Response to FAQs

Question: What do I put into an electronic portfolio?

I chose this question simply because it was the most prevalent question that I had in my own mind (along with not knowing what an ePortfolio was in general).  But I found her response to this question interesting, the idea that the portfolio is a response to a question asked or a purpose.  The concept of using an electronic portfolio to document your past goals and publicly declare your future ones isn't really an idea that I am particularly fond of, to be completely honest.  I tend to be a rather private person when it comes to my past, past achievements, and goals I have set for myself.  I tend to prefer knowing them and keeping them close then to proclaiming them to everyone else.  Granted, I understand the value in making them known, it makes you more likely to achieve them if there is the possibility of others knowing that you failed.  The value of making goals public for things such as losing weight, or getting a job, etc. are ones that make sense to me.  I admit though, I thought that using an ePortfolio to be judged for graduation from high school was an interesting thought.  Plus, it also made me think that a lot of people that I know wouldn't have managed to graduate!  Regurgitating information on a test is far easier then self-reflection and making personal, future goals.  I think that this is a definitely an idea that should be explored throughout more schools and used more often.  However, I still have a question about exactly what our ePortfolio is supposed to represent for this class?  In her response, she said to ask yourself what exactly you are trying to show or what story you are trying to tell.  So I suppose that my real question is far more specific to this class, what story are we supposed to be telling with our own ePortfolios?  

Reading her FAQs did make me feel far more comfortable about going forward with this assignment.  I had no clue what an ePortfolio was before I read that! But she definitely laid it out in simple, clear terms.  Although, I know that I am going to need technological assistance with all the conversions of files, etc.  But hopefully all will run smoothly!