4. FAQ’S

How long will my efolio remain on the UBC Blogs server?
UBC Blogs provides students access to their efolios for at least two years after graduation. However, to ensure the longevity of your blog, it is wise to export (another term for backing-up) a copy of your efolio to your computer’s hard drive and/or to a Canadian-based WordPress server.

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If I already have a blogging account do I need a new one?
If you already have a blogging account you do not need a new one.  However, to separate your folio blog reflections from your previous blog-work, it is highly recommended you create a separate blog site under your existing account.  Additionally, if you are using blog software and hardware that is not physically located on Canadian soil, it is recommended that you use UBC Blogs to create your efolio blog, as the privacy of your blog’s information may not be protected by Canadian law.

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Can I include images of students in my eFolio?
You may include student images and/or video in a web document only if you have written permission from the student and their parents. Alternatively, you can use photographs and/or video without obtaining written permission, if such media do not show the students’ faces or any identifying information (such as names, places, images of locations, etc). For more information about keeping efolio information professional, yet confidential, see the UBC Digital’ Tatoo project’s work on efolios.

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Can I use information and experiences from my life before I entered the Teacher Education Program in my efolio?
Yes. Efolios can include artifacts developed during the teacher education program and also artifacts from your life before you began the program. These might includes artifacts of previous experiences teaching and learning or samples of work that you developed during your undergraduate degree that relates to your subject matter area. However, it is recommended that you connect these artifacts with coursework and experiences you have engaged in during the teacher education program in your reflections.

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Can I use video in my efolio?
Yes. UBC Blogs supports video uploads and video imbedding (using repositories such as YouTube, Blip TV, or Veoh). Uploading video is the same process as uploading images. For instructions on how to imbed video into your blog please read: How do I imbed YouTube Videos? Remember video must not contain any identifying information of your subjects (ie., peers, instructors, and students) unless you have obtained written permission from the students and/or their parents/guardians.

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Will I be able to access my efolio account from home?
Yes! Your efolio is an online platform and can be accessed from any computer with a working Internet connection.

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What computers will work with my efolio?
Your efolio should work with any computer running a recent operating system (Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7, Mac OS X, Linux). Older computers may work depending on available web browsers. Note that older browsers may not work correctly with UBC’s WordPress blog software. To guarantee compatibility please ensure that your browser is updated to its latest version.

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Can I back up my efolio?
Yes, it is easy to backup and restore your efolio. You will need to make an export file to create a backup. To restore your efolio you will need to import this file. Refer to this page for more detailed instructions.

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How much file space do I have?
You have 500MB of file space.  This is enough to develop a complete efolio with uploaded multimedia such as PowerPoint files, documents, photos, and one or two short video clips (you can include more video if you use imbedded or ‘linked-to’ video).

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How can I conserve file space on my efolio?
A major cause of using up the 500MB limit is uploading large images or video that have not been resized or compressed. A typical modern digital camera. phone or video camera, often produces large images that use many megabytes of space. While these images add a great deal of contextualizing visual information to your efolio, they also consume a great deal of your efolio’s 500MB storage space. You can save space by resizing, cropping, or compressing images and/or video before you upload them.

The most common method of reducing an image’s file size is to reduce its size and resolution. One of the most efficient file formats for reducing an image’s size and resolution is the JPEG format.  These steps will assist you to use the JPEG format for reducing the size and resolution of your images:

A) If you are using a Mac, follow these instructions for resizing images:

There are many programs that can resize photos, but all new computers running Apple’s OSX come with iPhoto, so this is a quick and easy way to resize your photos.

  1. Open your finder and browse to Applications – iPhoto. Open iPhoto.
  2. Find the photo(s) you wish to use and select them in the iPhoto viewer. If your photos are not in iPhoto drag them from the finder window to iPhoto.
  3. With the photos you wish to use in your efolio selected, go to File – Export from the menu.
  4. Select the options, here are some recommended settings:
  • Kind: JPEG
  • JPEG Quality: Medium
  • Size: Medium

File Name: Use Filename

  1. Hit Export and save to a folder.
  2. Upload photos to your efolio as normal.

B) If you are using Windows use these instructions for resizing images:

There are a variety of programs you can use for resizing photos in Windows; however, Microsoft paint is built into every copy of windows.

  1. Go to Start – Accessories – Paint.
  2. Open the photo you want to resize by going File – Open.
  3. Under Home click Resize.
  4. Resize by Pixels and maintain aspect ratio selected.
  5. Select the size of the image you want. Typically about 600 or 700 pixels wide for web use is good. Paint should automatically change the height to correspond to the width.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Go File – Save As. Now Save it to a folder.
  8. Upload the resized photo to your ePortfolio as normal.

C) Tips for reducing the file size of video (Mac and PC):

D) Final Notes:

  • UBC Blogs only allows users to upload file sizes up to 9MB.  As this makes for very short video clips indeed, we recommend linking to video.
  • Be careful uploading files (Word, PowerPoint, etc) that contain pictures or graphics (including tables). These can be very large and often exceed the 9MB upload limit.

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What resources exist to help me learn how to use WordPress to build my efolio?

The Faculty of Education and UBC offer a wide set of hands on and self regulated resources and support services to help you build your efolio.  Please visit this blog’s Support and Resources webpage in this blog for information.

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