Creating Your Digital Self – What’s your story behind it ? (Part 1)

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