Web Portfolio Design and Applications

Citation

Jacobs, L. (2006), "Web Portfolio Design and Applications", Online Information Review, Vol. 30 No. 6, pp. 758-759. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520610716333

After retrieving millions of Google hits on the topic web portfolios, one quickly realises that much has already been written about it. Authoritative sources such as Assessing the Portfolio: Principles, Theory and Research (Hamp‐Lyons and Condon, 2000), Electronic Portfolios: Emerging Practices in Student, Faculty and Institutional Learning (Cambridge, 2001) and The Web Portfolio Guide: Creating Electronic Portfolios for the Web (Kimball, 2003) confirm this.

This begs the question as to whether another book on the topic is necessary. In the introduction DiMarco states that many educators and students lack the necessary knowledge and motivation to use this tool for educational, personal and professional benefit, and that this book serves as a guide to assist readers in establishing foundation skills for designing, developing and using web portfolios.

To achieve the above the content of the book is broadly divided into three topics. The first topic provides general information about the value and importance of creating and using web portfolios for personal and professional development. Of particular importance are the different types and benefits of using web portfolios.

The second topic discusses the design of a web portfolio. Information on the use of a flowchart as a visual inventory to develop and organise the content of a web portfolio in a non‐linear sequence is included. Decisions on the visual design criteria of a web portfolio, including style, colour, navigational systems and backgrounds with examples, are also discussed. Detailed information is provided on the use of Macromedia Dreamweaver and Macromedia Flash as web page design tools. This is especially valuable to those readers who have never before created a web page.

It is acknowledged that database‐driven components such as PHP, ASP and Perl may, in future, be required for the design of web portfolios, but no detail on how it may be used is included. Hosts and ISPs to be used to upload, move/delete and test the usability of web portfolios are explored. Guidelines on methods used to ensure the successful launch and promotion of web portfolios are also provided.

The third topic deals with case studies of institutes that use web portfolios for teaching and assessment. It includes interviews conducted with educators from different disciplines about the challenges and successes they have experienced while using web portfolios. It gives a well‐rounded view of how web portfolios can be used in academic programs.

The book concludes successfully with a chapter on web portfolios in the information society that distinguishes it from other sources on the same topic. Information discussed includes the value of web‐portfolios as a vehicle for the knowledge worker of the new millennium, and ideas on how web portfolios can be used to change societal viewpoints. Overall one would say that this work fits into an already crowded market by taking a slightly different perspective on the topic, and doing so clearly and successfully.