One of the first things we learn as iSchool students is the importance of the ePortfolio. A comprehensive and sprawling piece of work that covers and contains the work that we’ve done throughout our time as students, and acts as the exit requirement for completing your degree. I’m sure some of us have done something similar in previous academic endeavors and, as such, know the pros and cons of such an in-depth, long-term project.

It can be difficult to keep track of all your evidence if you don’t have a system down. And, if you’re not in the habit of saving all assignments and readings throughout your courses, playing catch-up is nearly impossible. That’s why getting organized at the very beginning of your academic career at the iSchool is an integral part in creating the best and most reflective ePortfolio of your work. In doing so, you’re left with an accessible and invaluable information resource that you get to carry throughout your career as an information professional.

While a big task, there are some key ways to make the work more digestible and some helpful tools that streamline the process. Below is a consolidated set of guidelines for approaching the ePortfolio if you’re just starting out on your iSchool journey. If you’re feeling lost, start here!

What is the ePortfolio?

At its core, the ePortfolio is a reflection of your interpretation, knowledge and learned skills, and requires you to provide evidence (via classroom assignments, projects, discussions, exams, etc.) that you understand key competencies required of your degree, and therefore, have mastered all elements of your degree requirements.  

There are 4 parts of the ePortfolio:

Introduction: This section is the first part of the ePortfolio, welcoming the reader to you and the work you did.

Areas of Competencies: This is the bulk of the work. It contains competencies A-O, and each requires a piece of writing about your interpretation of the competencies and what you did in your academic career to support. Here, you will provide assignments you completed in classes as evidence for what you wrote about, along with pertinent sources.

Conclusion: After writing about the competencies, this section closes out the ePortfolio and offers space for you to reflect on your journey as a student and other things you learned that you may not have mentioned already.

Affirmation: More of a formality, this is a brief section that affirms the work you just presented is yours alone.

How to Prepare Like a Pro

As mentioned at the beginning of this blog, the comprehensive nature of this work makes it a good idea to start early. This means:

Setting up folders for each class on your computer: When you enroll in a class, one of the first things you should do before starting the work is make a folder on your computer to save all the work you do for class. Not only assignments, but textbooks, supplemental readings, and notes.

Use a notetaking platform for further organization: There are many ways to approach this. Personally, I use Microsoft’s OneNote because we all have access to the Microsoft 365 suite as SJSU students, and OneNote is well-suited for long-term organization. This is where I keep my notes on readings, sources, and assignment outlines. 

Using the iSchool Student Success Planner: Everything I’ve covered so far in this blog has already been consolidated into the student success planner! You should be familiar with this one, as we all had to become acquainted with it when taking INFO 203. The planner is organized into different sections and is meant to keep you organized as you work and to aid in writing your ePortfolio.

Attaining ePortfolio Success

If you’re still early in your iSchool career, the most important thing to know right now is what it is, what to do today to prepare, and how to stay organized as you progress. Once you’ve completed your studies, having such an expansive resource of information at your disposal will be incredibly useful and practical as you continue on your professional journey. Keeping those notetaking platforms and tools you used to stay organized are also just as useful, as you can thumb through various topics when you need them with ease. The benefit of accessing such information is that you interpret it yourself, written down in a way that helps you, instead of turning to search engines and other surface-level means of information. 

While daunting on the surface, the ePortfolio is nothing to fear. By becoming comfortable with it early on and understanding what it requires, you can keep it in the back of your mind as you work and save your work as you go and keep it organized in the way that makes most sense to you. How do long-term projects like these work for you? Share any tips for them below!