USING TECHNOLOGY IN PRE-SERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM IN UNIVERSITY OF PORTO: AN EXPERIENCE WITH E-PORTFOLIOS

This paper discusses the role of e-portfolios in Teacher Education on a Graduate Program in Physical Education at Sport Faculty of Porto University. This study reports at 2008/09 academic year, and data were collected from the on-line activity in Pedagogical Stage (teacher education course). We used an e-learning platform (Moodle) as a complement to face-to-face reunions with 122 student teachers, 41 cooperating teachers (School) and 8 supervisors (Faculty). The author's presents an experience involved the use of web 2.0 tools - Google pages, where pre-service teachers were encouraged to build an e-portfolio linked to Moodle platform during the year of their student teaching experience (Pedagogical Stage). The development of an e-portfolio serves as an alternative to the current (traditional/paper) model and affords greater opportunities for autonomous learning such as it is a form of preparing technologically proficient future teachers in the schools. At the same time, e-portfolio is a integrating part of the assessment of pre-service teachers (portfolio assessment) as well the classroom observation (performance assessment). The e-portfolio was introduced into the teacher education program with the aim to replace traditional portfolio and to encourage cooperative learning, and help the communication between pre-service teachers and both their supervisors and cooperating teachers. The e-portfolio was a new experience for all pre-service teachers and to their supervisors and cooperating teachers. Teaching portfolios have become ever-present in pre-service teacher education programs, and as Coutinho (2007) says, gains additional relevance considering the structural reforms imposed by the Bologne process to teacher education curricula in Portugal. Educational systems cannot change if teachers are not involved in the reform process and the use of e-portfolios can be one of the possible answers to this challenge.