Part One - Collecting Evidence

Contents

About e-Portfolios

Gathering Your Own Evidence

 


About e-Portfolios

Brian: Hey guys, what’s up?
Sage, Deena, Lori: Hi Brian!
Sage: Check out Lori’s new laptop!
Brian: Cool. What are you doing?
Lori: Well, I’m working on my e-Portfolio.
Brian: e-Portfolio? What’s that?
Sage: An e-Portfolio is like a web-based collection of information about yourself.
Brian: I see . . . kind of like an online resume?
Lori: I guess you could think about it like that. But my e-Portfolio is a class assignment, so I’m supposed to show evidence of what I have learned.
Deena: Yeah, I’ve got to do an e-Portfolio too! Seems to be a pretty popular assignment this semester.
Sage: So how do you get started?
Lori: First, you think about your experiences and accomplishments.
Brian: All of them? Man, that would take forever.
Deena: No Brian, not all of them. You pick the important ones and go from there.
Lori: Deena’s right, Brian. You only put significant items in your e-Portfolio. I’m going to pick the Top 5 for my e-Portfolio.
Brian: I see . . .
Sage: So how do you choose the Top 5?
Lori: Well, after I make a list of my experiences and accomplishments, I’ll try to organize them by theme or category.
Brian: That should make the list more manageable.
Lori: Right. An e-Portfolio is supposed to describe the person, so I have to make sure I pick the items that describe me best.
Deena: Are you going to list the hot dog eating contest you won?
Lori: Of course not! Eating 50 hot dogs in 20 minutes is not what I want people to remember about me.
Deena: Sorry, I couldn’t resist kidding you about that.
Lori: I know, so no worries. I have to think about how I want to be perceived before I decide which items to include.
Sage: I get it. You’re kind of creating your “on-line” presence!
Lori: Exactly! You guys want to see what I’ve collected so far?
Brian, Deena, Sage: Sure!

 

Activity 1

Driving Questions

What does an e-Portfolio look like? Why would you want to create one for yourself? Use the "My Notes" tool on the right side of the tool bar at the top of the page to type a couple of your thoughts.

After thinking about these questions, read through the About e-Portfolios section of the http://portfolio.psu.edu Web site and formulate your answers to the Driving Questions.


Gathering Your Own Evidence

Let's get started creating your own e-Portfolio. e-Portfolios should link to evidence of your accomplishments and experiences, so evidence is the first item you should consider when creating your own e-portfolio.

First, read through the Collect section of the http://portfolio.psu.edu Web site, including all of the pages in the sub-sections titled Academic Evidence, Co-curricular Evidence and Multimedia Evidence.

Activity 2:

Driving Questions

What types of evidence belong in an e-Portfolio? What kinds of evidence of your own do you have which you can point to? Use a word processor or pen and paper to write down your responses to the following:

Look Back

  1. Create a list of all experiences or events that you have been involved in that you consider significant. What were these experiences? Add to this list evidence of things that you have created, accomplished or perhaps were rewarded for in the past.

  2. Create a list of personal and academic general interests that are important to you. What are you interested in? It might help to think about the things that you do or are involved in on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. What are these activities? What interests do they represent?

Look Around

  1. Create a list of the experiences or events which you are involved in right now at Penn State. This list could include a list of the courses you are currently taking, the organizations you are involved in, or other things that you think are significant.

    2. Note: Feedback is important throughout the e-Portfolio development process. Consider sharing your list with a friend or family member. Is there something you are missing? Oftentimes it is easy to forget things you are most involved in!

  2. Write a short essay (2 paragraph minimum) that describes and summarizes the lists that you have created above. Tell your story. Invite the reader to read what you have been involved in.

 


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