Understand the purpose of your e-Portfolio. The e-Portfolio will be used to demonstrate your achievement and mastery of particular core
competencies, so all the materials you select or develop, and all your discussion and reflections, should be relevant to demonstrating your
mastery of these objectives.
Understand the criteria for evaluation. Be sure that you understand the standard established to determine whether your e-Portfolio, as a final
product, meets its intended purpose. You need to understand the principles on which your e-Portfolio will be judged so that you can select work
samples that meet the evaluation criteria. Follow the guidelines for the organization and presentation of the e-Portfolio, be concise, and
consult with your e-Portfolio advisor.
Closely read and think carefully about each competency (slisweb.sjsu.edu/slis/competencies.htm). Consider
carefully what each part of a multi-part competency might mean. What does this competency mean to you? Do you understand and can you explain its
importance within the field of librarianship and information science?
Think about the organization and presentation of your e-Portfolio. Review the D2L e-Portfolio tutorials. If not using D2L and the required
template for your e-Portfolio, make sure to discuss your alternative with your e-Portfolio advisor and obtain approval.
Collect evidence of your achievements for potential inclusion in your e-Portfolio and add them to your D2L e-Portfolio Artifacts section. At
this point, do not worry about making final decisions; this stage is like brainstorming—just collect as much material which might be
relevant as you can. Essays, projects, any of your assignments, special projects completed at your workplace, or evidence (work produced) of
knowledge acquired as a result of attending a conference or workshop in your area of study may be appropriate for consideration at this stage.
At some point you may need to apply some of your knowledge and develop a new product to demonstrate mastery. Remember that evidence of
competency and proficiency need not be limited solely to work done in this program. The issue is evidence of competence, not how or where you
developed it. Simple completion of a course or regurgitation of information does not constitute evidence of mastery.
It is important to have as much evidence as possible before you as you begin the selection process so that you can be certain of choosing the
work that best demonstrates your achievements. This is the work you want in your e-Portfolio. The e-Portfolio is not simply an amalgam of
everything that you have done but a carefully selected collection or synthesis of your evidence.
Select the materials which will become part of your e-Portfolio. First, sort all the materials according to an appropriate organizational scheme.
Use this handbook and examples as a guide, and assess each item, selecting those that best represent your skills and accomplishments in
satisfaction of the program objectives, and which meet the evaluation criteria. Remember that you may be submitting work already assessed by
someone else, e.g., a course instructor, but that a different faculty member, your e-Portfolio advisor, will be assessing the same work as a
measure of particular competence, and may reach different conclusions due to a different context.
The Statements of Competency (where you present your understanding of the competency and your selected evidence, and make the case for your
mastery of the competency) are the most important parts of the e-Portfolio.
Begin by working with those competencies that are most familiar to you and for which you feel you have good evidence. Finish one or two, and
submit them to your e-Portfolio advisor at the earliest opportunity. Take advantage of the opportunity to get early feedback from your
e-Portfolio advisor.
There are approximately 12 weeks of semester work time before the e-Portfolio deadline. Set up your own schedule, and write and submit your
work in a timely manner so that you do not run out of time as the semester ends.
Evaluate your e-Portfolio as a whole and make adjustments as necessary. At this point it is important to put yourself in your e-Portfolio
advisor's place. Try to take an objective look at your e-Portfolio; you might also have peers or colleagues provide a preliminary judgment of
your e-Portfolio. A colleague can raise helpful questions for you, of clarity, completeness, and congruence with objectives. Assume that your
e-Portfolio advisor knows nothing about you or your work: your e-Portfolio must speak to an independent audience without your background or
experience.
Some questions to consider are:
Do the items in my e-Portfolio work together to provide a comprehensive and coherent picture of my work and capabilities?
Do the items in my e-Portfolio demonstrate my personal and professional development?
Does my e-Portfolio meet the organizational and presentation evaluation criteria?
Does my e-Portfolio meet the contents criteria (see "Your e-Portfolio should contain the following" above)?
Does my e-Portfolio clearly demonstrate that I have met each of the program objectives and competencies by providing clear Statements of
Competency and relevant work samples as evidence?
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