The e-portfolio as a facilitator of a diversified and reflective information competence

Objective: This paper identifies and analyses the categories of knowledge involved in the acquisition of information competence in a formal education setting, examining how this is enhanced by the use of a mixed e-portfolio/PLE. Our focus is on how the use of e-portfolios can help students develop systems of strategic or conditional knowledge.

Methodology: This qualitative study uses a semi-structured interview and attributes categories by inter-rater reliability coding and the organization of codes for quantitative representation. The interviewees were students from the Faculty of Education at the Universidad Católica de Temuco in Chile. The competences and categories are adapted from the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

Results: In higher education, there is often a focus on declarative and procedural learning, while more transversal, meta-cognitive competences are neglected. The use of e-portfolios helps students acquire the competences to assume greater control of their learning. For this reason, we have analysed the nature and volume of the content involved in the treatment of information competence through the use of mixed e-portfolio/PLE models and the importance of strategic processes in students’ acquisition of transversal knowledge. We have also extended the IFLA system of categorization to include those processes of reflection and planning that show how students develop systems of strategic knowledge.