Project Overview
This website is an ePortfolio template that is intended to serve as a guide for creating your own academic career portfolio based on projects you have completed in your particular graduate program of study. It is designed to make it easy for you to display your best work and accomplishments. You have the choice of using the template provided or you can design your own. If designing your own, make sure all requirements listed in this master template are included, as well as the layout and design requirements listed below.
Purpose
"Throughout your academic career you will accumulate documents that represent work that you have produced. The Career Portfolio assists you in organizing and presenting these documents to potential employers." (NJIT) The purpose of this particular portfolio is to showcase your current knowledge, skills, and abilities. It will include samples of your completed works that best exemplify your current ability to apply relevant knowledge and skills. Potential Employers will use your completed portfolio to judge your academic ability, maturity, and motivation.
Objectives
- To recognize the importance of preparing and using portfolios in the career development process.
- To identify the component parts that constitute an effective portfolio.
- To understand how to develop, compile, and present a portfolio in a professional manner.
- To utilize the portfolio effectively as an interview instrument.
Requirements
Your portfolio requires all webpages listed below. Please refer to the actual pages listed above in the main navigation for instructions on what to include on each individual page.
Webpages
- ePortfolio Reflection - You need to write a one-page, single-spaced reflection regarding your ePortfolio.
If creating your own portfoilo Layout, please include the following:Layout and Design
- Design that is consistent throughout all pages of the site
- Consistent navigation that enables visitors move easily between pages
- Site header that includes your name and graduate major
- Personal photo
Rationale
A portfolio is a container used for storing and organizing samples of one's work. For instance, a photographer might choose some of his/her best photographs to bind together in a three-ring notebook to show potential employers. On the other hand, a journalist looking for employment might put together a folder containing all his/her best writings to show potential employers. These are examples of traditional hardcopy portfolios.
An online portfolio, also called an ePortfolio, is a container used for storing and organizing one's work as well, but in digital format. According to (LaGuardia), "an ePortfolio is:
- An opportunity to effectively represent yourself and your education
- A place to collect and save coursework
- A chance to showcase accomplishments and school work to family and friends
- A tool for creating digital resumes to send to employers
- A web portal for accessing your work, track your academic growth and plan your career
- A portal that helps connect educational goals with personal experience
- An electronic resource you can use to apply for transfer and financial aid at a four year school
- A chance to reflect on your education, to make connections between where you are and where you want to be, and,
- A record of your skills, achievements and learning." (LaGuardia)
"A showcase portfolio is simply a portfolio used to show one's best work. Items are selected to represent one's highest level of achievement in regard to particular knowledge or skills. The traditional artist's portfolio is an example. Portfolios created for a job interview would also fall into this category." (Designing a Portfolio Assignment)Professional Standards
Professional standards addressed during the creation of artifacts listed under the "Graduate Artifacts" page will vary depending on the student's major. However, this ePortfolio project aligns with the following ISTE NETS-S. (ISTE)
| 1. Creativity and Innovation | |
| a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes | |
| b. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression | |
| 2. Communication and Collaboration | |
| a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media | |
| b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats or solve problems | |
| 3. Research and Information Fluency | |
| b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media | |
| c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks | |
| 4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making | |
| a. Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation | |
| b. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project | |
| 5. Digital Citizenship | |
| b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity | |
| c. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning | |
| d. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship | |
| 6. Technology Operations and Concepts | |
| a. Understand and use technology systems | |
| b. Select and use applications effectively and productively | |
Assessment
References
Designing a Portfolio Assignment — Learning & Scholarly Technologies. Retrieved Apr. 9, 2012, from Web site: http://www.washington.edu/lst/help/teaching_guides/design_portfolio_assignment
ISTE | NETS for Students. Retrieved Apr. 9, 2012, from Web site: http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students.aspx
LaGuardia ePortfolio. Introduction: What is an ePortfolio? Retrieved Apr. 3, 2012, from Web site: http://www.eportfolio.lagcc.cuny.edu/students/default.htm
NJIT: Career Development Services:. Retrieved Apr. 10, 2012, from Web site: http://www.njit.edu/cds/students/careeradvisement/portfolio.php