Another benefit of creating an e-portfolio is that you can learn some valuable computer skills. In fact, you can use the same techniques and technologies used in this tutorial (e.g. RSS feeds, file storage, Google AdSense, etc.) to create a website or blog for a small business, hobby, area of interest or expertise, etc. Most bloggers write for enjoyment and only earn a small amount of money to cover some of their website hosting but there are some like Richmond, B.C.'s John Chow, that is making more than $30,000 a month with his john chow.com blog... a blog where he "makes money online by telling you how to make money online". He's not the only one... but this isn't about money, this is about building your career.
You may not want to quit your day job just yet, but creating an e-portfolio may help you get that first, entry level job or get a better job for someone already further along in their career.
This 10-step tutorial shows you how to create and develop an e-portfolio using Google's Blogger tool. It wasn't so long ago that it would cost tens of thousands of dollars and take several months to build the same kind of sites you can develop today for free and in hours if not minutes...
There are lots of different tools you can use to build your e-portfolio. Google's Blogger is just one of them. Links to tutorial instructions for other e-portfolio development tools will be added here soon.
It normally takes between 2 and 5 hours to complete this tutorial. In reality, it is a project that is never really over... at least not until you are six feet under and pushing up the daisies. Everyone's has heard that the days of having one job for life are over... the average person switches careers at least seven times in their life. You should never stop learning and you should never stop updating your e-portfolio. Your e-portfolio is only as good as it is current.
Feedback
Each section of this tutorial has a comments posting. If you have questions with a step or would like to comment on something you have found that might help others developing their e-portfolio, please click on the comments link and submit your feedback. I will respond shortly to your feedback (the comment postings are moderated so you won't see your submitted comment right away).
Assignment Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to help you develop your career by developing a career-oriented e-portfolio and to learn about computer application integration while doing it... specifically how to integrate MS Office applications with Web-based applications like Blogger, and other third-party tools. Some people may decide to customize their blog using HTML, the design language of the World Wide Web, but this is optional.
You are the owner of your e-portfolio. Not your school, not your company... you will move between schools and employers frequently in life so don't expect anyone else to take responsibility for your career. You have gone to a lot of hard work to takes courses, learn software programs, languages, community service etc. It's worth spending just a little bit of time now showcasing what you have done and where you are heading.
Increasingly, employers want more than just a traditional resume and this e-portfolio can help give you a competitive edge. It's a good idea to keep your e-portfolio current to improve your chances of getting the job you want after graduation or additional companies interested in you even if you already have a job.
In some fields (especially in the marketing sector), companies are looking for employees that have "blogging skills" as blogs have hit the mainstream... something that you will get while working on this assignment. A few years ago, when blogs weren't quite as mainstream, there were even "blog consultants" charging $100 per hour to essentially set up what anyone with limited technology skills could do in five minutes.
So it's time to "storm the bastille".
No comments:
Post a Comment