In a world where technology evolves faster than curricula can keep up, students need more than technical skills—they need digital resilience. This interactive webinar explores key insights from the recently edited book Digital Resilience of ePortfolios During and Beyond the COVID‑19 Pandemic: Lessons for the Future. The book examines the transformative role ePortfolios played in sustaining teaching, learning, and professional practice throughout the pandemic and in the years that followed.

As an open educational resource (OER), the volume highlights how ePortfolios supported continuity, reflection, and adaptability, ultimately fostering deeper levels of digital resilience among students and professionals. Featuring 43 chapters by 85 contributors across the globe, it offers rich, diverse perspectives—insights that will be unpacked and discussed during the session. Through practical stories from real learning environments, the webinar will show how ePortfolios move beyond simple collections of work to become purposeful spaces where students reflect on challenges, track their growth, and strengthen their confidence in navigating digital tools and platforms.

The facilitators

Mpho-Entle Puleng Modise, PhD, is a multi-award-winning Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies, College of Education, at the University of South Africa. Her research areas include digital transformation in open distance eLearning, faculty and student support in higher education and distance education, academic and professional development, technology adoption, and the integration of ePortfolios in teaching and learning. Prof. Modise advocates for early-career researchers in South Africa and Africa through her active mentorship and memberships with organisations such as the Education Association of South Africa (EASA) and the South African Education Research Association (SAERA). Her commitment to research excellence has earned her several prestigious awards, including commendations for her excellent PhD thesis. She also serves on numerous international editorial boards.

Norman Vaughan, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Education at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He has co-edited the Digital Resilience of ePortfolios During and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic (2025) book as well as co-authored Principles of Blended Learning: Shared Metacognition and Communities of Inquiry (2023), Teaching in Blended Learning Environments: Creating and Sustaining Communities of Inquiry (2013), and Blended Learning in Higher Education (2008) books. In addition, he has published a series of articles on blended learning and teacher development. Dr. Vaughan is the Co-founder of the Blended Online Design Network (BOLD), a founding member of the Community of Inquiry Research Group, the Associate Editor of the International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning and he is on the Editorial Boards of numerous national and international journals. Additional information can be found on his personal website.

The organizers

The Association for Authentic, Experiential, and Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL) and Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand (FLANZ) partner to bring this webinar to you.

This event will take place on 20 May 2026 at 9am NZST. Check your time zone if the event time is not calculated for your time zone above.

Feature image of small green plants stretching towards the light by Michael Kucharski on Unsplash

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