United States Distance Learning Association

artifacts one wants to include in the portfolio).
It also includes reflecting on the portfolio
contents by writing reflective
statements that provide commentary
about the artifact, as well as information
about what you have learned from it.
Designing the portfolio. Organize the
materials you have selected and assemble
them into digital pieces that make up your
portfolio. This stage consists of organizing
the contents of the portfolio, creating a
table of contents, creating a storyboard and
design grid, and finally actually producing
the portfolio. Many artifacts may not be in
an electronic format when you select them,
therefore you may have to, for example,
scan pictures or papers in order to include
them in your new portfolio.
Evaluating the portfolio. Conduct formative
evaluation to improve your portfolio-in-progress
and summative evaluation
to determine the quality of your portfolio.
You may use rubrics or short question-andanswer
forms for conducting these evaluations.
Publishing the portfolio. In this stage,
you perform the necessary activities to
present your portfolio materials in a format
that others can view. This state
requires server space for uploading your
portfolio so that it is accessible on the Web.
WHAT APPROACHES/TOOLS ARE
AVAILABLE FOR CREATING DIGITAL
PORTFOLIOS
There are two major approaches for developing
a digital portfolio: the integrative
approach and the turnkey solution
approach (Kilbane & Milman, 2005). Each
of these has its advantages and challenges.
The integrative approach involves a variety
of skills, programs, and knowledge
about various software programs, such as
Web site development, graphics, and FTP
software. If you were to create a digital
portfolio using this approach, you might
use Dreamweaver for developing your
portfolio Web site, Photoshop for creating
and modifying any graphics, and WS_FTP
for uploading and downloading files to a
server.
On the other hand, turnkey solutions
require less technical skills and knowledge,
and typically require simply understanding
how to upload and download your
files using the turnkey solution’s Webbased
interface. Usually this approach
requires creating files in a common file format
such as Microsoft Word that can be
uploaded via the turnkey solution’s Web
site. A few popular turnkey solutions are:
• Chalk and Wire
(http://www.chalkandwire.com/);
• Epsilen
(http://www.epsilen.com/Epsilen/Public/
Home .aspx); and
• Taskstream
(http://www .taskstream.com/pub/
electronicportfolio .asp).
You can also use blog, social networking,
or other template-driven Web sites if
you are not comfortable publishing your
own Web page.
The best advice I can share for choosing
an approach is to evaluate: your skills and
available resources; the amount of creative
and technical control you desire in the digital
portfolio’s appearance, navigation, and
organization; and, ultimately, the amount
of time you want to spend creating one. An
excellent resource for learning more about
digital portfolios is Helen Barrett’s site (see
http://electronicportfolios.com/). She also
maintains a site that contains multiple versions
of her digital portfolio using various
approaches and tools (see http://electronic
portfolios.com/myportfolio/index.html).
Here you can see first-hand what a digital
portfolio looks like using various turnkey
solutions, as well as some other open source
tools.
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 95