So, Where Do We Begin?

This past week has been one of the most internally chaotic weeks in my adult experience. You see, I've known for quite some time that I would be starting my Master's Program on January 16th and that my classes would become available to me on January 14th. That said, I set a reminder on my phone and continued my busy life working full-time and caring for my super cool toddler.

When the 14th finally arrived, I eagerly logged into the Blackboard platform and tried to dive right into my classes. The problem I ran into was that there was a ton of reading to do, and my frazzled brain likes to skip around... so that's what I did. I saw a few things and started making a list:

• Create a portfolio

• Purchase a book

• Blog posts???

• Introduction VIDEO

• G R O U P S?????

I saw all of these things and, paying only half a mind to the requirements, decided to start working on them anyway.

I started with step one: Create an e-Portfolio. I decided to use Google Sites. It’s the platform I use for my staff hub at work, and I thought it would make sense to use something I was familiar with... I was a bit wrong.

Once I navigated to the second task on my list, I realized Google Sites wasn’t the platform for me. I needed to make a blog. I was familiar with blogs, and I knew adding a text box to a blank page wouldn’t do my portfolio any justice. I decided to take a step back, actually read through some of the resources provided about portfolio making, and check out a few examples.

I noticed quite immediately that most sites were made with Wix. After reaching out to my classmates for suggestions, I realized Wix was the overwhelmingly most used platform, so I gave it a shot.

I was familiar with Wix, having used it for my senior project in high school, but that was ten years ago, and things had definitely changed. Opening the site and being introduced to a load of different options and AI generators was overwhelming, even for someone like me whose whole world is embedded in technology. I decided to do the bare minimum, which was to type my name, add a blog section, and then give this whole portfolio thing a break.

Since then, I've logged in periodically and made changes. My site still looks like my middle-school-aged nephew created it, but at least it now has a little color! I’ve also been taking the time to learn something new each time I log in. Today, I learned how to add a button and link it to a page (exciting, I know!).

Through this experience, I started to realize just how important ePortfolios are in today’s education and job market. Research supports this, showing that more than 4 in 5 employers believe an electronic portfolio helps verify that job applicants have the skills and knowledge needed to succeed (Association of American Colleges and Universities & Hart Associates, 2013).

Not only that, but student adoption of ePortfolios has skyrocketed in recent years. In 2010, only 7% of students reported using ePortfolios, but by 2012, that number had risen to 52% (Brown, et al., 2012). The widespread use of ePortfolios demonstrates that they’re more than just an assignment: They serve as a structured way to showcase academic and professional growth.

So… if you’re just starting out with this technology thing, take it slow, break it up into manageable parts, and have fun with it! This is literally your digital world. It will move when you’re ready.

For now, I’m going to keep adding to my Wix site, tweaking it bit by bit. Who knows? Maybe by the end of this semester, I’ll have something I’m truly proud of.

Association of American Colleges and Universities, & Hart Associates. (2013). It takes more than a major: Employer priorities for college learning and student success. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Brown, G., Chen, H. L., & Gordon, A. (2012). The annual report on the state of ePortfolios. The Association for Authentic, Experiential, and Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL).