I can honestly say that my first reaction to my new class, EDLD 5303 - Applying Educational Technology (Portfolio), was “I literally just spent weeks building my e-portfolio. Why do I need to do another five weeks on it?” I am not stating that my portfolio is perfect by any means, but I was partially hoping to move on past the portfolio. I can relate to most of the users of discontinued usage of an e-portfolio regarding time being the main reason not to continue the portfolio. However, my belief is slightly adjusted. I began to think about my internal struggle with the concept of working with a portfolio. From a personal perspective, I would say that I fit into a fixed mindset, as I believe I have more important things to utilize my time on. Professionally, however, I am developing a growth mindset, because I can see a HUGE benefit to utilizing a portfolio and it will be nothing but beneficial to me as a lifelong learner.
I found the getting started section to be extremely beneficial as it laid out a skeletal structure of the general content to be expected on an e-portfolio. My prior knowledge and experiences with an e-portfolio have always been for simply displaying the work that was created and is wanting to be showcased. For example, game design or program developer. EDLD 5302 really started to open my eyes to what an e-portfolio could be and I am very interested to see how 5303 will shape my beliefs and values towards my own portfolio as I continue to build my own meaningful connections to my learning journey.
The start of my journey comes from the minimalist fundamentals of portfolios section of the assigned readings. It was here that I uncovered the true purpose of developing my own portfolio. My portfolio will be a place that is more like an online journal, where I can reflect on what I learn. As I develop my reflections, I will be able to dig deeper into my learning experiences and make meaningful connections. I can display my work and/or projects that showcase this. My portfolio can be a place where I can express my own creativity as I embrace my ownership of my content. I ultimately believe that my portfolio will prove to be nothing but beneficial to my professional career and perhaps even my personal life.
Harapunik, D. (2018). It's About Learning. Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org.
Key Takeaways From Peer Discussions:
Digging into a task out of our comfort zone can be scary, exciting, and daunting, but you just got to push through it!
E-portfolios should be valued as content that will always be beneficial to your career.
Seeking out peer feedback will only enable you to grow.