Academic Media Studio
How to Create an E-Portfolio
Collect and Select
I.
IMAGES
A. Locating Images
1. From your own work (photograph, drawing, etc)
2. Free online images (or purchased images)
a. http://www.picfindr.com
b.http://karenswhimsy.com/public-domain-images
c. Free Clipart http://www.wpclipart.com
d.NYPL Picture Collection Online http://digital.nypl.org/mmpco/
3. Citation: where did you get the image? Whose image is it? For some good advice on this, see
http://www.umich.edu/~ece/resources/citations.html
4. Scanning: PPI (pixels per inch) refers to screen resolution, DPI (dots per inch) refers to print
resolution.
Tutorials? See http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/scanning/Scanning_Software_Tips_and_Help.htm
5. Good Taste: Choosing images that are not offensive: e.g. a swastika
B. Vetting the Image:
1. Resizing Images: use Photoshop Elements or Fireworks; resize proportionately, save your new
image as a jpg or gif.
2. Optimize images: High resolution is not necessary (nor desirable) for web images. Fireworks
or Photoshop elements will do a good job of reducing the pixels for the web.
3. Cropping images: select the important part of your image.
4. For the Web: Save as a .jpg or as a .gif (if you want transparency). Place the file in your “images”
folder.
II.
AUDIO
A. Audacity and Garageband are available. HERE’S A Tutorial for Audacity http://eportfolio.uwaterloo.
ca/Tutorials/Audio/Audio_Editing_1.html
B. Podcasts –Broadcasts your ideas. The most basic form involves simply recording your thoughts and
saving as an MP3
III. VIDEO
1. Edit & Save in a web-friendly format.
2. Software choices: I-Movie, Premiere CS3 and Windows Movie Maker are available.
3. Tutorials: for Windows Movie Maker: http://eportfolio.uwaterloo.ca/Tutorials/Videos/Video_Editing_1.
html
i-Movie comes with a brief tutorial and there are extensive “help” files with the most sophisticated program
we have: Adobe Premiere.
IV.
DOCUMENTS
1. your resume
2. your essays
3. PDF or .doc or rft ???
V.
PERSONALIZATION---or what makes a good e-portfolio?
1. Consider your audience (who is it for): Readability
2. Gather materials and store them correctly: images in an image folder (gif or jpg only); name your home
page “index.html”; use small letters, no spaces and no unusual characters for file names.
3. Formatting for the Web
a. Typeface
b. Color
c. Layout (within template)
d. Emphasis: Italics, Bold, symbols, etc.
e. Tables and html
f. Organization and stylistic consistency
4. Dreamweaver is recommended. See the handouts.
Help is available: The studio is open Sunday—Thursday until 11 p.m. On Fridays we close (with the
library) at 5:30 p.m. If you want individual help, it’s best to email for an appointment. However, “walkins” are welcome.