This document discusses e-portfolios and their uses. E-portfolios allow individuals to collect and showcase artifacts that demonstrate their skills and achievements online. They can be used for learning/professional development, assessment, or employment purposes. For employment, e-portfolios allow job applicants to provide concrete examples of their skills to employers, rather than just resumes. The most important elements of an e-portfolio are having a clear purpose to guide its creation and allowing the creator autonomy over its design and content. The author plans to create an e-portfolio to showcase their teaching skills and accomplishments when job searching.

1. e-Portfolio Paper
e-Portfolio Paper
Samantha Hauck
CSE 689
October 11, 2019

2. E-Portfolio Paper 2
Introduction
According to a 2012 survey done by The Chronicle of Higher Learning, employers are
seeking employees who have high skills in areas such as written and oral communication,
planning and organizing, adaptability and managing multiple priorities, and making decisions
and solving problems, but employers are finding that many future employees are lacking these
very important skills (Fowler, 2014). Employers are finding that they can no longer simply look
at an applicant’s seat time and measure their workplace skills based on the amount of credit
hours they have (Fowler, 2014). e-Portfolios are taking the job searching world by storm and
showing promise when it comes to job seekers showing off their skills and employers making
sure the people they hire have what is needed to do the job.
Definition of e-Portfolios
e-Portfolios are online platforms that allow a person to collect and post artifacts that best
showcase their skills and achievements. According to Elizabeth Hartnell-Young and Maureen
Morriss (1999), e-Portfolios have three purposes “Learning (Formative) Portfolios, which
usually occurs on an ongoing basis supporting professional development; Assessment
(Summative) Portfolios, which usually occurs within the context of a formal evaluation process;
and Employment (Marketing) Portfolios, which are used for seeking employment." This means
that in order for someone to create an e-Portfolio, they have to have a specific purpose already
picked out. Dr. Helen C, Barrett (2001) recommends developing goals in order to create the
purpose for creating an e-Portfolio.
In an e-Portfolio, the creator is picking and choosing artifacts that strongly showcase their
mastery of certain skills. These artifacts can include items such as essays, tutorials, videos,
pictures, and other types of media (Auburn University, 2013). Reflecting about the chosen

3. E-Portfolio Paper 3
artifacts shows that the creator of the e-portfolio is really engaged in their education and it shows
continuous development of skills and experience (Auburn University, 2013; Barrett, 2010). Even
though e-Portfolios are created to showcase skills, learning, and achievements, the ways in which
these artifacts are used differ greatly.
How e-Portfolios Are Used Today
Academic e-Portfolios are primarily used in educational settings to store artifacts and
reflect on them (Barrett, 2010). The e-Portfolios can be used by educators to collect their work
and reflect on them thus creating a learning platform where teachers can practice and work on
professional development. The e-Portfolios can also be used as an assessment took for students
to collect examples of their best work to show that they met certain skills and educational
requirements. The reflection portion allows students to reflect on the artifact and explain how it
meets those requirements. Students using e-Portfolios are also a great resource during parent
teacher conferences because students can show their guardians what they have been working on
in school.
Employment e-Portfolios are used to show mastery of certain workplace skills an
employer might be looking for (Fowler, 2014). As mentioned before, employers are moving
away from resumes, cover letters, and transcripts to something more concrete in order to hire
people with the appropriate skill set. Employment e-Portfolios allow an employer to look at the
artifacts and reflections and job seeker has created and collected and see if they have the skills
needed for the job at hand. With an e-Portfolio, employers are able to skip over the typical
interview questions and get to the questions that confirm this person is the right person for the
job (Fowler, 2014). In Matt Fowler’s YouTube lecture (2014) an HR manager admitted that they
will expediting an applicant through the process if they include a link to an e-portfolio because

4. E-Portfolio Paper 4
the HR manager has a physical piece of evidence that shows the employer the skills of that
applicant. e-Portfolios are used in numerous ways for specific contexts, but they all share some
important elements.
The Most Important Elements of an e-Portfolio
The purpose for creating the e-Portfolio is the most important element of an e-Portfolio
(Barrett, 2010). Without a specific purpose, the e-Portfolio has no guidance and will not work in
the favor of the creator. The purpose helps guide the design, look, feeling, and artifacts chosen.
Without a specific purpose, the creator would not have a good starting point for creation.
e-Portfolios allows the creating to have complete autonomy over the creation of the
platform, which can be a very powerful feeling (Barrett, 2010). The creator is able to choose the
design, look, and feeling of the e-Portfolio. Autonomy creates intrinsic motivation in the creator,
which, allows the creator to be active and engaged with what they are creating (Barrett, 2010).
This leads to an e-Portfolio that really expresses who that person is to the world (Barrett, 2010).
Autonomy lets the creator develop their voice and choose how they want to be seen.
How I Plan to Use e-Portfolios
I plan on using e-Portfolios in an employment context. I want to be able to show the skills
I have mastered and the achievements I have made in a physical context. As a teacher, I feel it is
important for an employer to have physical examples of my work in order to see what I have
accomplished in the classroom. I also think it would be exciting to use e-Portfolios in the
classroom with students. This is an easy place for me to see all of their best work, and it gives me
something to show parents during conferences. e-Portfolios give me say in what I want to
showcase and how I want to present myself, and I really appreciate that. Cover letters and
resumes are not entirely good indication of who a person is, and e-portfolios solve this problem.

5. E-Portfolio Paper 5
References
Auburn University. [AubrunWrites]. (2013, November 14). What is an ePortfolio? [Video file].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvqBORISA5k
Barrett, H. C. [TEDx Talks]. (2010, March 10). TEDxASB- Helen Barrett - 2/25/10 [Video file].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckcSegrwjkA
Fowler, M. [SchoolChapters, Inc.]. (2014, May 19). The Impact of ePortfolios [Video file].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1385&v=szUIAg0Ivxw
Hartnell-Young, E. and M, Maureen. (1999). Digital Professional Portfolios for Change. SAGE
Publications.