The real question should be, why would you not use an ePortfolio?! ePortfolios are truly a work in progress that are meant to evolve and improve overtime. The more I learn about them, and the more I develop my own, the more I find myself really beginning to understand their benefits. After reading the 41 benefits of ePortfolios post, I found that the blogger’s points around the benefits of the process and the product really resonated with me. Specifically, I find myself becoming better able to assess my strengths and weaknesses in my current role, and reflect on how those attributes relate to my future plans. This excites me as I begin to watch that level of excitement and clarity begin to showcase from the students.
On another note, I enjoyed diving deeper into the concept of “invest in yourself,” a phrase used by Dr. Harapnuik and Dr. Thibodeaux, unpacked in their video which centers around discovering who one is as an individual, teacher, and professional. It highlights the use of ePortfolios to showcase different aspects of one's life while still leaving room for reflection. Within the video, I enjoyed listening to Dr. Harapnuik and Dr. Thibodeaux as each expresses their experiences, passions and belief in the process and product of ePortfolios. Dr. Thibodeaux outlines some of the different usages for her ePortfolio, explaining how her ePortfolio serves as a lifeline and a link to various aspects of her career, and life as a whole.While Dr. Harapnuik points out not only his own experiences with his own, but also the development of how his children use their own in their professional lives. Both examples show different connections to the validity and purposeful nature of ePortfolios across multiple disciplines.
Over the past week I have spent time adjusting my own ePortfolio to create and layout something that is unique to me. With each page, post or piece of information that I design, I can witness and make connections to the progress being made. With the element of choice and autonomy given to me with the ADL program I am able to truly make this ePortfolio my own, which is exhilarating! Most of all, this process of creating my own ePortfolio, strengthens my belief in its need and makes me want to share it with everyone who can benefit from creating one in some capacity. As Dr. Harapnuik pointed out, it is difficult to recommend something that you do not use yourself. Essentially stating, if someone hasn’t found their voice or taken ownership themselves in an ePortfolio, then it is difficult to recommend or attest to their significance.
This is why creating and taking ownership of one myself is so important, and each time I add, edit or design something for mine, I find myself really living the process.
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