ePortfolios and Counseling High School Students

I received this email today:

...we were discussing how this tool might be infused in the high school... It was mentioned that our counselors at the high school are not convinced universities are interested in seeing digital collections when students apply for admission. Do you have any hard data on this? ...We would like to be able to approach the counselors and make this a topic they could tackle as students move through high school. Thoughts?

My response: I am going to raise your vision of ePortfolios a little higher, toward students building their positive online brand. There are many purposes for students creating ePortfolios; marketing/showcase for college admission is only one of those purposes. I did another blog entry a few months ago about high school portfolios.  I really like the purpose that is addressed in the National Educational Technology Plan:

Technology also gives students opportunities for taking ownership of their learning. Student-managed electronic learning portfolios can be part of a persistent learning record and help students develop the self-awareness required to set their own learning goals, express their own views of their strengths, weaknesses, and achievements, and take responsibility for them. Educators can use them to gauge students’ development, and they also can be shared with peers, parents, and others who are part of students’ extended network. (p.12)

Just as with employment portfolios, I think the primary audience for an ePortfolio is the learner, following under Greek philosophers' maxim, "Know Thyself". Developing an ePortfolio throughout school will help students document and understand their purpose and passions. Just as a portfolio helps an applicant prepare for a job interview, a portfolio can be used to prepare a university application essay (with hyperlinks to an online portfolio). But just as most employers don't know how to read a portfolio (or have the time), the same can be said for college admission officers. (Many resumes and applications are scanned or entered electronically and searched for keywords.) However, referencing an online portfolio might make a difference in applying for some jobs, technical programs or colleges.

Reflective portfolios can help students build self-awareness and build a positive online identity (their personal brand); I often quote from a Harvard Business Review article by Peter Drucker, "Managing Oneself", which is a great way to organize reflection in a graduation portfolio:

What are my strengths?
How do I work?
What are my values?
Where do I belong?
What can I contribute?

I became aware of the Drucker article at a conference on advising highly talented undergraduates, where the opening keynote speaker, from Harvard, said he had all incoming freshmen read this article. You might also be interested in the Saskatchewan Identity Management Project and their YouTube video: Digital Dossier. I also recommend blog posts (from Forbes, PBS and Wall Street Journal Online) that can be found in links on Portfolio Careers and Personal Branding in my online class website.

I was recently interviewed for an online article about ePortfolios, where she asked me specifically about college applications: Beyond the Transcript: Digital Portfolios Paint a Complete Picture. The author also asked me about how parents can support the ePortfolio process; I said, "Parents are the first portfolio keepers." So, hopefully you have some data to share with your counselors. Here in the State of Washington, the high school students develop paper portfolios under a counseling program called Navigation 101.

Facebook Timeline - a life portfolio?

Last week, Facebook announced changes to the Profile, to include a Timeline that is a "friction-free" process for documenting our lives:


"Timeline is your collection of all the top photos, posts and apps that help tell your story. Learn more at http://www.facebook.com/about/timeline."

How soon before Facebook has all of the tools necessary to document our learning as well as our social graph?

Personal Branding and ePortfolios

An interesting article was posted this week to the PBS Media Shift blog with the title, "Personal Branding Becomes a Necessity in Digital Age." As I read this post, I found many references to processes that sounded like ePortfolios, at least for the purpose of employability.

[Scott] Karp says he built his brand at Publishing 2.0, using it as a soapbox of ideas and a forum to discuss them through comments.

"My blog became resume, business card, references, network all in one," Karp told me. "I would go to conferences, meet people, and find they already 'knew' me through my blog -- an odd but useful form of micro-celebrity."

I've had that same experience with my blog, meeting people who only knew me from this blog, but carrying on a conversation that seemed like they were "inside my head." This quote ties personal branding directly to an ePortfolio for employability:

"When you're considering switching jobs, even a personal website with a small portfolio of sample work can be invaluable," [Matt] Cutts [of Google] said. "People will search for you online, so it's important to take part in that conversation, and having your own website can be a great way to put your best foot forward."

"Grab a domain name and work on burnishing your personal reputation online. It's definitely not the case that everyone needs a blog, but having one place that acts as a face to the world can really help. There's room for a resume/CV, but also for some writing samples that show off your abilities." -- Matt Cutts, Google (from his Letter to a young journalist post)

Isn't that a portfolio? I also love this quote:

...And in this era, you need to be very careful, as search engines can log all sorts of things. Remember: Whatever happens in Vegas...stays on Google." -- Scott Monty, Ford Motor Co.

Even more illuminating are the comments that appeared from other readers of the article:

I find the whole idea of personal branding both a necessity and an opportunity to find ones true voice.

Remember MONEY magazine said in there 12/07 issue - "You're only as good as Google says you are"

Personal branding, to my opinion, is a tool to tell people who you are and what is your unique contribution to the business. It validates and manifests the inner knowledge of your being and empowers you to act freely to your full potential.