Table 1. Stages of development.

Portfolio	Electronic Portfolio	Multimedia Project
Purpose, Audience	1. Defining the Portfolio	Decide, Assess, Context, Goals
Collect, Interject	2. The Working Portfolio	Design, Plan
Select, Reflect, Direct	3. The Reflective Portfolio	Develop
Inspect, Perfect, Connect	4. The Connected Portfolio	Implement, Evaluate
Respect (Celebrate)	5. The Presentation Portfolio	Present, Publish

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Table 2. Levels of electronic portfolio software strategies based on ease of use.

0	All documents are in paper format. Some portfolio data may be stored on videotape.
1	All documents are in digital file formats, using word processing or other commonly used software, and stored in electronic folders on a hard drive, floppy disk, or LAN server.
2	Portfolio data is entered into a structured format, such as a database or HyperStudio template or slide show (such as PowerPoint or AppleWorks) and stored on a hard drive, Zip, floppy disk, or LAN.
3	Documents are translated into Portable Document Format with hyperlinks between standards, artifacts, and reflections using Adobe Acrobat Exchange and stored on a hard drive, Zip, Jaz, CD-R/W, or LAN server.
4	Documents are translated into HTML, complete with hyperlinks between standards, artifacts, and reflections, using a Web authoring program and posted to a Web server.
5	Portfolio is organized with a multimedia authoring program, incorporating digital sound and video. Then it is converted to digital format and pressed to CD-R/W or posted to the Web in streaming format.

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Table 3. Technology skill levels.

1	Limited experience with desktop computers but able to use mouse and menus and run simple programs
2	Level 1 plus proficient with a word processor, basic e-mail, and Internet browsing; can enter data into a predesigned database
3	Level 2 plus able to build a simple hypertext (nonlinear) document with links using a hypermedia program such as HyperStudio or Adobe Acrobat Exchange or an HTML WYSIWYG editor
4	Level 3 plus able to record sounds, scan images, output computer screens to a VCR, and design an original database
5	Level 4 plus multimedia programming or HTML authoring; can also create QuickTime movies live or from tape; able to program a relational database

Table 4. Technology available.

1	No computer
2	Single computer with 16 MB RAM, 500 MB HD, no AV input/output
3	One or two computers with 32 MB RAM, 1+ GB HD, simple AV input (such as QuickCam)
4	Three or four computers, one of which has 64+ MB RAM, 2+GB HD, AV input and output, scanner, VCR, video camera, high-density floppy (such as a Zip drive)
5	Level 4 and CD-ROM recorder, at least two computers with 128+ MB RAM; digital video editing hardware and software. Extra GB+ storage (such as Jaz drive)

Table 5. Portfolio construction tools compared.

Relational database
Common development tools	FileMaker Pro
Structure & Links	Fields, records, or files linked by common fields
Player available	Yes
Advantages	Flexible reporting, network-friendly, Web accessible, cross-platform
Disadvantages	Size of files requires player
Ease of Use (1 = low skill, 5 = high skill)	4 to develop, 2 to use
Technology Required (1 = low tech, 5 = high tech)	3
Cost (with educator discount)	$65–156
Hypermedia
Common development tools	HyperStudio, Digital Chisel
Structure & Links	Electronic cards linked by “buttons”
Player available	Yes
Advantages	Widely available in classrooms, construction tools included, some software cross-platform
Disadvantages	Not easily Web-accessible (requires browser plug-in), view limited to screen size
Ease of Use (1 = low skill, 5 = high skill)	3 to develop
Technology Required (1 = low tech, 5 = high tech)	3
Cost (with educator discount)	$39–199
Multimedia Authoring
Common development tools	Macromedia Authorware, Director
Structure & Links	Icon- or time-based environment
Player available	Self-contained
Advantages	Most flexibility in development, CD-ROM, cross-platform
Disadvantages	Steep learning curve
Ease of Use (1 = low skill, 5 = high skill)	5
Technology Required (1 = low tech, 5 = high tech)	5
Cost (with educator discount)	$128–699
Web Pages
Common development tools	Adobe PageMill, Claris Home Page, Composer
Structure & Links	Pages viewed with a Web Browser (Netscape or Explorer) using links created in HTML
Player available	Browser (free)
Advantages	Web-accessible, cross-platform
Disadvantages	Multimedia (video) not well integrated, complex authoring
Ease of Use (1 = low skill, 5 = high skill)	2 with editor, 4 witho
Technology Required (1 = low tech, 5 = high tech)	4
Cost (with educator discount)	$0–79
Adobe Acrobat
Common development tools	Adobe Acrobat Exchange
Structure & Links	Postscript-based pages that can be navigated sequentially or by using bookmarks, links, or buttons
Player available	Reader (free)
Advantages	Web-accessible, cross-platform, create files, from any applications, ideal for CD-ROM, can capture Web pages with links
Disadvantages	Size of files, limited construction tools
Ease of Use (1 = low skill, 5 = high skill)	2
Technology Required (1 = low tech, 5 = high tech)	4
Cost (with educator discount)	$42–90
Slideshows/Presentations
Common development tools	Microsoft PowerPoint, Works, AppleWorks
Structure & Links	Slideshow presentation or “Binder” (Microsoft Office) to link documents together
Player available	No
Advantages	Widely accessible software, cross-platform

Disadvantages	Not directly Web-accessible, ease of creating hypertext links, requires original application to read.
Ease of Use (1 = low skill, 5 = high skill)	3
Technology Required (1 = low tech, 5 = high tech)	3–4
Cost (with educator discount)	$46–210
Digital Video
Common development tools	QuickTime or AVI format., Movie Player Pro (for editing), Apple Video Player (for digitizing), iMovie
Structure & Links	Web access high interactivity random access editing
Player available	QuickTime, RealPlayer (both free)
Advantages	Used to include performances in and out of the classroom within other digital portfolio construction tools, also, digital video editing (Avid Cinema, Adobe Premiere, iMovie) can be used to prepare artifacts for presentation in analog video.
Disadvantages	File size, storage quality, bandwidth requirements, hardware requirements to digitize video
Ease of Use (1 = low skill, 5 = high skill)	Level 5 skill needed to create digital video, although with tools such as Avid Cinema and iMovie, the learning curve is flatter.
Technology Required (1 = low tech, 5 = high tech)	5 to use computers with video digitizing boards. Digital video cameras streamline the process, especially with the latest computers, which have FireWire (IEEE 1394) connections to the DV camera.
Cost (with educator discount)	Editing software from $29 (MoviePlayer Pro) to $500 or more. Digital videos cameras <$1,000.
Analog Video
Common development tools	VHS, 8mm
Structure & Links	Ubiquitous access, cheap storage medium, acceptable quality, relatively low-cost hardware requirements
Player available	Used to capture performances in the classroom or to gather data outside also a universal format for final presentation portfolio; sometimes the computer is used to organize and present the formal portfolio
Advantages	Level 2 skill needed to create analog video, although editing analog videotape is more complicated.
Disadvantages	Linear access, low interactivity, no Web access, storage, editing
Ease of Use (1 = low skill, 5 = high skill)	Can be recorded with low-end equipment
Technology Required (1 = low tech, 5 = high tech)	VCR
Cost (with educator discount)	Other than the cost of a camera or VCR, the only additional cost is for videotape. Analog video editing system cost can range from $250 and up. Pay as little as $300 for an 8mm camera.

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