Teacher Perceptions of Electronic Portfolios as a Technology Integration Tool

This qualitative case study explored the problem that teachers' attitudes and perceptions about technology often serve as barriers to successful technology integration in elementary school classrooms. Trends have showed that technology teachers directly responsible for teaching students technology skills are being laid off due to budget cuts and regular classroom teachers face increased challenges as they work to insure student technology literacy. The purpose of this study was to explore how educators at a public elementary school perceived and used electronic student portfolios as a technology integration tool in the classroom. The conceptual framework for this study included components of constructivism related to the acquisition of skills, motivation, and achievement. A qualitative case study design was employed with a purposeful sample of 4 th grade teachers at a local school site to learn their perceptions on using electronic student portfolios as a technology integration tool. Data were collected from teacher surveys and a focus group interview and were coded and analyzed to identify major themes regarding skills, motivation, and achievement components of technology learning. Findings showed that teachers had optimistic perceptions of the use of electronic portfolios to assess student learning, and most indicated that they believed electronic portfolios had positively impacted student motivation and learning. Based on these findings, a curriculum supplement for electronic portfolio integration was created for local stakeholders. The findings could impact social change as teachers use electronic student portfolios to improve student technology literacy, motivation, and achievement.