Since 2019, members of the Association for Authentic, Experiential, & Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL)'s Digital Ethics in ePortfolios Task Force have worked to develop (what is currently) 13 principles that promote ethical ePortfolio practices among educators, staff, students, and platform providers. Selected through an application process following the 2019 AAEEBL conference, this diverse international team includes scholars, practitioners, administrators, faculty, and industry professionals from three countries (the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand). The first 11 members[1] worked to conceptualize, draft, and publish a set of principles to guide a variety of practitioners through digital ethics considerations in ePortfolio development (Version 1 with 10 principles). During the second year, new and continuing members added three principles informed by critical shifts in the field (DEIBD, Evaluation, and Visibility of Labor), revised the original 10 principles based on feedback, and removed the numbering from the principles to prevent them from being interpreted as a hierarchy of concerns (current version 2 ).
Because we envision the principles as a living document in which we put into practice what the principles espouse, we developed and have maintained fully accessible PDF versions of each iteration, as we recognize that these may be a potential site of future research regarding the creation and evolution of the project.
Each principle contains definitions, strategies for application, scenarios for various stakeholders, and links to additional resources.
Task force members are currently in the process of streamlining the principles, developing a more visually engaging and accessible text to introduce the principles to new users, and offering workshops on using the principles in practice.
Link to AAEEBL website: https://aaeebl.org/digital-ethics-principles-in-eportfolios/
[1] Task Force members: Steve Bookman, Amy Cicchino, J. Elizabeth Clark, Theresa Conefrey,
Megan Crowley-Watson, Elaine Gray, S. Morgan Gresham, Megan Haskins, Kristina Hoeppner, Kevin Kelly, Peter McLellan, Megan Mize,
Christine Slade, Heather Stuart, Sarah Zurhellen