Week 2

Creating e-Portfolios

I must admit that i have never heard of a ePortfolio before today. I was surprised at how effecting using an ePortfolio can be to show a students work progress. I was thinking that it would be a great way to show the students parents their progression throughout the year. Furthermore it is a great way to show off the students work, and its impressive look would be very appealing I would imagine to future prospective parents when they come to look at potential enrollment for their child.

The ePortfolio system is not only an exceptional way to display students work, it is a way that I can keep track of the progression of my own work. When I first saw the concept, It reminded me of the way an artist would present their work, only in digital form. But as we discussed in the lecture, it is a way to not only express work, but ideas, concepts, and information that would otherwise be forgotten about. I also believe that being able to show a prospective employer an ePortfolio would put me at a significant advantage to others. Not only does it enable me to show my work, but it also allows me to show my creative side, a side that would otherwise go unnoticed. I also believe that is demonstrates my technological competence, and my ability to develop new ideas using technology. I believe this is a significant advantage when applying for jobs, and it is also exceptionally easy to update.

As a way to initiate ourselves to the concept of an ePortfolio, we did a simple exercise using Microsoft Publisher to create a brochure as outlined below.


Microsoft Publisher: Creating a brochure:

This was a fun activity that i enjoyed as i was able to be creative, and it allowed me to make a brochure of a place that interests me. This would be an exciting task for a student, as it will enable them to research a topic of interest, yet also allows them to create and design their desired brochure. To make the brochure we used Microsoft Publisher. I was not familiar with publisher, but Greg's step by step instructions made it very easy to use and understand, and with a little practice, I found it very enjoyable. Greg's step by step instructions also reminded me how important it is to model your work to students when showing them something new. When you model how to do something, it makes it much easier for a student to understand, and they enjoy the task more.

I will definitely be using this ICT task in my class. Within my lesson i would also include a brain storming activity to introduce the topic. I would get the students to design their layouts, information, and pictures on a piece of paper to begin with so they have an idea of what to do.

For my brochure I chose Coffins Bay, a popular tourist spot in South Australia.
My brochure is below:



I














Microsoft Publisher: ePortfolio

The ePortfolio template on Microsoft Publisher made it much easier to start an ePortfolio. It was easy to customise, but even in the standard template form it provided a very effective design for a prospective employer. I particularly liked the sidebar for navigation. I think that an employee would also be particularly impressed as it is easy to navigate around. It also provides one click access to things like references, which because they are time-saving, would make the employee generally happier. Upon looking further into ePortfolios, I found this website - http://www.foliospaces.com

It provided similar resources as in Microsoft Publisher, but it is stored online. The benefit of using the online tool is that anyone can access it via the Internet, so a prospective employer could even view it online. This would be great if you were talking with them on the phone, and then were able to give them a weblink for them to peruse. I am sure that they would find it very impressive.

Below is the ePortfolio template