Starting the ePortfolio Journey

When I heard “eportfolio” I thought, “what in the world is that?” I didn’t know if there was some kind of special software that was going to be provided, but thankfully before classes started I got a chance to view Dr. Harupnuik’s portfolio. And from there I found links to student portfolios. Honestly, there’s no substitute for actually seeing an example of something that otherwise is completely foreign. Once I realized that I was being asked to essentially build a webpage and that I could choose the platform it started to make sense. I’m no graphic designer but I have a little experience with websites no matter how primitive my skills may be. I’ve used Google Sites and I quickly determined that would be too clunky and frustrating, I’ve used Wix briefly but it’s so image based and I don’t like feeling as though I have to paste a photo everytime I blink. And I’ve used Wordpress as well. My experience was that eventually if Wordpress is the way to go if you’re thinking longterm or you want to be able to branch out and expand. Besides it has every plugin that you can think of and tons of support. In the end, I decided to go with Wordpress because I think it provides the strongest foundation for longterm growth.

But then I hit a wall. Despite the fact that I knew exactly how to get on Wordpress and start a new page, I tried to logon and discovered that our district technology department has blocked Wordpress and Wix completely. I’ve reached out to them and I’m hoping that it was not intentional otherwise I will have to use a separate device for my portfolio which will be a tedious and frustrating experience. Yet, I remain hopeful some kind of resolution on this issue. Nevertheless, in the meantime I used my son’s Chromebook to login and discover that I’ve mostly forgotten how to navigate Wordpress and it’s going to be a learning curve again. It’s been four or five years since my last use. When setting up my set I went with a name that’s been rolling around in my head, “Wired Learning.” And I decided to go ahead and pay for the basic package for a year because in my experience once I get into it and spend enough time I’ll want to upgrade at some point anyways.

I took to heart what Dr. Harapnuik said about how he built so much of his first portfolio on systems that he couldn’t take with him when he left. “It is not surprising that students will stop using an ePortfolio if they do not fully control or own it” (Harapnuik & Thibodeaux, 2023, p.141). Of course, if I don’t own the material and build it with a system owned by my school district then I will be forced to stop using it when I leave, even if I don’t want to. My goal is to take full personal ownership of this portfolio.

My frustration is probably related to the theme. Can’t find the right one so far. Frustrated that editing and navigating menus is cumbersome but it will come back to me. Most proud of the name and the fact that I know I made the right choice with Wordpress. I’ve been through a process of building a website (not a portfolio) before and that experience helped me maker quicker and more informed decisions so that I can avoid later regrets.

References

Harapnuik, D., & Thibodeaux, T. (2023). COVA: Inspire learning through choice, ownership, voice, and authentic experiences. EdTech Books.