What is an ePortfolio?

In an ePortfolio, you can collect, select, build and publish your best work using electronic technology as the container. For many years, universities have used portfolios to assess the level of skill students have achieved in a particular program and as a valuable tool for career connections. Digital technologies are now transforming the ways students may represent themselves and their work to employers, colleagues, and the community.

 

To learn more about ePortfolios, take some time to watch this brief (6 minute) film from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (created by SF State's Director of Academic Technology, Dr. Maggie Beers).

An ePortfolio is more than a resume - it can be a powerful bridge for professional development - presenting evidence of your academic work, career goals, and personal interests. You may choose to link to any or all of this evidence in your SFSU ePortfolio.

A web-based portfolio will allow you to archive and display a wide range of your work using various types of media (text, MS Word, or PDF files), power point, web-links, audio, video, graphics and other multimedia. As a website or CD, your ePortfolio can also be easily moved, archived and shared with others worldwide.

What are the ingredients of an ePortfolio?

Each portfolio is a unique expression of your academic, co-curricular, and career experience. Your ePortfolio might include:

• Selected evidence from coursework, with reflective commentary;
• Artifacts from extra-curricular activities (community service, volunteer work, sports, organizations);
• Awards and honors you’ve received;
• Projects, films, music or other creative endeavors;
• Career objectives, education, resume, skills/training, academic/work samples, employment history, and contact information.

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Why create ePortfolios? What are the benefits?

Having an ePortfolio encourages all students to become more actively involved in planning and achieving your own educational goals. Some programs of study at SFSU require students to publish portfolios before graduating. [Please check with your major department to see what kind of ePortfolio they may require.]

You also benefit by:

• Having a place to collect and save your coursework;
• Being able to share examples of your work with advisors, faculty, mentors or potential employers;
• Directly demonstrating the knowledge, skills and attributes gained within and beyond the classroom;
• Mastering valuable technology skills;
• Using your creativity to represent yourself and your education and make connections between where you are and where you want to go professionally;
• Create a valuable bridging tool for your next job! For example, if someone were to recommend you for a lucrative opportunity by email, they could add, "by the way...here is a link to their ePortfolio".

Now, every SFSU student can take advantage of this growing trend.

Who can create an e-Portfolio?

SFSU’s Academic Technology provides every SFSU student, regardless of program or campus location, with the information necessary to create an e-Portfolio using your allotted 200 MB of SFSU Internet storage space. Your personal webspace is automatically set up when you register at SFSU. Digital files copied into your portfolio web folder are accessible by any Internet web browser.

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What is the “Portfolio Process”?

The Portfolio as a Reflective Learning Process

In higher education, a portfolio is also seen as a learning process — a way to deepen learning and enable a more authentic assessment of your work over time. The earlier you start a portfolio in your academic career, the better! Collecting your work in an ePortfolio provides a helpful structure to reflect on your academic and life experience. The main steps in creating a portfolio are to: Collect, Select, Reflect, Connect, Build and Publish your work.

Reviewing these steps will help you to create a great ePortfolio.

1. Collect: What is the purpose of the portfolio? For use in a class, or academic major? Or as a career bridging tool? Your portfolio’s purpose, audience, and future use of the artifacts will determine what evidence to collect. [You may want to have more than one ePortfolio!]

   TIP: It’s helpful to draw a simple “story-board” or outline of what you want to include in your ePortfolio after collecting your work.

2. Select: Selection criteria for materials to include should reflect the purpose or learning objectives you have established for your portfolio.

   In some departments, these objectives may be outlined for you - and may follow from evaluation rubrics, performance indicators, and national, state, or local standards.

   TIP: Consult with your academic advisor or the career center for advice on what evidence to select for your portfolio

3. Reflect: This is your chance to engage in a reflection on the artifacts in the portfolio and also create an overall reflection. You can use the portfolio to be more actively involved in assessing your own learning and to reflect on coursework, special projects, and life experiences. Without the reflective element, portfolios merely become an enhanced electronic resume, web page, or a digital scrapbook. The power of reflection turns the collection into evidence of a deeper learning experience.

4. Projection (or Direction in Life): Portfolios can be useful in looking ahead, setting goals for the future, and supporting professional development and career bridging.

   TIP: Be sure to include contact information, so people can respond to your ePortfolio.

5. Publish and Link: Share your work with prospective employers, colleagues, friends and family. Creating hypertext links and publishing your portfolio allows you to get feedback from others. Your academic work is connected to larger local national and international spheres of the field(s) of study.

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How do I use this ePortfolio site?

ePortfolio.sfsu.edu is for all ePortfolio developers at SFSU, maintained by Academic Technology.

ePortfolio@SFSU has been created to support students in creating ePortfolios that require:

• Use of a specific software system;
• Students who want to create an e-portfolio website using their SFSU webspace and a pre-set web template; or
• Support for your use our SF State professional templates, or creation of your own.

ePortfolio @ SFSU is also for:

• Instructors who wish to lead students through learning these skills;
• A review of the skills and concepts that were presented during a "Creating Your ePortfolio" session that you have attended.

On this website, you will find:

• How to get started;
• Simple steps to help you design, build and publish your ePortfolio;
• Links to Frequently Asked Questions;
• Updates and information on ePortfolio software, web-templates, examples of stellar portfolios, and all things related to ePortfolios @ SFSU.

For help please contact ePortfolio Support.

Project Contacts:

For more information about what you can do with e-Portfolios at SFSU, contact Project Managers, Ruth Cox and Kevin Kelly at eport@sfsu.edu

Credits: Gratitude to Penn State and LaGuardia Community College for their pioneering work on ePortfolios.

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