Building an eportfolio
An eportfolio is a way of gathering records, reflections, useful data and contacts into one place on the web or on an intranet or home computer. Your eportfolio grows into a collection of evidence. It can be wholly private, or partly on public view. It can help you manage your learning, share your track record and impress employers and tutors.
The best thing you can do is have a look at some eportfolios in action. There are six here. They each have pages open to view and are well-developed. In other cases, people use eportfolios more privately, or as a way to share selected information with a tutor or small group of colleagues. Diary entries, contact lists, rough drafts and personal documents are all likely to be hidden from view.
Rachel Thapa Chhetri, architecture student, University of Kent
Rachel has started studying in her mid 40s, while caring for a child. Read Rachel’s reflections on having an eportfolio. Read the one-off blog entry that Rachel wrote for UKRC (archive section).
Liza Brooks is studying for an Engineering Doctorate in Advanced Snowboard Design at DCMT Cranfield University. Have a look at her eportfolio.
Some staff and students at the University of Warwick have published parts of their eportfolios. You can see that people have quite different approaches to how much they share, and its lay out.
Laura Atkinson, PhD student in horticulture, University of Warwick
Laura includes a short podcast, and photos that show the life of lettuce – from seed to commercial product. Read what Laura has to say about her eportfolio.
Georgina Cosma, PhD student in computer science, University of Warwick
Georgina has a CV, research summaries, photos of conferences and other data on her site. She tells UKRC about running her eportrtfolio.
Two eportfolios created by teachers:
Dr Laura Guertin, Associate Professor of Earth Science at Pennsylvania State University
Laura (pictured) uses her eportfolio to profile her achievements in different fields, and her philosophy. Read Laura’s reflections on having an eportfolio.
Sarah Stewart, midwifery educator and midwife in New Zealand
A six-minute film in which Sarah guides you round her online portfolio, which she created without using a commercial package. You can read the reflections and links she shared with UKRC. Visit Sarah’s eportfolio.
If you want to develop an eportfolio
increasingly, colleges, careers organisations and some employers are providing eportfolio pages, and offering start up training for staff, clients and students
search the web for possible eportfolio packages – Moodle, Blackboard and PebblePad are just three of the programs on the market
if you are trying to return to a career in SET, join the Open University online short course T161, which incorporates an eportfolio
you may have access to a web-building programme, enabling you to create your own (some people use del.icio.us)
join our GetSET Women network and link your eportfolio and your GetSET page
have a look at theirpages on blogging (some women include a blog in their portfolio)
UKRC and the eReturn Project
They are involved in a JISC-funded project with the Open University and other partners, exploring the value of eportfolios to women hoping to return to careers in SET.