Digital career portfolios: Expanding institutional opportunities
In this article, the authors discuss the recent trend that digital portfolios are replacing paper-based resumes, cover letters, and portfolios and the perception that e-portfolios may promote career development. Digital portfolios allow students to be more creative and transfer their experiences into “interactive, meaningful displays of performance” (74). Digital portfolios can even link coursework, program goals, and institutional outcomes.
Some larger universities with well-funded portfolio projects:
- Florida State University (http://www.career.fsu.edu/portfolio/index.html)
- University of California at San Diego (http://career.ucsd.edu/sa/portfolio.shtml)
- Penn State University (http://portfolio.psu.edu/)
This article examines a smaller institution without the funding, administrative support, or technical support available to large-scale projects and discusses how similar institutions can provide the same opportunities to students.
To develop a digital portfolio program for technology support majors, a department committee set goals for “the development of formative and summative portfolio assessment tools, a Web portal and portfolio template, and a plan to help students understand the interconnections between individual courses and the technology support curriculum as a whole” (75).
The institution created a Web portal with a main page linked to secondary pages to provide an introduction and information on expectations for students during the portfolio development process. They also developed a template to provide guidance for students and consistency for faculty. Eleven standards were integrated in the program along with a list of core courses and competencies. A personal/informational page was also included in the Web portal to address potential employers with video clips and multimedia to display accomplishments.
Next, the department committee developed a standardized rubric to function as an assessment tool for all student portfolios because they thought a less-structured approach would allow students to express their creativity throughout the process. Students would receive an updated rubric at each advising session and a summative portfolio evaluation by a faculty panel during their final academic year.
The project was introduced as a pilot test in a senior seminar class. It was received favorably by faculty and students. According to the authors, e-portfolios provided students with “applied, real-world career connections” (78). The final phase of implementation was introducing the project to incoming freshmen through the initial core course. Faculty members serve as advisers and upperclassmen serve as peer mentors throughout the digital portfolio development process.
- The authors provide a list of factors to consider for smaller institutions:Space, Storage Cost, and Technical Support
- They used underutilized server space and the technical skills of senior students. Upon graduation, students transferred their portfolios to CD-ROMs or DVDs to release server space.
- Design Issues and E-Portfolio Creation
- Students need initial training on Web editing, design, and software programs.
- A template should be available to maintain consistency.
- Students need access to multimedia software products.
- Consider open source development initiatives like this one: University of Minnesota at Duluth (http://eportfolio.d.umn.edu/)
In conclusion, this project discovered that digital portfolios “enhance a student’s understanding of career development guidelines” in the following areas: personal, educational and career goal assessment; educational achievement and lifelong learning; decision-making processes in career development; and the assessment of academic, occupational, and employability skills (79).
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