Why use an ePortfolio? If you conduct an online search of this question, there are many advantages to using an ePortfolio. It is relatively easy to read them and incorporate any number into a persuasive treatise. As a matter of, I found myself going down a "rabbit hole" of sorts gleaning and gathering reasonable justifications hoping to ease my heightened anxiety. YES…I have ANXIETY about using an ePortfolio!!!!! As an introverted-extrovert, I shut down my computer, took a day off from researching, and began to evaluate this mental fear. I realized I have three fundamental beliefs I have regarding ePortfolios that fueled these feelings. I find ePortfolios to be a permanent public display of a personal portrayal of a profoundly private transformation. Whew, I said it! Now it's out there, let me explain.
I have had over 35 combined years in the military and public or private education. I have had the opportunity to mentor countless individuals at the beginning or during transition periods of their careers. One of the very first things I share is, "Watch what your say and do on social media. Once it's on the internet, it's there permanently." Even in this season, when people are "scrubbing" their social media sites, some still can find a deleted post or picture. An ePortfolio is very similar in that it is a permanent legacy for events in one's life.
An ePortfolio is a very public entity that can create a life of its own. As leaders, there should be an inherent understanding of the enormous responsibility of the power of influence. Whether one person reads or thousands peruse a site, the potential ability to influence is there. This understanding made me realize that I cannot create an ePortfolio for just a grade or just completing an assignment. No, I must be intentional and purposeful, even if the intended audience is merely to address myself.
Crafting an ePortfolio is not for the cowardly or the individual full of bravado. No, I believe that is most successful when the creator shows self-authenticity during a transformative evolutionary process exposing vulnerabilities, elations, pitfalls, and integrity. Self-exposure is what makes an ePortfolio such a personal private, public process. It is also what makes it so frightening. However, only when the cracks in our facade are exposed can the light of truth be illuminated. Freedom and transformation are birthed metacognitively from your truth. Maybe this is what Godin and Peters meant.
~Tami
Godin, S., & Peters, T. (2009, April 18). Seth Godin & Tom Peters on blogging. Retrieved
2021, from https://youtu.be/livzJTIWlmY