Building repository of your work for ePortfolios is a gradual process. Start by getting in the habit of saving your work in your blog. The pieces of work you save in each blog post will be your ePortfolio “artifacts” and you will link to these artifacts from your Capabilities pages as evidence of your learning.
What kind of work should you save? Most everything. Artifacts can come from your coursework but they should also come from your life outside school. You could save the travelogue you created for a trip last summer, the planning notes for a service project, the song you wrote for the neighborhood party or the schematic drawing of the go-cart you are building with your little sister. You can also save artifacts in various stages of completion; they don’t all have to be your best and most polished work. In fact it is a good idea to save less polished work or even work that went south because if you are trying to show your problem solving skills it’s useful to have before and after work. Below are a few ideas for the kinds of artifacts you could capture in your blog.
Potential Artifacts
- goal statements
- research notes
- communication samples
- internship evaluations
- certifications, awards and badges
- concept maps or outlines
- problem-solving logs
- field journals
- photos, videos or podcasts you’ve created
- grant proposals
- travel journals/blogs
- writing samples
- group projects – noting your part and process reflections
- research notes
- research posters
- presentations
- ideas, insights and reflections
- drawings, sketches, schematics
- data analysis examples