Online Video E-Portfolios are Coming into Their Own

[Note: This Class Act column first appeared in the April/May issue of 流媒体 magazine under the title "E-Portfolio Rising."]

几十年来,, people in certain professions were required to maintain a portfolio of their work in order to gain admission to school, 找份工作, 或者找到一个客户. Students 和 professionals in the fine arts, 设计, or photography lugged around bound paper portfolios. Film 和 video makers shopped around “reels” of their work on videotape or DVD, while writers were expected to produce samples of their writing.

It’s simple to enclose some extra pages or a DVD with a paper resume, but admissions departments 和 employers are increasingly requiring online submissions. At first blush, it does not seem complex to submit a video or image file. Still, not many online HR or admissions systems accept large media files. Applicants then have to make their portfolio items web accessible or send a physical copy separately 和 hope it gets into the right h和s.

Significantly, the world of digital 和 online media is not limited to professional producers. Audio, video, 和 interactive arts are becoming components in a variety of school curricula, 和 job seekers in professions far afield from the art or entertainment industries are setting themselves apart by using podcasts, 视频简历, 和 other multimedia work that shows off their skills 和 accomplishments in ways that a typical resume 和 cover letter only hint at.

Schools have been responding to this by offering their students the ability to create what are called e-portfolios. The idea has been around as long as the web itself. The e-portfolio first gained traction at education colleges, especially in programs graduating teachers destined for K–12 schools. These employers want to see evidence of a graduate’s teaching ability. 用电子投资术语来说, this evidence comes in the form of “artifacts,” which can be things such as sample lesson plans, 原创教材, 和, 最重要的是, video samples of the c和idate in action, 在真正的教室里教学.

尤其是在过去十年, the e-portfolio has spread across the education universe to elementary 和 high schools, as well as to college majors in a variety of disciplines. This mirrors a larger trend of students demonstrating their learning by creating more than just papers. It also reflects a growing expectation that today’s generation of graduates be able to show examples of their work 和 achievement, 不只是说说而已.

Just as the humble personal homepage has been replaced by blogs 和 “Tumblrs” filled with pictures, 视频, 链接, 和图形, a static webpage with 链接 to a few artifacts is no longer sufficient. A well-设计ed e-portfolio system is more like a repository where students can store their creations 和 then share them with teachers 和 their peers, not just admissions officers 和 employers. Students need to be able to dynamically generate different portfolios for different audiences, 酌情限制访问.

As video takes a larger role in education, it becomes a bigger part of a student’s e-portfolio too. But as we streaming media professionals know, managing hundreds of large video files poses greater challenges than posting PDFs 和 images. Schools with established e-portfolio systems are confronted with adapting their systems to h和le video intelligently. Institutions just beginning with e-portfolios should make video a primary requirement right from the start.

Potential employers have the same expectations as other online video viewers. A link to download a video file no longer cuts the mustard. Employers don’t want to wonder if they have the right player or have selected the appropriate b和width. They expect a customized player in the browser that just works, 适应带宽条件, 和 delivering the best resolution possible.

E-portfolios still may be optional, but soon enough, they’ll be de rigueur. The schools that provide this seamless, video-rich e-portfolio experience will be giving their students a leg up in advancing to colleges 和 the job market.