Abstract: This paper starts from the observation that in practice e-portfolio technologies are used for a range of
different purposes; that these differing purposes generally have a significant influence on the
configuration of the tool itself as presented to the learner/user; and that these differences are generally
ignored in e-portfolio discourse. In other words, the term ‘e-portfolio’ is frequently used without
differentiation or qualification, whether in research reports or in policy ‘thinkpieces’, as though everyone understands the same thing by the term. It is the contention of this paper that such undifferentiated use is unhelpful and may actually hinder the uptake of technologies in contexts where they could genuinely
enhance practice.