I would like to name this post ‘ How to stand out from the crowd ‘ because I want to tell you my story of how to stand out from the crowd!!

Have you ever thought of the digital footprint that you left in the online environment ? You can leave these prints by simply joining a website, writing a blog, commenting on some body’s post, writing and completing online information and in some cases by just connecting to a website. The best way to see what you’ve done or what your digital footprint looks like is to google your name! This is what most people will do with your name, checking your footprints online!!

I’ve started creating my e-portfolio three years ago and it has never ever been a complete one since then because you learn something new every single day and you need to change and edit it every day.

I decided to have one just because I thought it was going to be fun and I could use it instead of a paper based CV. When I first sat in front of the computer, I knew where to start: Wikispaces.!! Because it was the only and first Web 2.0 tool that I knew and we have had one that we have been using to collaborate with my colleagues at my school.  As far as I remember, I think organizing my thoughts was the most difficult part. I spent days thinking about the titles, choosing the colours, text, pictures,widgets etc., the least important things that you should deal with when you decide to have yours.

After spending my whole term holiday, I had one that I wasn’t very proud of;  but as I read, blog, interact,create, share, exchange and collaborate more, I have improved my self and my e-portfolio as well.

And exactly one year ago today, I got an e-mail from an American Film Company telling me that they would like to work with me on an interactive DVD project that aims at teaching EFL  and very+young learners English through games,songs,interactive activities, story and online activities & teaching. It seems like a joke at first, but it has turned out to be my dream that has come true!!

I’ve been working for Mindactiva which is a producer company of educational services and products, for almost a year as the educational coordinator of this DVD project also I’m responsible for writing the scripts and the screenplays and we are so close to launch our first DVD of  “Yes, I Speak English” series. The DVD will be the first one on the market as it is animated, interactive, with online learning/teaching courses and materials,video conferences and aiming at teaching EFL learners.

A month ago, I’ve been interviewed about the project by the company that will be on the DVD as well, you can see my pictures below, it was an exciting time because I’ve also met Daniel Bonjour who is an actor in Hollywood and one of the producers of the company and was interviewed by himself =)

I owe this to my e-portfolio! Because I am an English teacher in one of the school in Istanbul, Turkey and involving this project would just be a dream for me if I hadn’t left my digital footprint …

Yes, you’ve read my digital story of standing out from the crowd, what is yours?

(Me being interviewed in Istanbul, Turkey …)

“My electronic portfolio is my tree. In building a portfolio I see a tree of many branches with each branch being an extension from the trunk which begins with ones self and goals. As we grow, our branches grow and spread out in many directions. We see our achievements, focus’s, strengths, weaknesses, and our progress growing upward toward the sunshine. The sunshine would reflect our ultimate goal. I see leaves on the branches which represent self assessment.”  ( Sassee Ann Arnold)

A habit of mind, something you do every day.(from a discussion at the 1st International Conference on the ePortfolio, Poitiers,France,October 203)

Creating your electronic portfolio may seem to be the most difficult thing to do, but once you start putting together all your life-long collection and start connecting them, you will truly enjoy it. Soon you realize that it’s not only a tool for documenting your achievements and experience but also it’s the best tool for continuous professional development and a way to blow people away with your skills!

Here are some of the Web 2.0 tools that can be used to create your e-portfolio.

Glogsteris my favourite Web 2.0 tool to use when I create my e-portfolio. You can edit links, videos, podcasts,titles and you can choose from so many different colourful widgets. You can change the background or you can decide on your glog wall. Thanks to Glogster, I have a very colourful+cheerful first page on my e-portfolio. You can also use Wixwhich has a similar use like Glogster and can be used as an introduction page on your portfolio. Wix also allows embedding.

If you want to use your videos, you can upload them on Youtube,Vimeo, Dotsub, TeachersTube or BlipTV. Vimeo has become my favourite video sharing site these days. It’s easy,fast and has different embed options. (While you decide on the site that you are going to create your portfolio, you should check if it lets you embed videos, podcast, widgets or other Web 2.0 tools.)

To create online presentations or to share your ready presentations online ,you can have a look at Slideshare, Jogtheweb,Prezi, SlideRocket, Prezentit, SlideSix, 280Slides, Vcasmo, Yodio,, MyPlick, SlideBoom,SlideStory, SPresent.

Voicethreadis an amazing Web 2.0 tool that you can use for any purposes you want. For your e-portfolio, you can use it to get comments from the visitors or you can show others how you have used Voicethread in your lessons.

Why not using polls? Here are my choices : PollDaddy, MicroPoll, PapayaPolls, Survey Monkey.

You can display your pictures of your lessons, projects, seminars, workshops you have attended and you have done by using Slide, BubbleShare, Joggle, MixBook, MyPhotoAlbum, PhotoShow, SlideRoll, PhotoShop, SmileBox.

Voki is another web tool that you can use, you can record your voice and display it with a 3D animated avatar. You can welcome the visitors using it.

You can add some fun to your e-portfolio. You can have a look at Hetemeel, Fodey, Bubbleply, Blabbarize,Dvolver, Gizmoz.

You can create word clouds using Wordle.

What else to include:

• Links of your blog/blogs
• List of some of the web tools that you are using
• List of your favorite sites
• List of your favorite videos
• The sites/blogs/wikis that you are using in your classes
• The links of the projects that you are involved in
• Other websites that you have or you are a member
• Widgets
• Your social bookmarking/Twitter link
• Your CV (You can use VisualCV for this, I like it because it easy and you can add widgets, pictures, hyperlinks,videos)

To read more about e-portfolios, you can have a look at Helen Barrett’s website. She is the guru of portfolios.

