This document discusses electronic portfolios (e-portfolios). It defines e-portfolios as digital collections that allow individuals to showcase their work and accomplishments. There are three main types of e-portfolios: learning portfolios demonstrate skills gained over time, assessment portfolios display knowledge for program evaluations, and marketing portfolios highlight skills and talents for jobs. Important elements of effective e-portfolios include being personal and unique, efficiently organized, and including thoughtful reflections. The author plans to create an e-portfolio for their graduate program and use e-portfolios in their classroom to share student work.

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Electronic Portfolios
Daniel Tew
Western Oregon University

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What are e-Portfolios?
Electronic Portfolios (e-Portfolios) allow individuals or groups to share accomplishments,
resources or work. The benefit of e-Portfolios is that unlike traditional paper portfolios e-
portfolios can display a diverse amount of artifacts. An e-portfolio is also adaptive and can easily
be adjusted to include additional or updated information relevant to the topic of the portfolio. e-
Portfolios have been around for many years and are gaining more popularity in education and
marketing settings.
How are e-Portfolios used today?
The three main types of e-Portfolios today are learning, assessment and marketing.
Learning e-Portfolios demonstrate what has been learned over the length of a course or through
professional development. Assessment e-Portfolios are often used by people wishing to display
their knowledge as part of an exit requirement of a program or evaluation process. Marketing e-
Portfolios are used as an opportunity to showcase skills and talents as an alternative to traditional
resumes. As Dr. Matt Fowler (2014) mentions in his webinar, employers see little value in a
transcript and are more impressed by the accomplishments of an individual that can be
highlighted in an e-Portfolio (Fowler, The Impact of ePortfolios).
What are the most important elements of an e-Portfolio?
One of the most important elements of an e-Portfolio is that it is personal and unique. In
Dr. Helen Barrett’s (2010) presentation she focuses on the significance of allowing creativity to
be a part of the e-Portfolio process. Students (and people in general) are more engaged about
work when they are able to combine curiosity and passion (Barrett, TEDxASB - Helen Barrett -
2/25/10). This shows in work and it is easy to discern work that someone completed passionately

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versus work that was completed just for the sake of completing work. It is important that e-
Portfolios stand out especially when used from a marketing standpoint. Another important
element of e-Portfolios is efficiency. Even if an e-Portfolio is creative and unique, it needs to
clear and efficient for users to be able to easily access the content. A final important element of
an e-Portfolio is thoughtful reflection. A reflection allows the audience to learn more about the
process that when into creating each artifact. The creator can provide a rationale which can
sometimes be more significant than the actual artifacts.
How do you plan to use e-Portfolios?
I plan on using e-Portfolios in two distinct ways. I first hope to learn more about them to
use one as a part of the exit requirements of my Info Tech MSEd program. I was able to see
some great examples of e-Portfolios when I attended a capstone night for fellow peers within the
program. This made me aware of the creative ways that unique experiences and artifacts can be
showcased through e-Portfolios. Many of the students during a Q&A suggested starting the e-
Portfolio sooner rather than later. I hope to use this class as way to lay the groundwork of my
future e-Portfolio. The second way that I would like to use e-Portfolios would be in my
classroom. Many of my summative assessments involve technology. I’d like to help students
create their own e-Portfolios so that they could display their work in a unique way. This would
also be a great way to share student work with parents, teachers, administrators and other
important stakeholders.

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References
Barrett, H. (Performer). (2010, March 10). TEDxASB - Helen Barrett - 2/25/10[Video file].
Retrieved October 19, 2018, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckcSegrwjkA
Fowler, M., (Performer). (2014, May 19). The Impact of ePortfolios[Video file]. Retrieved
October 19, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szUIAg0Ivxw