TECH WATCH
E-PORTFOLIOS TAKING OFF
AS WAY TO SHOW SKILLS
By Angela Pacienza ~ Canadian Press
Brandon Sun ~ Tuesday, October 15, 2002
Toronto -- E-portfolios were once reserved for those seeking employment in the technology or graphic-design
sector but now people in other disciplines are catching on to the trend.
Imagine giving a prospective employer a CD-ROM or a Web address instead
of a paper resume. The employer sees a comprehensive collection of work
samples, transcripts, video testimonials from employers and teachers,
photos of work, and anything else that illustrates your accomplishments
and skills.
"There's really no limit of what you can put in there," said Diane
Moore, career counsellor at George Brown College in Toronto.
"You want to take all of those things and find ways to translate them
into something that looks good online," said Moore, adding that
e-portfolios are much more than souped-up resumes.
Some career counsellors say online e-portfolios will be the next big
trend in the work search industry.
They've already taken off in American schools with some institutions
commissioning developers for easy-to-use software to simplify the
process. Earlier this year, several U.S. universities got together to
form Electronic Portfolio Consortium (www.eportconsortium.org ) with
that goal in mind.
Another group, made up of more than 30 colleges and state universities,
call themselves the Electronic Portfolio Action Committee. Penn State
has a comprehensive e-portfolio Web site ( http://portfolio.psu.edu )
run by the school's Information Technology services.
But e-portfolios are still far from the norm in Canadian career
development.
"E-portfolios are still very much the cutting edge," said Moore. "But
already anybody who wants to differentiate themselves in their field
when they go out for interviews is using an e-portfolio."
George Brown College has been pushing students to create them for about
three years. Concordia University in Montreal and Simon Fraser
University in Burnaby, B.C., are planning e-portfolio workshops through
their student career centres next year.
The trend isn't limited to technology or graphic-design careers. Moore
said 10 years ago it was something only seen in professional arts
fields, but she now sees e-portfolios in a variety of professions
including early childhood education, social work and even her field of
career counselling.
Michele Jacobsen teaches graduate students at the University of Calgary
how to create e-portfolios as a way to highlight academic work, campus
life and life accomplishments.
"It's part of their professional development, but it also serves
multiple purposes," said the assistant professor in U of C's faculty of
education, where e-portfolios have been taught since 1992.
"It's both a celebration medium to highlight their best work and also a
learning medium so that they can solicit feedback from others," said
Jacobson.
The point, she says, is that the portfolios will be used for more than
just employment.
Students in the Calgary area start learning how to display their work
online as early as kindergarten in some schools, she said.
"It's becoming more widespread because the tools are getting easier to
use. Publishing on the Web is a lot easier and the technology itself is
much more available at all age levels."
E-PORTFOLIO TIPS
E-portfolios, highlighting personal and professional accomplishments,
are becoming increasingly popular. Here are tips from career counsellor
Diane Moore on starting a professional e-portfolio on a Web site or
CD-ROM:
- Include career goals, a resume, letters of reference, transcripts, academic awards, degrees, company announcements of promotion, documents you helped write or design and, if possible, a video of you working (e.g. giving a presentation or teaching a class).
- Give yourself enough time to assemble the portfolio. Keep in mind that collecting items such as photos and copies of awards and transcripts could take weeks, depending on the source.
- Be mindful of confidentiality clauses from previous employers. Some reports you helped write might not be available for public consumption.
- You may need to get permission to use certain photos.
Get permission to use copyrighted material and clearly mark your own work and the work created as a team.
--Canadian Press