What is an E-Portfolio?

Have you made the (wise) decision to create your first E-portfolio? Are you still a bit uncertain as to
what this whole E-portfolio concept entails? In a sentence, An E-portfolio is a digitized collection of
artifacts including demonstrations, resources, and accomplishments that represent an individual, group,
or institution (Lorenzo and Ittelson 1). E-portfolios, meaning electronic portfolios, are web-based
collections of information available to the community (more on that later). An individual might make an
E-portfolio to demonstrate their work, a group might use an E-portfolio to share information or illustrate
accomplishments; generally speaking, E-portfolios allow people to represent their ideas, thoughts, and
written work with others. Beyond the benefit of self-representation, E-portfolios can also serve as an
administrative tool to manage and organize work created with different applications and to control who
can see the work (Lorenzo and Ittelson 1). Now more than ever the ability to use multi-media is both
necessary and beneficial, and in using this technology individuals can share their portfolios with a much
larger network.
Why do we make them? As in, why do professors assign them? Why do students create them?
When it comes time to make your own E-portfolio, you might find it helpful to consider the three Rs:
representation, reflection, and revision (Lorenzo and Ittelson 3). Creating an E-portfolio can help
students be more mindful of their need to revise their writing (all good work has the ability to be
revised). E-portfolios are great not only for posting new work, but also for writing self-reflections on the
larger processes, or personal philosophies, in general. This allows your readers to get a better sense of
your style and character. Moreover, E-portfolios allow students to represent themselves through unique
visual aspects that might not be available if creating a traditional concrete portfolio. With the ability to
customize viewers, students can allow professors to easily access their work and accomplishments. The
benefits of an e-portfolio typically derive from the exchange of ideas and feedback between the author
and those who view and interact with the e-portfolio (Lorenzo and Ittelson 2). By allowing your
professor to follow your progress, the lines of communication can improve.
An e-portfolio is more than a simple collection, however; it can also serve as an administrative tool to
manage and organize work created with different applications and control who can see or discuss the
work. The benefits of an e-portfolio typically derive from the exchange of ideas and feedback between
the author and those who view and interact with the e-portfolio. In addition, the authors personal
reflection on the work inside an e-portfolio helps create a meaningful learning experience (Lorenzo and
Ittelson 2).
(Professors can easily access these portfolios, and learn about their students writing process along the
way. This can help both students and professors visualize how the student has improved over time, and
what lessons they can still learn from)Maureen Note
powerful tool for representation, reflection, and revision (Lorenzo and Ittelson 3).
(Thought this quote sheds light on the above process of the writing processthrough writing we
represent our ideas and our thoughts, we reflect and think about what message we want to
communicate to our audience, and we continually revise our work to encompass new thoughts, ideas).
Maureen Note
What can we learn when we make E-Portfolios?
E-Portfolios are helping students become critical thinkers and aiding in the development of their
writing and multimedia communication skills. E-Portfolios can help students learn information and
technology literacy skills and how to use digital media (Lorenzo and Ittelson 3)
(Learning the value of thinking critically about the work that we do, and how we can improve as
individuals. E-portfolios allow students to improve written work, and moreover gain valuable experience
in the context of social media and web-based technology)Maureen Note
Through reflection, students make knowledge by articulating connections among portfolio exhibits,
learning and self; reflective activities introduce students to new kinds of self-assessment, often an
outcomes-based self-assessment, that they carry into life outside of an beyond educational settings; and
through engaging in reflective activities, students develop the stance and practices of a reflective
practitioner who can synthesize multiple sources of evidence and make contingent and ethical sense of
them (Cambridge et al. 5).
(E-Portfolios teach people how to effectively assess their work; individuals can learn how to incorporate
the work that they do into future life experiences through portfolios. Through assigning e-portfolios
professor can promote their students to put critical thought into the sources they analyze, and the ideas
they formulate.)-Maureen