The Value of an E-Portfolio
I think one of the chief values of a portfolio is that it is a space for collecting a variety of work--different genres, different media, different projects or different approaches to the same problem, and it can include work within a range of completion--allowing not just finished or polished work. When I have used portfolios in writing workshops, it is the ability to include raw or problematical work which has often surprised students, but which is really important for valuing the whole range and process of writing--sometimes our best ideas are still not wholly 'there' in a draft, but they can be viewed and validated in a portfolio because they need not stand on their own as a finished product for evaluation. I think portfolios allow for depth and range. I suppose an e-portfolio offers a similar space to keep track of work and learning, as represented in that work. A possible drawback I see is that the website, though revisable, seems more public and published than a writing portfolio, or even than the portfolio of an artist or architect, so the stakes seem higher and perhaps more intimidating--and perhaps inimical to illustrating the process of learning.
Another advantage, as others have mentioned, is the process of doing it--learning how to construct a web page to serve as the portfolio. This is something I have wanted to learn how to do for awhile, but I needed the support of a class to be able to overcome the inertia of my fears and what I don't know.
I suppose one of my questions would be if there are other sorts of platforms for putting together electronic portfolios (other than web pages that is).
I think one of the chief values of a portfolio is that it is a space for collecting a variety of work--different genres, different media, different projects or different approaches to the same problem, and it can include work within a range of completion--allowing not just finished or polished work. When I have used portfolios in writing workshops, it is the ability to include raw or problematical work which has often surprised students, but which is really important for valuing the whole range and process of writing--sometimes our best ideas are still not wholly 'there' in a draft, but they can be viewed and validated in a portfolio because they need not stand on their own as a finished product for evaluation. I think portfolios allow for depth and range. I suppose an e-portfolio offers a similar space to keep track of work and learning, as represented in that work. A possible drawback I see is that the website, though revisable, seems more public and published than a writing portfolio, or even than the portfolio of an artist or architect, so the stakes seem higher and perhaps more intimidating--and perhaps inimical to illustrating the process of learning.
Another advantage, as others have mentioned, is the process of doing it--learning how to construct a web page to serve as the portfolio. This is something I have wanted to learn how to do for awhile, but I needed the support of a class to be able to overcome the inertia of my fears and what I don't know.
I suppose one of my questions would be if there are other sorts of platforms for putting together electronic portfolios (other than web pages that is).