Zac E. and Melanie R.
Please keep in mind that these are only general guidelines; always defer to your professor’s specifications for a given assignment. If you have any questions about the content represented here, please contact the Writing Centers so that we can address them for you.
[note color=”#394E75″]Designing an ePortfolio is an exciting way to display your work online. It can also be a challenging endeavor. As you create high-quality ePortfolios, depaul.digication.com/gethelp can help you. Visit it for how-to guides, sample portfolios, and support.[/note]Defining an E-Portfolio
An electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) is a digitized collection of work, responses and reflections, used to demonstrate key skills and accomplishments for a variety of contexts and time periods. They give students the opportunity to showcase their work and skills through combining writing and multimedia technology. The e-portfolio’s popularity continues to grow and has, among some institutions, become the preferred method of data collection.
What makes an E-Portfolio different from a traditional portfolio?
A traditional portfolio is often print-based, confined to what can be put on hard copy. An e-portfolio expands the mediums that can be used. For example, an e-portfolio collection can be comprised of text, graphics, and other multimedia elements including video and music. By expanding the mediums that can be used, a greater variety of disciplines (for example, music, architecture, and engineering) can use the portfolio more effectively.
Elements of an E-Portfolio
Because an e-portfolio is still a portfolio, it will contain some the same elements of a print-based portfolio.
Cover Letter
Cover letters provide an opportunity to reflect upon the work you have included as a whole, as well as the individual aspects included in the portfolio. For more information on cover letters, click here.
Reflective Essays
Some academic portfolios may require that you complete an in-depth reflection on a specific work included in your portfolio. This essay is designed to allow you to honestly evaluate your own work. For a more detailed explanation of reflective essays, click here.
Exemplary Work
Deciding what works to include in your e-portfolio will depend on what skills and abilities you need to demonstrate. For example, a portfolio for DePaul University’s first year WRD class might include an academic essay which shows your ability to claim an argument and effectively defend it.
Click here for more information on academic essay guidelines. Others documents to include could be drafts of the academic essay. Adding such drafts show your development as a writer.
In e-portfolios specifically, you are able to include exemplary work that is not confined to text-based documents. For example, you might include images, videos, music that expresses your work, blog entries, or hyperlinks. An e-portfolio can also be maintained over time, developing as you develop, and it allows for greater audience access online.
Helpful Resources
Designing an ePortfolio? Need some help? Get help at depaul.digication.com/gethelp, DePaul’s brand-new support site for Digication, brought to you by the UCWbL!
This page at the Educause Learning Initiative site provides a list of links to the web-pages of colleges and universities across the country. These links show great examples of electronic portfolios. HYPERLINK
View examples of electronic portfolios made by students at the University of Illinois.
This link takes you to a University of Minnesota web-page which offers helpful guidelines and questions to consider when making an electronic portfolio.
