Site Overview
This site is designed to help you develop your Bush ePortfolio, where you will document your reflections about your education, experiences, and skills and communicate them in an easily accessible and updated format. You may work on sections simultaneously as you make progress toward the the Bush School student learning outcomes, which will be developed throughout your participation in the INTA and PSAA programs.
What is an ePortfolio?
An ePortfolio is an online record of what you are learning, how and where you are learning it, and what evidence supports the progress you are making. It is "an electronic record that can be constantly sorted and culled and curated over time. It is an active repository with many management tools that can generate Web presentations for particular purposes. It is a resume maker with linked evidence" [1]. It is also defined as "an argument developed around the claims you wish to make about yourself. Ultimately, the claims will be most convincing to readers when they are supported by documentation from a variety of sources" [2].
Since your Bush ePortfolio is a work in progress, it can help you in several ways:
as a repository of your work, allowing you a place to store and, thus, keep track of the work accomplished in your courses, activities, jobs, etc.
as a place to integrate your knowledge and your learning experiences, allowing you to "see the big picture" of how the pieces (courses, jobs, skills, etc.) contribute to the professional you are becoming
as a way to communicate to others what you have accomplished and are continuing to learn through reflection, consciously connecting all that you are learning to your values, beliefs, and experiences.
Finally, the purpose of the portfolio is NOT to help you prepare more job application materials BUT to help prepare YOU for the job.
Getting Started
Read the materials in the Resources section.
Attend ePortfolio workshops.
Prepare a project proposal memo and competency map, identifying your ePortfolio context, outlining the organization and content of your ePortfolio, and creating a timeline to write, edit, and revise the final product for approval by the deadline.
Create a website (using Google Sites, Weebly, Wix, WordPress, or other web software). Or create a hard copy file, organizing the main and subsections to match the assignment requirements.
Read through this website to learn what will be expected of your portfolio.
Continuing the Process
Consider your ePortfolio as a "work in progress," one that is easily and continually revised. Add new content, sections, tabs, files, etc., as needed. Use the guiding questions provided with each topic to prompt reflections and ideas about how to develop each section.
Tip: Duplicate the site to create different versions and add or delete sections that match the audience and purpose you want to target. (You may even want to change the site theme to give the site a different look.) Learn as much as you can about who will be reading your portfolio and for what purposes; tailor your portfolio to meet those purposes. For example, if you are applying to grad school, create a tab for a "Statement of Intent." You could also rename a section to better fit the context to which your portfolio is directed. If "Career Interests" better suits your context (over "Biography"), then use it. Make the portfolio what you want it to be so that it does what you want it to do.
Finalizing the Process
Complete the portfolio by the deadline requested (if you are applying for the Medal of Excellence) and follow the instructions for submission given by Ms. Raisor. Of course, your portfolio can also be used in your job search or application to graduate school. You should plan to modify it as needed for the different contexts in which it will be used.
Overcoming E-folio Anxiety
Be careful not to become overwhelmed by all of the content and artifacts that you could potentially include in your portfolio and therefore get discouraged because the task seems TOO BIG.
Thus, the best advice is this:
Take one topic (or tab) at a time.
Just start.
Remember that you can always add to and revise your work and you can always learn how to use the "tech tools," but don't let technology or procrastination keep you from making progress on your e-folio.
Image source: ©iStock.com/ATIC12