Why is an ePortfolio important?

There are many uses for an ePortfolio but for this post, I'm going to focus on why I believe it is important that I use an ePortfolio in my career. I work as a Technology Integration Specialist for a school district and it is important that I continue to learn, research, and improve. Properly utilizing an ePortfolio will allow for me to reflect upon my learning, show others what I know, and view my improvement over time.

It is important in any position to continue to reflect upon where you have been, where you are going, and where you want to end up. Without self-reflection, we will never truly know where we are at and what we can do. An ePortfolio allows me to review my previous work, thoughts, ideas, and accomplishments. If I utilize my ePortfolio correctly, it is a living thing that changes with me as time passes and will allow me to continually reflect.

An ePortfolio will also allow me to showcase my knowledge and experience for my audience. When I can show others what I can do, instead of just tell them, it will provide more evidence of my knowledge. I have been wanting to create a website for a training and consulting business that I've started for awhile but haven't found the time to really do it well. I believe that if I create my ePortfolio for this ADL program correctly, it will also benefit my training business by showcasing to others what I can do and what I know.

Finally, I think an ePortfolio, especially the blog, will help me view changes in myself and my knowledge over time. I am currently new to having an ePortfolio and blogging and I know that it probably shows in my site. I believe that as I gain more experience and knowledge about how to utilize an ePortfolio that I will be able to look back in the future and see the growth that I have made. I will be able to see the changes that probably would not have been visible without the ePortfolio.

While I have found that creating an ePortfolio is time consuming, and I'm sure that maintaining it will be as well, I think that the benefits of utilizing an ePortfolio over time will be a benefit to me that I cannot ignore.