The ePortfolio Project...

Why ePortfolios?

In today’s multimedia culture, e-portfolios are useful to help an individual stand out among the competition. In fact, an extensive survey done for the Association of American Colleges & Universities by Hart Research Associates titled “Falling Short? College Learning and Career Success” gives compelling evidence for working with e-portfolios. One of their major findings is:

“Fewer than half of employers say that they find the college transcript very (9%) or fairly (36%) useful in helping them to evaluate job applicant’s potential to succeed at their company [while] a notably higher 80% of employers say that it would be very (36%) or fairly (44%) useful to be able to see an electronic portfolio of student work that summarizes and demonstrates a candidate’s accomplishments in key skill and knowledge areas (e.g. effective communication, knowledge in their field, applied skills, evidence-based reasoning, and ethical decision-making).” (Association of American Colleges & Universities, 2015).

Also, working with the ePortfolio can help provide focus on the job search and work more efficiently with LinkedIn. Since approximately 90% of recruiters use LinkedIn, creating the bridge between the ePortfolio and LinkedIn profile can easily add a depth of materials to showcase both work and skills.

For non-traditional professions, such as community organizing/advocacy or freelance, the ePortfolio provides a visual and narrative representation of complex skills, knowledge, and products.

For professions with multiple clients or audiences, ePortfolios can be used to digitally represent yourself to varied viewers. For example, teachers can use ePortfolios to house and represent classroom practices and materials to students, administrators, and parents;

Freelance professionals such as professional writers or performers can use ePortfolios to showcase products and to articulate professional ethics and practices.

This document addresses the creation of ePortfolios as a major assignment in a variety of Writing II classes. They will be discussed by defining ePortfolios.