Getting started with e-portfolios: advice for students, staff and employers

The three checklists below, developed as part of UKCLE’s Using e-portfolios in legal education project, give some advice for students, staff and employers on using e-portfolios – see Getting started with e-portfolios for more.

Advice for students

An e-portfolio is useful because:

• it keeps your work in a central repository
• it’s fun to reflect – even if you’re not very good at it!
• it stimulates your creative juices
• you can show off what you can do – and what you’ve done

The downside is:

• you need some training to get started – but it does get easier
• it feels like extra work
• you have to keep it up to date

Give it a try – it might help your career choices.

Advice for staff

Tips on staff support for e-portfolios:

• start the training early – give an easy introduction to the software during induction
• follow this up with more training later in the course
• students want guidance, templates, set styles, detailed plans…you name it!
• investment in time early on in terms of support pays dividends later * it’s a useful feedback tool – just make sure you feed back in time

Advice for employers

An e-portfolio is useful because:

• employees like to have everything in one place
• it gives them some freedom to express themselves
• it’s useful for them to reflect on their university experience, especially at transition stages
• it’s a useful career planning tool (if used properly)

Beware of:

• confidentiality and ownership of information concerns
• security concerns
• concerns about competitive sensitivity

Make sure too that the e-portfolio works with existing IT systems and that your employees are given time to keep it up to date.

Last Modified: 30 June 2010