristina HoeppnerArtwork: Evonne CheungMusic: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward