Portfolio Types (2024)

There are many ways to describe the different types and purposes of digital portfolios. For now, let's considerthese three types: developmental, reflective, and representational (showcase) portfolios. Most portfolios contain aspects of more than one of these types, and can be considered "hybrids".

A developmental digital portfolio is used as a log or journal of things the author has accomplished or created over time.

The websites that our student cohort created last term,through the process of completing our weekly assignments in our Instructional Technology I course, are an example of developmental digital portfolios. The sites contains the results of our weekly assignments, but little if any reflection Our work there was not intended to show mastery, but rather was a result of being encouraged to experiment with new tools, and a demonstration of our "tinkering" process.

A reflective digital portfolio includes reflection on the content and learning, how it was developed, and what it means to the author.

This digital portfolio, which was created for our Instructional Technology II course as we studied digital portfolios themselves, is an example of the reflective aspect of digital portfolio. It contains not only the artifacts that we created, but reflection on what we have learned, and what it means to us.

A representational digital portfolio is intended to showcase achievements and mastery in a subject area.

The "Best Work" section of our instructor Jonan Donaldson's digital portfolio siteis a great example of a representational (or showcase) digital portfolio.

While I haven't always consciously thought of it as creating a digital portfolio, I have been doing so through my various online activities for many years. I started my website, http://tinyscreenfuls.com, ten years ago as a "blog", but I have come to think of it as my "home" online, where I post things from all three aspects of digital portfolios. I write about things I'm working on (developmental), I post my thoughts and ideas (reflective), and I share things that I'm proud of, or that I think will make me look good (representational/showcase). I use it to embed and share things that I create elsewhere, like photos and videos, and to link to other places online that I am active, like Twitter.

The fact that I have been writing on the web for so long greatly influenced my choice of format for this essay. While we were strongly encouraged to think beyond "just text" for what we shared here, I found that I felt most comfortable writing as if I were writing an article to be posted online, with inline links and embedded images/screenshots. While other formats, like video or animation, work well for their intended purpose, I find that I tend to think in web pages I hope I have been able to make my thoughts on this topic clear and useful, while still pushing a little beyond "just text". :-)