Thoughts on ePortfolio

After having some time to browse through ePortfolio, I think the digital space has tremendous potential to be a useful learning tool. The interface offers so many different features for us, as writers, to take advantage of. For example, as writing is considered an art form, I really appreciate the fact that ePortfolio allows us to express ourselves through personalized themes, headers, color selections etc. In addition, the website will let us view the work our classmates have done, allowing for online peer review and collaboration in real time. Although I have not yet had the opportunity to explore them all, ePortfolio also offers numerous web based tabs such as podcast, media and youtube embed. These valuable online tools simply would not be possible through pen and paper.

With all of the wonderful assets ePortfolio boasts, it also definitely has its downsides. I have found that ePortfolio is rather difficult to navigate if one is not a seasoned user of WordPress. Even after visiting DigiSpace for over an hour, I still feel quite overwhelmed and confused by the site. I can foresee many issues with students trying to upload writing or media to ePortfolio because depending on the theme one chooses, the way in which to accomplish the same task changes. For example, when I went to Digispace, the tech employee informed me that because of the particular theme I chose, I would have to compose pages in a different way than many of my peers would have to. If I hadn’t been able to make it to Digispace, like I know some students could not, I would have never figured out how to complete the assignment. Based on my past experiences with digital technology in the classroom, I also fear that ePortfolio could malfunction and disrupt students’ work. In general, I feel that pen and paper are much more reliable than digital technology.

Overall, I am excited to learn more about ePortfolio and hope that it becomes a useful tool for me as a writer!