E-portfolios to Capture and Share Moments of Learning

Portfolios are used as an assessment document to showcase children’s learning. E-portfolio systems have been introduced into early year’s education and as yet have not been a focus of in-depth research that moves beyond measures of uptake. These forms of digital documentation capture children’s learning but raise questions around what is captured and how the interpretations educators make through the stories they tell, and how these technology platforms can be used to strengthen practice while also communicating with families. In this chapter, we share insights from a project designed to gather insights into the processes and practices of using Storypark in two early childhood settings. We aim to make visible the often unintended or unseen consequences of its use. Drawing upon observations within the services, interviews with educators, and analysis of Storypark entries, we examine the contexts, interpretations, and priorities of the services alongside the use of Storypark. Our analysis of data shows patterns of engagement to understand how digital tools influence what ‘counts’ as a learning experience and how learning is reported to parents and caregivers to enable us to begin to explore how such technologies are influencing children’s experiences of learning.