There. are. three. distinct. advantages. to. having. students.
create. ePortfolios:. ease. of. storage,. use. of. multimedia.
skills,. and. use. of. computer. skills .. With. a. traditional.
portfolio,. a. student. collects. items. that. showcase. his/
her.talents.and.then.puts.them.in.a.large.folder,.binder,.
or. box .. Eportfolios. allow. the. information. to. be. stored.
digitally.on.a.floppy.disk,.zip.disk,.CD,.or.portable.drive.
(e .g .,.a.jump.or.flash.drive) ..Eportfolios.not.only.take.up.
little. physical. space,. but. they. also. hold. a. great. deal. of.
information ..Pictures,.artwork,.and.writing.samples.can.
be.scanned,.saved,.and.later.imported.into.the.software.
program ..Eportfolios.can.be.transferred.to.future.teach- ers.in.years.ahead.to.show.growth.through.grade.levels ..
Samples.of.students.reading.orally.can.be.recorded.and.
saved.to.the.ePortfolio.as.audio.files ..Another.important.
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component. of. an. ePortfolio. is. that. work. that. students.
have.done.collaboratively.can.be.duplicated.and.placed.
into.each.of.the.students’.portfolios .
In.order.to.create.an.ePortfolio,.the.teacher.and.the.stu- dents.will.need.access.to.different.types.of.hardware.and.
software ..When.checking.for.the.correct.hardware.com- ponents,. the. teacher’s. computer. should. have. as. much.
memory.(RAM).as.possible ..This.allows.the.computer.to.
run.the.necessary.software.and.external.devices.without.
freezing. up .. Since. ePortfolios. tend. to. be. large. in. size,.
the.computer.should.also.have.a.large.hard.drive,.a.CD.
burner,.or.at.least.one.USB.port.to.attach.a.jump.drive.
so.that.all.of.the.students’.files.can.be.saved.in.one.loca- tion ..If.a.student.plans.to.add.video.to.his/her.ePortfolio,.
it.is.also.important.that.the.computer.have.video.input.
and.output.ports ..A.flatbed.scanner.is.also.a.very.valu- able. hardware. device .. The. student. or. teacher. can. use.
the. scanner. to. turn. paper. assignments. and. photos. into.
digital.images ..A.digital.camera.can.be.used.to.take.still.
pictures. or. to. capture. video. that. can. be. added. to. the.
student’s.ePortfolio .
Consider. having. the. students. create. an. ePortfolio. (or.
traditional.portfolio).to.showcase.any.type.of.computer.
product ..You.might.have.them.include.multimedia.prod- ucts. from. programs. such. as. PowerPoint,. HyperStudio,.
Kid. Pix,. DreamWeaver,. or. FrontPage .. You. can. also.
encourage. them. to. include. products. made. with. word.
processors.(e .g .,.Microsoft.Word.and.AppleWorks),.graph- ic.organizer.software.(e .g .,.Inspiration.and.Kidspiration),.
and.movie.creators.(e .g .,.iMovie.and.Director) .
The. next. step. in. the. process. of. creating. an. ePortfolio.
is. planning .. In. other. words,. this. is. not. a. task. that. you.
should.start.in.the.last.two.months.of.the.school.year!.
There. are. several. things. to. consider .. The. students. and.
teacher. need. to. determine. exactly. which. items. will. be.
included.in.the.ePortfolio ..It.is.important.to.include.pic-
1 tures.of.the.individual.students,.pictures.or.videos.of.the.
students’.projects,.and.electronic.or.scanned.versions.of.
the.students’.papers.and.assignments ..The.students.also.
need.to.create.a.storyboard.to.help.determine.the.order.
of.their.slides,.cards,.or.pages,.depending.on.what.type.of.
software.they.are.using .
Before. the. students. begin. to. create. their. ePortfolios,.
make.sure.that.the.computers.and.software.are.working.
and.ready.for.the.students ..While.this.project.is.extreme- ly. rewarding,. it. can. easily. become. a. nightmare. if. the.
technology.is.not.ready.when.the.students.are .
As.assignments.and.projects.are.completed,.graded,.and.
returned. to. the. students,. convert. them. to. the. digital.
format ..This.eliminates.the.need.to.do.all.of.the.docu- ments.for.all.of.the.students.at.one.time.at.the.end.of.the.
school.year ..Also,.decide.how.the.digital.documents.and.
files.will.be.stored.until.they.are.placed.in.the.ePortfolio ..
Because. the. digital. files. can. be. quite. large,. investigate.
using.the.school.network,.a.specified.hard.drive.location,.
or.jump.drives.to.store.the.students’.files .
The.last.step.for.the.teacher.is.to.decide.how.the.ePort- folio.will.be.evaluated ..A.rubric.is.recommended ..While.
the. students. will. have. varying. levels. of. academic. and.
technological. skills,. the. assessment. component. should.
be.equal.for.all.students ..The.rubric.should.be.given.to.
the.students.at.the.onset.of.the.ePortfolio.assignment,.so.
they.will.have.a.complete.understanding.of.the.teacher’s.
expectations .
Once.you.have.organized.the.students’.work,.the.ePort- folio. can. be. assembled .. With. the. help. of. multimedia.
software,. the. ePortfolio. can. be. enhanced. by. adding.
sound,. music,. pictures,. graphics,. and. even. video .. The.
compilation. of. all. of. these. elements. helps. to. make. it.
more. interesting. and. visually. appealing. to. the. student,.
parent,.and.teacher ..
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Electronic. portfolios. also. serve. to. enhance. computer.
and.technology.skills ..The.teacher.and.students.gain.the.
experience. of. using. a. variety. of. hardware. and. software.
products. by. creating,. selecting,. organizing,. editing,. and.
evaluating. the. portfolios .. The. students. begin. to. feel. a.
sense.of.accomplishment.by.sharing.and.presenting.their.
ePortfolios.to.their.teacher,.classmates,.and.parents .