An e-portfolio is about you (directly or indirectly) and serves a unique purpose... for you.

You're going to be spending a lot of sweat equity and thought on it, so starting out with a clear idea of your "why" is crucial. It is likely to change a bit over time, but it's essential right now, at this stage.

Even if this is an assignment, make it matter to YOU. Make it worth it. 

Action 1 

Think about your "why". Write down your purpose. You can use one of the categories from the list I share: 

• Academic

• Admission

• Job Search

• Career

• Professional Development

• Learning Out Loud (Lifelong Learning)

Once you have a purpose in mind, or your "why", it's time to look at examples and get inspired!

Explore e-portfolios. Get a sense of what attracts you, what feels "right" to you in terms of style, amount of text, content, etc. Check out the page Get Inspired for examples of different purposes for e-portfolios and then check out these gems:

Cara Aguirre - academic Organization Development, Policy, Ethics & Issues  (e-books)

Jill Benedict - career

Karen Caldwell - learning out loud, personal

Tricia Hermes - career (teaching portfolio)

Megan LaBar - academic

Tanya LaShombe - academic

Sam Rawdon - academic Organization Development, Leadership, Policy, Ethics & Issues

Sarah Reagan - combination academic, professional

Nyla Spooner - professional (instructional design)

Artemis Spyrou - learning out loud, professional

Sarah Wilder - academic

Action 2 

Identify a few examples & think carefully about what it is that you like about them. What attracts you? Catches your eye and keeps you there, exploring? Write down those qualities. Later, you'll inspire yourself with these reminders.

Now we shift our lens to the future and think about how we'll use the e-portolio. This is closely linked to the purpose we thought about earlier, of course. Put simply, we need a strategy.

Digital media expert, genius & all-around, great human Renee Hobbs wrote a book called Create to Learn. In her chapter, Decisions, Decisions, she has you think about 6 key questions as part of your strategy for using digital media:

1. Who am I? (e.g., your digital identity & the identity you want to project with the e-portfolio)

2. Who is the target audience? (this is linked to your purpose - who might you share the e-portfolio with?)

3. How will they encounter this message (in this case, the message = e-portfolio itself)? (e.g., shared in a cover letter/email to apply for a job, hyperlinked in your email signature & in your resume, in your LinkedIn profile, etc.?)

4. What do I want them to know?

5. What do I want them to feel?

6. What do I want them to do?

Action 3 

Remind yourself of your purpose for creating the e-portfolio (step 1). Then write down your answers to all 6 questions. 

It's harder than you think. Take your time.

It's time to bring your vision to life and make your ideas concrete. In this step, you'll flesh out your ideas with a sketch or outline of your e-portfolio ideas. 

There's a lot of deep learning triggered at this stage, too, by the way. If you're interested in the cognitive science behind this step, the Learning Scientists do a great job of explaining what happens when you elaborate (think deeply) and make the abstract concrete (create meaningful illustrations).

Action 4 

Sketch out your design with a dedicated page (I find a table works best) or draw a square for each section of the e-portfolio that you plan to create. Using the same document from steps 1, 2, and 3 (your why, some concrete ideas of what you want in your own e-portfolio, and your communication strategy). 

Label each page/section, and ideally, write some notes about what you want to include. 

Speaking of which, are you wondering what to include? You have two main options: 

1. use the what to include resource as a guide (recommended) or 

2. copy others' set-up. 

It's time to bring your vision to life  make your ideas concrete. In this step, you'll flesh out your ideas with a sketch or outline of your e-portfolio ideas. 

There's a lot of deep learning triggered at this stage, too, by the way. If you're interested in the cognitive science behind this step, the Learning Scientists do a great job of explaining what happens when you elaborate (think deeply) and make the abstract concrete (create meaningful illustrations).

Action 4 

Sketch out your design, with a dedicated page or square for each section you plan to create in your e-portfolio. Using the same document from steps 1, 2, and 3 (your why, some concrete ideas of what you want in your own e-portfolio, and your communication strategy). 

For now, you're setting up place-holders in your sketch (draft). That means you should have a title for each page/section, and notes on what you want to include. 

Speaking of which, are you wondering what to include? You have two main options: 

1. use the what to include resource as a guide (recommended) or 

2. copy others' set-up. 

Things get real with this step - where you actually create the e-portfolio website or e-book! 

A prototype is a model or draft - it takes your design from an outline to an real digital product. In this step, you're actually creating the website-or e-book-building process and adding content  (e.g., infographics, blog posts, resources/recommendations).

Creating a prototype is exciting and can take us down a rabbit hole for hours upon hours. Enjoy the experience!

Action 6 

Use your design from Step 4 to create your e-portfolio website or draft e-book. Use placeholders and add all of the content you have so far  (e.g., infographics, blog posts, resources/recommendations). 

• Website: Use a free, well-established website builder such as Google Sites, Hubspot, Weebly, or Wix. Canva has a one-page website option currently (their e-book option is better). I find one-pager websites hard to navigate, so I don't recommend it for now. Also, don't pay for a subscription, yet. That can come later when you have more experience with website creation.

• e-book: I've put together a little e-book about creating e-books if you'd like to start off in PowerPoint. If you prefer to go directly online, Canva and Visme have free e-book builders.

Important: Add as much content as you can to get started. And just like you did with the design step, include placeholder headings and "notes to self" throughout as a trail of breadcrumbs for yourself.

