Electronic Portfolios - Some better than others

Searching the Internet for examples of electronic portfolios pulls up a great deal of information. Information concerning the different types and contents which both vary depending on the purpose. I had a difficult time finding portfolios to look at and judge. No matter what I did I could not locate a sample (or labeled) example of a "bad" portfolio. I finally found a bunch of graduate portfolios and looked at all of them. By reading the assigned article and the information I had found on the Internet, I was able to view the graduate portfolios and come to my own conclusion of which were good portfolios and which were not so good. Ms. Bammi's portfolio I rated as very good. You can view it at this link, http://web.me.com/bindu61/Bindu/Bindu.html. Her home page clues you into her area of expertise, which is art and design, specializing in graphics and technology. As you look at the different areas in her portfolio each section reflects her vocation. It is very well organized and easy to move from one section to the next. She has labeled tabs on each page to help direct you to any section you want to view. She has the necessary component parts of a portfolio, an introduction (shown as her welcome), teaching philosophy, resume, description of her teaching practices, artifacts which detail her class planning, and show her effective teaching skills, and her future educational plans. Each page not only details the information but reflects visually her artistic talents. It may sound corny but viewing her portfolio gave me insight into her personality that connected me to her on a deeper level. Portfolios provide a great advantage for employers (and job seekers) over the traditional resume. The only thing she does not list is teaching standards and that is because she is not teaching in the states.

Most of the portfolios were good but one stood out because my reaction to it surprised me. It was so flat. It consisted of just a report with a few pictures on the main page. The pictures remained the same on each page with just the information on the page changing as you clicked the different tabs. He covered the basic information needed on a portfolio, the introduction, his philosophy, his future tech plan (listed this way), and his resume. There is no spark, joy or enthusiasm for teaching conveyed in his portfolio. You can see it at this web address,
http://www.msu.edu/~guttinge/portfolio/Electronic_Portfolio/MSU_Year_1.html. I didn't feel like I knew him any better after reading it. In fact it gave me the feeling that he did not put a lot of effort into his portfolio, which if I were a prospective employer would deter me from hiring him. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, it may just be that he is so young that he doesn't have many artifacts to put in his resume. Still he could have had a much better and inviting design.