ABSTRACT
Judy’s story: Using technology to create ePortfolios is one of the most intimidating aspects of deciding to use ePortfolios in a class. I had it easy at first since I worked with an undergraduate peer mentor as a teaching partner, and making the ePortfolios took place in the mentor sessions in small computer labs. Mentors taught the technology using assignments we created together. I avoided dealing with the platform issues for years. Moving forward about 10 years, I now teach senior capstone classes on my own. I wanted to include ePortfolios but had no mentor or program assistance whatsoever. My first attempt was bumbling at best, and I put a lot of figuring out how things worked on my students. Candyce gave me a protocol for my students to use and helped me create a template. Still, it was touch and go. Thankfully, my students were very patient, and we worked together to create the first round of capstone ePortfolios in my classes. The next summer, the situation was improved by one important factor: I had finally created my own ePortfolio and had a much better understanding of the process and how to use the platform. I cannot recommend strongly enough that you make your own ePortfolio, and it is much more fun working with a partner or with a group of colleagues at your institution. Candyce and I worked with a group of colleagues called Out of Practice who decided together to walk the talk. We came to the conclusion that if we were so convinced that ePortfolios were transformational for students, we should be doing them ourselves. It was invaluable to have this group help us set deadlines and keep our feet to the fire to do the work to make our ePortfolios.
