The use of Googlesites as a formative assessment tool [eportfolio] in higher education

The goal of higher education is to develop graduates who will be self-directed lifelong learners. This is no exception in Malaysia. The purpose of education is the holistic development of character and capabilities, the acquisition of specific skills, the realisation of intellectual, physical and spiritual potential, and the training of human capital Ministry of Higher Education-MOHE, 2007. Therefore, the learning process needs to be re-engineered. This includes realigning the structure of the curriculum for the course-subject which will allow ample and continuous opportunities for the students to perform and receive constant suggestions for self-development. For that reason, assessment, specifically formative assessment is pertinent to students´ growth during and after their higher education. Formative assessment has the ability to turn each item of assessed work into an instrument for further development on each student´s learning. Furthermore, such opportunities can be captured via eportfolio. The eportfolio plays a significant tool for the students´ development because it has the potential to be a learning tool, an assessment tool, and a record of achievement. Therefore this study explores how eportfolio was developed and managed as a formative assessment tool. The eportfolio platform for this research was Googlesites. Analysis was conducted from the observation data in the online platform and questionnaire data from the undergraduate students. The outcomes of the research are; (1) the students need to be informed and assisted on using the eportfolio as a formative assessment tool and (2) clear guidelines are crucial on setting up the eportfolio platform.