2. ePortfolio?
ePortfolio, also known as Electronic Portfolio
encompasses a wide array of electronic artifacts
assembled by a user.
ePortfolio represents a live resume or reflection of an
individuals progress over time.
Artifacts reflect upon what an individual has learned
and how they learn.
ePortfolio can be used as a means of stating past,
present and future achievements and goals.
3. ePortfolio in Ontario
Some universities that have integrated ePortfolio on
a program basis or course basis:
University of Alberta
University of Waterloo
Athabasca University
University of Toronto
McMaster University
4. Constructing an ePortoflio
5 Main Steps:
1. Collecting
2. Reflecting
3. Evaluating
4. Selecting
5. Presenting
5. Collecting
Statement of one’s philosophy of education,
biographical information, sample units ones written,
courses ones taken, extracurricular and personal life
experiences.
Organize these into: what you know, what you
can do and what your values are.
what is the message you want to share and who is
the audience you are trying to reach?
6. Reflecting
Use the 4 R’s
1) Report: what is it? When was it used or created?
Who was involved? Where was it used?
2)Reflect: Why is it important? What did you learn
from this sample?
3)Relate: Why is this sample important with respect
to what is known about teaching? How could this
sample inform practice?
4) Revise: What feedback have you received?
7. Evaluate Yourself
What are my positive attributes?
What does it mean to be thinking about
my experiences?
What does this mean to me?
What kind of learner am I?
How can this help me in the direction
of where I am going?
8. Selecting
Consider your target audience: employers,
professors, group members, etc.
Based on this, choose a colour scheme and layout.
For example: if your target audience is a professor for a
potential thesis request, use a pale colour palate, being calm
and relaxed. If a peer group, be a little more creative!
Copyright issues- You can't just use any image
you find on the web. Use copyright-free images only
(see box on the right side for sources).
9. Selecting-Flow of ePortfolio
Is the information presented concise, digestible and
being read in the manner in which you want
information to be read?
Presentation should be consistent and organized.
Avoid the use of multimedia in areas not requiring
attention, or too much of a busy ePortfolio- may take
away from the important aspects of ePortfolio.
10. Selecting-Making it Look Good!
Sophisticated look
Keep the use of colour to a minimum.
Choose a simple colour scheme and keep it consistent
throughout.
Balance your layout
11. Presenting- Test It!
Make it work for your audience:
Test any links pertaining to a document.
Indicate the type of document beside the link (MS Word Doc)
to avoid surprises.
Avoid Downloadables:
Potential viewers may find it tedious/inconvenient to
download artifacts. Also, servers and quality of
downloaded items may not appear to the viewer as
they appear to you!
Have others try it out
12. Presenting
Revise for Different Purposes
Modify and save versions that correspond to different
audiences.
Have different audiences test our your ePortfolio under new or
specific circumstances. Does it still perform?
14. Lets Reflect…
As a class, lets have an open discussion as to what
past group experiences/projects you have had in any
of your courses here at McMaster University and
how that has helped you or put you at a
disadvantage?
Such experiences (good or bad) are useful in
integrating into ePortfolios- it shows self reflective
activity and learning from experience!
Editor's Notes
Next: “Alongside collecting information, reflecting upon your collected artifacts is just as important for the sake of relevancy to your target audience.”
Ask 4 questions:1) What is something you would “Report” in your ePortfolio based on these sample questions?2) What about Reflect?3) What is an example of how you would relate this to your target viewer?4) What are the implications of feedback? Is it something important or is ePortfolio something that shouldn’t require editing?
Would anybody like to volunteer and answer a few of these?Go in order as listed.
What does it mean to be read in a digestable manner?Answer that should be looked for: Being able to read it clearly, accurately visualizing what the person is trying to get across without difficulty and reading it in a manner that connects everything together, making it one coherently flowing piece.Why else might the use of multimedia be a bad idea?
Balance Your Layout:Instead of using constant images and bright colours, perhaps use one key item such as a heading, or even a tinted background. This is usually visually weighted heavier in terms of having the eye catch the important details by using a lighter font, compared to having too busy of an ePortfolio and getting a headache!
In lieu of this, try your links out in different browsers to make sure it is universal.
Demonstrate connections between different courses taken at university. Make connections between learning in a variety of contexts- academic, workplace, community and social environments.Make your ePortfolio more than an online resume To make a cohesive and coherent ePortfolio, demonstrate useful links between academics, target communities and workplaces.
Now that we have reflected about the pros and cons of past experiences and how these would be important to our ePortfolio, its important to understand that using an ePortfolio can be very important in applying to different careers, especially to make yourself stand apart from the ordinary by having a live, jam packed resume of yourself in an extremely convenient format. What are some careers that you guys have in mind and what are some important properties involved?
