DESIGN OF A CUSTOMIZED WEB-BASED PORTFOLIO SYSTEM TO IMPROVE PRESERVICE TEACHERS' REFLECTIVE SKILLS

This paper describes the design elements and steps of a customized web-based portfolio system based on the authors' previous work with web 2.0 applications and open source eportfolio software, Mahara. The proposed system will be integrated into teaching practicum courses and primarily used for improving preservice teachers' reflective skills. The web-based system will be designed in a way to provide an effective platform both for preservice teachers to upload their course assignments and for the course instructors to follow-up their students' work. In addition, the system will allow instructors to structure their students' teaching experience around the notion of reflection, which is one of the most important skills that preservice teachers ought to develop.