Portfolio:

What kind of beast is it?Why do you need one?

What does it do?How does it look?

A portfolio is • a document that provides a summative report

about a period of time in your career: – what you did

– why you did it

– how you did it

– to whom you did it

– when and where you did it

– the impact your actions had on you, your audience and other people around you.

Annual report is a kind of portfolio where you provide summary for the year and identify directions for the future

Reasons to create portfolio• Take control of the interpretation

process: • It is you who provides the explanation not

somebody else

• Evaluate your performance by yourself not others

• Help others to understand the full range of your accomplishments

• Stimulate reflection over what you have

done

• Create template for future growth to

critique what went well and what needs improvement

For example, art pieces may be hard to interpret and understand. What did Picasso want to show? Similar to art, your work is to provide explicit meaning to what you are and what you did.

Portfolio• Introduces you• Reveals who you are and why you

do what you do• Provides evidence of your abilities• Provides evidence of your growth• Describes plans for the future

Thus, you need to make choicesWhat to includeWhat to excludeHow to arrange in a meaningful wayHow to interpret to meet the

viewers’ expectations

Yes, not everything needs to be included but the most significant items. You can emphasize the most important by descriptions and analyses, and by placing items more prominently.

How does portfolio look?

• Physical Options:

A ring binder to collect and

organize printed documents

• Electronic options (see the next slides)

– A Web site

– A PDF document

• The choice depends on your and the audience’s resources (skills and tools)

A ring binder is preferable if you can hand it in to the reviewer.

A website• You post and hyperlink files in a unique

combination of a multimedia presentation.• A variety of

file formats can be used

• Wiki is an easy tool to create a website

• Submit as a link to this website

A PDF documentYou assemble separate PDF files into one using a special function in Adobe Acrobat. In the end, the final product looks like a few documents in one (file). You can email it.