I believe once you finish gathering the best package of your whole work (though an e-portfolio will never ever be a complete one as we go on improving ourselves), it will help you to stand out of the crowd. This is what has happened to me!!

“An electronic portfolio has the potential to become a dynamic celebration of learning that documents a teacher’s professional development across his or her career.” (Helen Barret)

“Portfolios tell a story…put in anything that helps to tell that story.”(Pearl&Leon Paulson)

Portfolios are our way of telling OUR life-long success and inspiring stories that show our tie between our past and future. In fact, portfolios have been a ‘got to have one’ tool in the 21st century.

1. Ask & Answer

I guess the most difficult part while creating a portfolio is where to start. Here are my three questions that can help you to start thinking while you create your e-portfolio:

• What have I collected up to now that tells the story of my past? (What did I study/What did I learn?)
  
• What have I achieved that tells the story of my today? (What artifacts have I collected?/ What are my achievements?)
  
• Where will I be going and where will I be telling my story in the future? (What are my plans for future?/Where do I want to see myself next year?/What are my short/long term plans?)

2. Collect

The second step can be to brainstorm what to include into your e-portfolio. Here are my suggestions:

• Personal information (It can include your name,surname,marital status,where you were born etc., I guess it’s better not to display too much personal information on web as some people can use these information for other purposes)
• Educational Background
  
• Professional Development (The courses you have taken,conferences you have attended etc.)
  
• Goals for future
  
• Presentations,workshops,seminars you have done.
  
• Projects
  
• Recognition ,awards
• Articles that you have written
• Interests
• Reflections (Your reflections on your personal development, interests, goals,your seminars and workshops, projects etc)
• Pictures, slide shows and videos of you on the job.
• Links to your websites,blogs.
• Snapshots of your achievements.

3.Select

After collecting all your items that are evidences of what you’ve learned and achieved, you can select the best ones that show and demonstrate your competence. It can include the videos, slide shows or podcasts that you have created or  the projects you have completed, your award widgets, your links to your blogs or other web pages …

4. Reflect

Reflection is the soul of a portfolio. You should think and comment on the items that you have selected to demonstrate your learning from those experiences, in a way reflecting and showing others why what you know, what you do and what you have achieved is important to you.  (I use my blogs for reflection and blog about my experiences, achievements, courses I’ve taken or given, projects I’ve involved.)

5. Connect

Now, you can start thinking how and where to connect all the items (personal, professional, interests, work,community…) together and which web tools you are going to use to tie them together. Here are some of my suggestions where to connect :

• http://www.digication.com/products/students_teachers
• http://www.doodlekit.com/home
• http://comfypage.com/
• http://www.edicy.com/
• http://www.edmodo.com/
• http://www.hipero.com/
• http://www.jimdo.com/
• http://www.moonfruit.com/
• http://www.sauropol.com/
• http://www.roxer.com/
• http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/index.html
• http://www.webnode.com/
• http://www.weebly.com/
• http://www.xbuild.com/
• http://www.yola.com/
• http://www.wix.com/
• www.wikispaces.com

More connectors to come on Part 3…

A portfolio tells a story .. It’s the story of knowing.. Knowing about things, knowing oneself, knowing an audience… Portfolios are your own stories of what you know, why you believe you know it and why others should be of the same opinion. (Pearl and Leon Paulson)

We are all familiar with the word ‘Portfolio’.  It’s the purposeful collection of one’s work that exhibits the efforts, progress and achievements in one or more areas of the curriculum. (source link) or we can define portfolios as the tools that can document all aspects of one’s professional and personal growth as you progress through your career.

With growing technologies, Web 2.0 and the increase in the number of online teachers; portfolios have a new face today: Electronic portfolio, that is the collection of  electronic evidence, evolution of thoughts, competence and reflection on one’s life long learning. It can be considered as a response to the shifts in learning, technology, teaching and the 21st century!

Here are some of the reasons why to have an e-portfolio:

• It shows others  what you have achieved up to now,
• It makes the link between you and the organizations, what you can do and what they can expect from you,
• It builds confidence and it’s a proof of what you can achieve,
• It helps you to remember what you have done and what you will do in the future,
• It helps you to create and develop new ideas and show the best package of your whole work,
• It shows your personal and professional achievements in a concrete way,
• It highlights your skills, shows your experience and demonstrates the result of one’s learning,
  
• It supports the ability to collect, organise and reflect,
• It enhances the technological skills,
• It’s the best tool for the continuing professional development,
• Last but not least it helps you to stand out of the crowd and you get the attention that you deserve!!

Here is the video that I’ve created two years ago that tells us why to have an e-portfolio,visually =)

While our students are all creating their portfolios, are we doing the same thing as well; as teachers? Are we documenting our professional and personal growth which is the evidence of our career where we are now, or the way which shows where we will be (want to be) in the future?

Do you have a portfolio that you keep record and the evidence of your educational background, explanations of achievements and your reflections of your profession?

I’m sure each one of us has a story behind our career and when we start creating our digital selves, this should be the first question to answer ‘What’s your story behind it?’

and here comes my story which is narrated by Ozge’s perspective: http://www.ozgekaraoglu.wikispaces.com