Picture by Larry Geddis

Purpose. Each of you will develop an "electronic" portfolio in this course, but I want to encourage you to create a portfolio that serves your purposes and expresses what you wish it to express. My most fundamental aspiration is that the work you do in this course is "authentic" and "useful" and leads to further growth and development after the course ends.

As you consider how to design your own electronic portfolio, you might think of this more broadly as creating your "web presence"--how you want to present yourself to a wider audience on the Web. Keep in mind that, in my opinion, the Web is here to stay and if you learn to use it for your personal and professional purposes, you will be better prepared to teach the students you teach how to use it for such purposes.

I will be assigning specific elements to be added to your portfolios, but before that, I'd like to invite you to explore some of the portfolios developed by other students. 

So: Keep in mind that their portfolios are more elaborate and extensive than you are likely to complete in this course. 

But: Keep in mind that you need to explore both in and out of class the web authoring tools to better off your technical skills and continue to add elements to your portfolio after this course ends.

And: Keep in mind that a final portfolio is a requirement for completing the bachelor's degree, so your work in this course is a good start toward that final goal.

Also: The portfolios below have less focus on using portfolios with K-12 students than I hope to encourage in your portfolios.

But with this introduction, have fun exploring portfolios created by your peers from our own college and from other colleges via the link below. Before you begin, read the assignment carefully.

You will probably want to keep a pencil and paper beside your computer as you do this assignment so you can write down the features you like.

Note: You will probably want to bookmark some of these pages. And you can bookmark specific pages within some of the portfolios to make it easier to get back to the ones you select as models for you to follow. 

Specific Assignment. This assignment is designed to have you visit some portfolios created by others and reflect upon what features you might or might not wish to include as you craft your own web presence. 

1. Explore these pages with links to portfolios.  Spend at least an hour or more exploring these electronic portfolios from these links. (Note: Some of the portfolios have longer download times. If you have a slow connection, you may find some of them more accessible...and this is something I want you to think about as you create your own.)

Note: Don't be surprised if many of the links no longer work. Anyone can remove or change their portfolios any time.

SUNY Cortland Fall 2000 evTMB Webfolio Samples: http://tmb.cortland.edu/samples/samplewebfolios.htm

SUNY Cortland Fall 2004 evTMB Webfolio Samples:
http://tmb.cortland.edu/webpholios.htm

SUNY Cortland Fall 2005 evTMB Webfolio
http://www.tmb.cortland.edu/webfolios2005.html

An Example of the Technology Assignment Page:
http://web.cortland.edu/callah41/myeducationaltechnologypage.html

SUNY Cortland Fall 2005 evTMB Webfolio samples 
http://tmb.cortland.edu/webpholios.htm

Kalamazoo college:
http://www.kzoo.edu/pfolio/outstanding.html

LaGuadia Community College : students’ ePortfolio examples:
http://www.eportfolio.lagcc.cuny.edu/lagcc_student_eport.html
http://www.eportfolio.lagcc.cuny.edu/esamples/Yvonne.John/index.htmlClick here 

MSU CEP 813, Spring 2004: Portfolio Gallery and Links to "Exhibition": http://www.msu.edu/course/cep/813/web/portfolios04S.htm

2. Identify one website that is most like the one you would like to create. 

3. Supplemental: Food for Thought
As you explore these portfolios, you might ask yourself the following questions: 

Clarity of purpose:

• What purposes do you think the student had in mind in designing this website?

• Do you feel you can easily get to know the person who created the website? (From their resume, personal statements, photos, etc.) 

• Is it a "professional" or a "personal" website or both
  (and if both, how are they integrated or distinguished)?

Substance:

• How much "stuff" does the portfolio contain? (Quantity) 

• What is the quality of the "stuff" in the portfolio? (Quality) 

Design:

• Is the portfolio easy to navigate?

• How many links deep is it?

• How would you rate the aesthetics of the design? How technically sophisticated is the portfolio? (Frames, graphics, digital photos or video, animated gifs, mailto:, etc.) 

• Are the technical features "fluff" or appropriate? 

Acknowledgement: Dr. Patrick Dickson