Developing and Maintaining Your Professional EPortfolio

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Developing and Maintaining Your Professional
E-Portfolio

• The Cain Project in Engineering and Professional
  Communication
• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERIES

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Overview

• Definitions and purposes
• Portfolio development
• Sample portfolios
• Avoiding design mistakes
• Resources

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Portfolio Definition

• Materials (artifacts) that showcase your
  academic and/or professional experience
• Portfolio purpose statement
• Evidence of academic expertise and/or
  professional experience
• Supporting materials from others
• Resumé
• Contact information

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Your Portfolio Process
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Part of the Big Picture

• Portfolios are part of your personal development
  process
• Take time to write out your goals
• Keep a log or journal faithfully
• Set times to reflect on your experiences
• Keep in contact with mentors and advisors
• YOU ARE IMPORTANT

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Defining Your Portfolios Purpose

• What argument about your experience should your
  portfolio make?
• Who will read your portfolio?
• What evidence will be most convincing to this
  audience?

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Purposes for a Portfolio

• Job application
• Job performance review
• Reflection --gt improvement

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Portfolio Main Page
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Portfolio Purpose Statement

• Introduce yourself
• Name
• Position(s)
• Experience (academic/professional)
• Explain what portfolio provides
• Forecast portfolio organization

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Example Purpose Statement (Steptoe, U of Richmond)

• Intro Welcome to my Portfolio Website. In May
  of 2003, I will graduate from the University of
  Richmond with a Bachelor of Science in Business
  Administration with a concentration in Marketing.
  
• Portfolio provides This site provides you with
  information about various skills that I have
  developed during my four years at UR, both inside
  and outside of the classroom.
• Forecast My accomplishments and skills are
  organized according to five competency/skill
  areas. Please use the side menu to navigate
  through the five competency areas. I hope that
  you find this site both interesting and
  informative.

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Organizing Your Portfolio

• Project
• Skills (e.g., teamwork, communication,
  leadership)
• Coursework

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Project-based Organization
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Project-based Organization, contd
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Skills-based Organization
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Skills-based Organization, contd
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Coursework-based Organization
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Coursework-based Organization, contd (Twarog)
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Artifacts You May Include

• Presentations
• Software
• Manuals
• Others????

• Documents (e.g., reports, memos)
• Manuscripts, publications
• Grants
• Web sites

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Provide a Description of Each Artifact Included
in Portfolio

• Provide a context What project? What problem,
  concept, issue was addressed? What class?
• Describe the artifact
• Discuss outcomes

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Artifact Description (Mohammed)
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Supporting Materials from Others

• Ask a professor or manager to write letter
• Invite a colleague to write a letter
• Ask former clients to write testimonials

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Assess Your Portfolio

• Does my portfolio represent the depth and breadth
  of my experiences?
• Does my portfolio show that my experiences
  reflect current knowledge of my field?
• Have I provided descriptions for each artifact
  that Ive included?
• Have I acknowledged my fellow collaborators?
• Have I asked others to review my portfolio?

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Sample Portfolio

• http//www.owlnet.rice.edu/varun/

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Avoiding Design Mistakes
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Design Principles

• Use legible fonts
• Light background with dark text
• Clear navigation
• Links should be obvious
• different colored, underlined text
• Resize images so that they load within 3 seconds

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Design Principles Contd

• Put up downloadable materials in a variety of
  formats
• Word document, PDF file, image file
• Content should be short, scanable, and to the
  point
• Check compatibility with different browsers
• Include your contact information and last updated
  date

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References and Resources

• http//www.uwstout.edu/art/artedportfolios/whatis/
  index.html E-portfolio site for art educators at
  U of Wisconsin-Stout
• http//www.llc.rpi.edu/martiv/cep/index.html
  Writing Center short course, Rensselaer
  Polytechnic Institute
• http//www.llc.rpi.edu/martiv/cep/student_epfs.ht
  ml Student examples used in this presentation
• http//www.educ.indiana.edu/ist/programs/contents.
  html School of Education, Indiana University

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References and Resources

• Kimball, Miles A. 2003. The Web Portfolio Guide
  Creating Electronic Portfolios for the Web. New
  York Longman.
• Kimeldorf, Martin. 1997. Portfolio Power The New
  Way to Showcase All Your Job Skills and
  Experiences. Princeton, NJ Petersons.

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Lead through Excellence in Engineering
Communication

• Find More Communication Resources
• at the Cain Project Web site at
  http//www.owlnet.rice.edu/cainproj
• or in modules on the Connexions Web at
  http//cnx.org
• or in the OWLSPACE Communication Archive