Introduction

Introduction to e-Portolios

Electronic portfolios tell a story. The purpose, perspectives and connections of those stories are dependent on the people who tell their story. Electronic portfolios provide tools to share personal, professional and learning stories over a lifetime of accomplishments. Daniel Pink, in his book A Whole New Mind (2006) talks about story as an integral part of human experience. He stated that “We are our stories” (p. 115) and that “We compress years of experience, thought and emotion into a few compact narratives that we convey to others and tell to ourselves.” In current fields of endeavour, it is essential to keep current and historical story elements available. Transitions from learning to work and from personal to professional are now a fluid process that evolve over our lifetime. Having an electronic portfolio is becoming a essential personal, work, and learning requirement.

What I have learned about e-portfolios:

1. Electronic portfolios present stories, shared in compelling and dramatic fashion.

2. Electronic portfolios need an audience. Purpose and design shifts based on audience and intention. Reflection is a key ingredient.

3. Electronic portfolios link individuals to their tribe. It shares the adventures and events of the individual and the tribe.

4. Electronic portfolios examine the past, present current events and imagine the future.

5. Electronic portfolios help individuals seek better answers by asking good questions. They share the cyclic journey from one answer to new questions.

6. Electronic portfolios feed the mind by enhancing the senses. Portfolio entries provide food for thought and enlighten the mind.

7. Electronic portfolios can change the minds of those who create them.  Reflection, as defined by John Dewey and Donald Schon, changes the mind and clarifies thought.

Electronic learning portfolios extend into personal life as individuals capture stories along their life journey. E-portfolios provide a repository for curation and collection of artifacts relating to an individual’s life journey. Stories can be shaped, like scrapbooks, by providing creative templates, ideas, story starters, and organizational tools to move items from the shoe box to the showcase.

Sharing Our Stories

Our yearning to share our stories with others is reflected in the growth of social media. In the diverse and multiple ways we share our stories, there is an ever growing need to collect, assemble, and share the artifacts of our lives into a narrative that showcases to ourselves and the world, who we are and what we are about. As Daniel Pink expressed, “…. we must listen to each other’s stories and we are each the authors of our own lives.”

Within ventures that provide electronic portfolios there is also a story. D. Pink reflected that “An organization’s knowledge is contained in it’s stories” (A Whole New Mind, p. 107) As I investigated these ventures, I looked for their unique and compelling story. Since e-portfolio ventures can potentially capture the cradle to grave management of personal and professional stories, I looked for these elements within the business offering of products and resources.

The interconnected layers available to e-portfolio ventures is found within these images created by Helen Barrett for lifelong and mobile learning environments.

 

References:

Barrett, H. (2008) Digital archive for life. [Image on blog] Retrieved from http://electronicportfolios.org/blog/uploaded_images/DigitalArchive4Life-713372.jpg

Barrett, H. (2012) Supporting reflection with mobile devices. [Image on blog] Retrieved from http://blog.helenbarrett.org/2012/01/supporting-reflection-with-mobile.html

Pink, D. (2005). A Whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule the world. Toronto: Penguin Group.

Poyatos,César. [Image] Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/cpoyatos/7007451086/in/photostream/

 

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