What is your purpose? Here are some examples...

To Collect and Organize Evidence

The first goal of any student building an e-portfolio would be to collect a range of evidence about you know, can do and value.

For first and second year students...

Understanding, Sharing and Planning

Use your e-portfolio to bring direction to your education. Review your evidence. Match your evidence with your goals. Look at things from different angles so that you can better understand what they are all about. The decisions that you make concerning your education are perhaps the most important you will ever make in your lifetime. Your e-portfolio can help you work through the decisions that you make on this journey.

Collect and share selected information about yourself with the faculty, advisors, or mentors so that they can give you the best advice possible.

Having your evidence "spread out on the table" will help you and others see connections that you might not see otherwise. Is missing something? Making a simple concept map of your evidence is something worth the effort involved.

Please Note: The fourth Penn State Principle is VERY clear: "... students assume final responsibility for course scheduling, program planning, and the successful completion of graduation requirements." As your Penn State education progresses you make important decisions. Use your e-portfolio to help support you and your advisors in this decision making process!

To Get an Internship, Job, or into Graduate School

Your e-portfolio is a tool that can be used in conjunction with your resume to assist in acquiring an initial interview. Don't be mislead, your resume is still the most important document here.

Resumes are used to narrow down the field of candiates. With a "short list" in hand, a human resource person will begin to investigate. If you have included a link to your e-portfolio, this is when they are likely to visit it. This is the opportunity you have been waiting for! This is your chance to differentiate yourself from any of the other applicants who have applied for the position.

The emphasis of your e-portfolio changes as you become more deeply involved in your program of study at Penn State. The e-portfolios of beginning students tend to look more like an inventory of evidence. Soon, the inventory gets too big and personally selected artifacts (skills, knowledge or values) are showcased.

The feedback you get from sharing your e-portfolio with friends, family, faculty, advisors, and mentors is essential.