Brown, C. (2014). Establishing the critical elements that determine authentic assessment. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 39(2), 205-222. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2013.819566 Establishing the critical elements that determine authentic assessment

The potential of ePortfolios for both students and staff has generated considerable interest and investment by universities over the past ten years or so within Australia. Despite funded projects, ePortfolio specific conferences and a range of commercial and open software, there is not wide spread uptake of ePortfolios, although many universities continue to try and test a range of different options. This paper reports upon the experience of an Australian university when considering implementation and uptake of ePortfolio technology between 2008 and 2011. It describes the technological and sectoral factors that have to some extent shaped Australian ePortfolio context and affected the institutional ePortfolio initiative at Griffith University.

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The contemporary appearance of the term “digital literacy” on university websites suggests institutional interests on digital literacy that focus not only on the development of technology skills but also cognitive and attitudinal aspects in student development. This paper presents an exploration of institutional conceptions of digital literacy based on document analysis of university published information online. The investigation involved universities located in Australia as embedded case studies (n=42). Evidence suggests variations in defining this term and shows that universities have diverse goals as espoused in their corresponding definitions of digital literacy, from developing technical skills of using and understanding technology, to possessing a set of capabilities for living, learning and working in an increasingly digital world. For universities who enumerated a coherent account of digital literacy, the results indicate that their practices of promoting the development of digital literacy are entrenched in their espoused intent of graduate outcomes. The paper concludes with curricular and pedagogical implications in preparing and assisting students for the challenges of 21st century living, learning and working.

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