E-PORTFOLIO
Gaining employment within the education sector
AGENDA
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What are E-Portfolios?
Sell yourself using your E-Portfolio-Best Practice
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How to make your E-Portfolio look Professional
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Do’s and Don’ts
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Case Study-What a good E-Portfolio looks like
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Getting started with my E-Portfolio
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Summary
WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO GET
OUT OF THIS SESSION?
WHAT IS AN E-PORTFOLIO?
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Personal Repository- Online space to showcase
learning development, skills and competencies,
reflection on achievements, areas of development
Presentational Function-Digital artefacts
An interactive function- linking to other
learners, tutors, mentors, or employers
Developmental function-Constantly updated
throughout your time at University
WHAT IS AN E-PORTFOLIO?
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Reflects the type of work an employer can expect
from you-form of a CV
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Blackboard→ Glamedge→ My E-Portfolio
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Documenting work in progress - like a blog
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It’s free!
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www.jisc.ac.uk/eportimplement
THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT
PARABLE
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The reason why e-portfolios
can be difficult to define is
because they have so many
different purposes.
In various versions of the
tale, a group of blind men
(or men in the dark) touch
an elephant to learn what
it is like. Each one feels a
different part, but only one
part, such as the side or the
tusk. They then compare
notes and learn that they
are in complete
disagreement.
BLIND MEN AND THE E-PORTFOLIO
It’s for
art
students
only!
It’s for
programme
assessment
It’s a career
development
tool
It’s a
showcase
tool!
WHAT MIGHT AN EMPLOYER NEED TO SEE
IN YOUR E-PORTFOLIO?
HISTORICAL EMPLOYER MISTAKES
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Walt Disney was once fired by a newspaper…..
for his lack of ideas
MGM’s memo after Fred Astaire's screen test
read…..
“can’t act. Slightly bald. Can dance a little”
Beethoven’s violin teacher declared him……
“hopeless as a composer”
INTERESTING RECRUITER FACTS
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HR Professionals and Hiring Managers will spend on
average 10-30 seconds looking at a CV
Research has shown that constantly sifting through CV’s
can cause attention spans to drop to a 9 second glancethat’s the equivalent to a Goldfish
Spelling and Grammar mistakes can cost you the shot at
an interview and is the most common mistake made by
job seekers
E-PORTFOLIO BEST PRACTICE
Why are people successful in gaining
employment?
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Placements
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Testimonials
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Creativity-platforms for self-expression
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ICT Skills- inputted text, electronic files, images, multimedia,
blog entries, and hyperlinks.
CV Reels and demo tapes
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Teamwork
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Communication
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Initiative
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Extra CPD
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Spelling and Grammar!
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Member of Professional Body-CIPD
E-PORTFOLIO BEST PRACTICE-THINK
ABOUT
You
Potential Employer
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Skills
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Requirements
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Knowledge
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Position
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Experience
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Company
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Attribute's
LANGUAGE USED IN E-PORTFOLIO
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Maintain a consistent writing style. Do not use “I” or “my”
For my final-year project, I had to carry out a survey of
patients' attitudes to health care services for the elderly. This
involved interviewing patients in hospital and in their
homes. A database was used to keep track of data collected.
This project was finished on time and was awarded a 2.1
grade
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Start each description with an action word
Devised and prepared a survey of patients' attitudes to
health care services for the elderly as my final-year project.
Interviewed 70 elderly patients and obtained a substantial
amount of data. Created a database to analyse and
interpret this material. Completed this project three weeks
ahead of schedule and achieved a 2.1 grade
ACTION WORDS
Planned
Devised
Achieved
Developed
Liaised (spell it
right!)
Evaluated
Supervised
Co-ordinated
Managed
Administered
Controlled
Selected
Created
Instructed
Negotiated
Designed
Researched
Analysed
Discovered
Recommended
Tested
Diagnosed
Budgeted
Monitored
Evaluated
Examined
Assessed
Promoted
Sold
Advised
Selected
Trained
Taught
Explained
Presented
Conducted
Distributed
Organised
Solved
Represented
Persuaded
Calculated
Completed
Arranged
Responsible for
CAN WE MAKE THESE STATEMENTS
BETTER?
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I used classroom management skills and learnt
excellent behaviour management techniques.
I joined in with extra curricular activities such as
Tennis Club and organized a trip to the houses of
Parliament.
I improved my ICT skills by using an Interactive
Whiteboard.
ACTION WORDS
o
o
o
Successfully implemented classroom
management strategies and developed excellent
behaviour management techniques
Participated in extra curricular activities such as
Tennis Club and organized a school trip to the
houses of parliament
Developed excellent ICT skills including using an
Interactive Whiteboard
LANGUAGE CONT.
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Make sure your statements are clear and
understandable
You do not need to include everything you have
done, be selective in your listing
Use past tense verbs for previous activitiescreated, developed
WHAT SHOULD WE AVOID WHEN
DEVELOPING OUR E-PORTFOLIO’S?
THINGS TO AVOID
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Don’t oversell yourself or stretch the truth
Don’t use email addresses like
OnedayIwillMarryHarryStyles@hotmail.com
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Don’t use humour
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Don’t think too outside the box-although its good to be creative
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Don’t include your life story-relevant information only
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Don’t start sentences with ‘I’ or ‘my’
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Don’t use abbreviations
CASE STUDY
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My E-Portfolio homepage-This area is for your professional
development. Here you can talk about how you have
developed professionally i.e. in terms of your future career.
I am currently in my 3rd year of University studying
English. I am looking to eventually work within education.
I have completed placements within Tongwynlais Nursery
and Radyr Primary Scool. Whilst completing my studies at
the University of Glamorgan, I have developed my skills by
attending Drama Society and have worked as a campaigner
for the Women’s Group at the Student Union. I enjoy
reading and have helped start a reading club at Radyr
Primary School whilst on placement. I developed excellent
behaviour management skills and worked closely with
other members of staff.
CASE STUDY
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My E-Portfolio homepage
A well presented, self motivated and confident Special
Educational Needs graduate who has extensive knowledge
of how to successfully support pupils with the medial needs
of PMLD pupils then develop and implement suitable care
plans for them. Possessing excellent counselling, listening
and general communication skills, along with the ability to
communicate complex and sensitive information about
medical matters in an understandable form to parents.
Having exceptional multi-tasking and organisational skills,
all of which are imperative when working closely with
Physicians or other health care professionals. Now looking
to further an already successful academic track record by
finding a suitable graduate entry level position with a
progressive employer within a Special Needs School.
OVER TO YOU………..
SUMMARY
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Sell yourself
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Make sure that spelling and grammar is correct
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Ask somebody to proof read for you
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Don’t oversell
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Tailor your E-Portfolio
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Ask yourself, if I only had 30 seconds to read it, what
impression would my E-Portfolio give? Am I doing
myself justice? Will it sell me to my ideal role?