An electronic portfolio (e-Portfolio) is a digital collection of work that demonstrates a person's achievements and learning over time. E-Portfolios can be created by individuals or groups and contain various artifacts like documents, presentations, videos and images. Student e-Portfolios showcase learning for instructors and potential employers, while teaching e-Portfolios display an instructor's accomplishments. Group e-Portfolios highlight the work of institutional departments or organizations. Reflection is a key part of e-Portfolios, allowing authors to make meaning of their learning and development.

1. Electronic Portfolios
Electronic Portfolios
Kerri Kunda
Western Oregon University

2. Electronic Portfolios
An e-Portfolio, or electronic portfolio, is a digital collection of varying artifacts that
can demonstrate learning over time, achievements, work samples, and more. These
portfolios can be made by individuals or groups and typically have a targeted audience,
such as a potential employer or students. E-Portfolios can contain a number of different
artifacts such as text documents, presentations, auditory files, videos, images, etc.
Because there are different types of e-Portfolio authors, different resources may be
included depending on their intended use.
Student, or learning, e-portfolios are a way for students to showcase what
they’ve learned. According to Lorenzo & Ittelson (2005), “E-portfolios can help students
learn information and technology literacy skills and how to use digital media. Beyond
academic evidence, they give students the opportunity to create a digitized showcase of
their work and skills that can be presented to prospective employers.” E-portfolios can
serve as two purposes for students, then. Not only is it a way to demonstrate to
instructors and other institutional faculty what they have learned, but they can show
future employers how their education and experience fulfills a job skill set.
Another way e-Portfolios are used is for teaching. I don’t mean as a tool for
educating, but as a way for instructors to demonstrate their skills and accomplishments.
Similar to a student’s e-Portfolio, a teaching e-Portfolio can be used to advance a
teacher’s career by showing what the’ve created throughout their tenure.

3. Electronic Portfolios
Finally, an e-Portfolio can be used by a group, such as an institution, to highlight
different departments or the institution as a whole. Artifacts such as videos and images
can demonstrate to accreditation boards students’ understanding of learning objectives
(Lorenzo & Ittelson (2005).
The most important element of an e-Portfolio is reflection, where the author
considers the development they’ve undergone. This helps the author make meaning of
what they learned. However, I also believe that the design of an e-Portfolio is one of the
most important aspects to be considered. A poor design can distract from an author’s
intended message and lead their audience into believing they may not be qualified
enough.
I plan to use an e-Portfolio as a way to find a job upon completion of my MSEd
InfoTech degree at WOU. Using an e-Portfolio will demonstrate to potential employers
my capabilities by giving them visuals of what I have done (and can do). Interviews are
good, but having a portfolio containing examples of your work is certainly more
compelling. I can continue to update and improve this e-Portfolio as I progress through
my graduate program and into my career.

4. Electronic Portfolios
References
Lorenzo, G., & Ittelson, J. (2005, January 1). An Overview of E-Portfolios. Retrieved
October 14, 2019, from
https://library.educause.edu/resources/2005/1/an-overview-of-eportfolios​.
The What, Why, and How of ePortfolios. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2019, from
https://www.clemson.edu/academics/programs/eportfolio/information.html.