Information design is...

the practice of presenting information in a way that makes it most accessible and easily understood by users. Information design is targeted to specific audiences in specific situations to meet defined objectives. In its most sophisticated forms, it helps users understand [information & data] by organizing and simplifying [it] in ways they can quickly grasp. (SEGD, n.d.)

Check out my article on Information Design Basics for step-by-step guidance on this essential "piece" of the communication puzzle.

Why is information design important? Info design principles help us to deliver e-portfolio content that is

• • Accessible

  • Understood by a specific audience

  • Defined by a clear purpose or objectives

  • Organized & "simplified" (plain English, minimal jargon)

Your audience and other visitors will not stick around for long if you ignore these essential principles. 

Information Design Principles

The principles below are the most important & apply to other kinds of digital communication.

Accessibility & Inclusion

• Be accessible and inclusive. That means creating content that a screen reader can process and using language (American Psychological Association, 2021) that excludes no one.

Audience-focused, Purpose-driven

• Orient your audience to the e-portfolio - how to navigate & find stuff. We (your audience) are completely new & have no idea how you organized & designed your e-portfolio or how to find things. You know your e-portfolio like the back of your hand, but we don't and we're here because we're curious to learn more!
  Tell us where to go next and how to get there.

• Get to the point. Start with a specific title or heading that carries meaning (in other words don't be wishy washy or vague). Start with a solid title, heading, or topic sentence to give us, your audience, the main idea - the main point - for each piece of content - every page, section, infographic, file, and paragraph. Follow the BLUF approach: bottom line, up front. For each page, section, etc., tell us immediately "where" we are - what the main point is. Your visitor (audience) does not want to waste time scanning through an epic novel to find your point. Resist writing a high school essay.
  Be direct & get to the point. Right away.

• Give context to big ticket items. If you want your visitor (audience) to open a project you're sharing (e.g., a PDF of a project you were a part of or a report you rocked) give them a reason to do so. Attract them. Think about it - would you open a random Word doc or PDF that looks academic or dry, or that seems to have been randomly attached? Nope, didn't think so.
  Consider using the STAR structure to give context to these "bigger ticket" items. I go into more depth about this on the Content page.

• Guide your audience by explaining your content, whether it's an infographic, project, blog, video, etc. Help us to notice key features and see what you want us to see. That means that, before you share an infographic, for example, briefly explain it in one or two sentences. Imagine your visitor (audience) thinking, Why should I take time to look through this infographic? What's in it for me? Is it worth my time? 
  We can't know how awesome your work is unless you explain why it's worth our time.

Organized, Simplified

• Format your content with your audience in mind. Chunk content into meaningful Not only must you use inclusive language and accessible formatting, you'll keep'em coming back if you follow some simple formatting guidelines:

• Text: Mix brief paragraphs with bullet points & numbered lists. Don't overwhelm your audience with a screen full of text in massive paragraphs.

• Structure: Orient your reader with specific titles, headings, and sub-headings.

• Alignment: Justify paragraphs to the right. Don't centre a paragraph or use full justification. It's hard on the eye and your visitor will stop reading sooner rather than later. 

Remember, you can also refer to my Information Design Basics article for additional "how to" guidance.

Action 7

It's impossible to keep all of these principles in your head! Set yourself up for success by creating a checklist or some other form of performance aid. 

And use it. Often. It makes a difference.

Gulp.

Yes, this is where it gets real: sending your site or e-book to someone to check out and provide feedback. 

Trust me, it's SO worth it and you'll be grateful forever to the kind souls who takes the time to experience your work and let you know about the "user experience".

Giving feedback is an act of kindness and can be hard work, so be sure to express gratitude & have a thick skin. You want honest input!

Action 8

Send your work to more than one person, ideally folks who have no background in your field or the content you're sharing. Tell them your purpose for creating the e-portfolio and ask them for specific input. It'll help if you remind them to be a "naive reader" or "intelligent generalist". 

Here are just a few of the ways you can make your reviewers' work easier. Ask them to:

1. play a role (your target audience, for example an employer, potential client, general public)

2. check your language, for example jargon (anything need to be defined?), any non-inclusive words, typos, grammar issues, etc.

3. read your work, for example how you welcome & introduce them to the site, each page & content item (do they feel "oriented"? are you sparking curiosity & interest in your content?)

4. review for inclusion & accessibility

The more specific your request, the easier it is for your reviewer to focus (save time) and help you!

This part is actually not so hard. You've already had other eyes on your work - critical eyes, no less. And if you've had some time away from your e-portfolio, you'll also be able to see areas that need some tweaking.

You may have a lot or just a few revisions to make. Take a deep breath, do it fast,  then...

Action 9

Publish or if it's an e-book PDF, save your work online, where it can be shared (e.g., OneDrive, GoogleDrive, DropBox, etc.).

Now you have an accessible web address (URL). Get your e-portfolio out there and showcase YOU. 

• Post your e-portfolio in your social media feeds, and tell folks about your "why" and the experience creating the e-portfolio. Trust me, your contacts are good folks and will be so happy for you.

• Add the web address (URL) of your e-portfolio to your social media profiles (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.), as well as to your email signature block, your resume, curriculum vitae, letterhead, you name it.

American Psychological Association. (2021). Inclusive language guidelines.

https://www.apa.org/about/apa/equity-diversity-inclusion/language-guidelines.pdf 

The Learning Scientists. (n.d.). About us. https://www.learningscientists.org/ 

Society for Experiential Graphic Design. (2022). What is  https://segd.org/what-information-design