"Look mom, no hands!" I remember yelling that learning to ride my bike in the factory parking lot across the street from our first house. My chest swelled with the feeling of pride at having mastered a skill and a technology that seemed out of reach in the beginning. Now, I kind of get the same feeling when I think about portfolios.
We've had a portfolio initiative since 2002 and yet, despite out best efforts, adoption was slow. Why was that? I've come to believe it's a case of economics. We learn in Econ 101 that "economics" is comprised of three elements, all involving a cost expenditure. There is, of course, the monetary cost involved. But there is also a cost of time and effort. Even something free can have to high a cost if the time and effort involved exceed the perceived return on investment.
I believe this is why our portfolio initiative has been stagnant. We've been giving away "free" web space for years but hardly anybody takes advantage of it. Why? Because, up to now it's just been so damn hard to use for most people that it hasn't been worth the cost of time and effort involved. Ever try to figure out PASS space? Or create something in DreamWeaver or FrontPage?
But two recent changes have altered the economic dynamics of having an electronic portfolio. First off, an e-portfolio has become an expectation in the broad marketplace. No longer limited to the technical and arts fields, employers expect potential hires to have some sort of electronic presence. Second, creating and maintaining an e-portfolio have become a hell of a lot easier.
The blogs@Penn State initiative has made creating a publishing on the web exponentially easier. No longer is an understanding of HTML a prerequisite for publishing to the web. For the most part, the Moveable Type platform we've adopted makes it easier to start publishing right away.
In fact, I'm designing the next generation of portfolio workshops around that premise. My goal is to have novices, both faculty and students, publishing to the web within the first ten minutes of the workshop. And by the end of the workshop I want them to leave comfortable with idea that they can publish to the web and create a presence that is vibrant, viable, and fulfilling. Those same feelings you get when you learn to ride a bike.
We've had a portfolio initiative since 2002 and yet, despite out best efforts, adoption was slow. Why was that? I've come to believe it's a case of economics. We learn in Econ 101 that "economics" is comprised of three elements, all involving a cost expenditure. There is, of course, the monetary cost involved. But there is also a cost of time and effort. Even something free can have to high a cost if the time and effort involved exceed the perceived return on investment.
I believe this is why our portfolio initiative has been stagnant. We've been giving away "free" web space for years but hardly anybody takes advantage of it. Why? Because, up to now it's just been so damn hard to use for most people that it hasn't been worth the cost of time and effort involved. Ever try to figure out PASS space? Or create something in DreamWeaver or FrontPage?
But two recent changes have altered the economic dynamics of having an electronic portfolio. First off, an e-portfolio has become an expectation in the broad marketplace. No longer limited to the technical and arts fields, employers expect potential hires to have some sort of electronic presence. Second, creating and maintaining an e-portfolio have become a hell of a lot easier.
The blogs@Penn State initiative has made creating a publishing on the web exponentially easier. No longer is an understanding of HTML a prerequisite for publishing to the web. For the most part, the Moveable Type platform we've adopted makes it easier to start publishing right away.
In fact, I'm designing the next generation of portfolio workshops around that premise. My goal is to have novices, both faculty and students, publishing to the web within the first ten minutes of the workshop. And by the end of the workshop I want them to leave comfortable with idea that they can publish to the web and create a presence that is vibrant, viable, and fulfilling. Those same feelings you get when you learn to ride a bike.
Great points, thanks for the Econ lesson too.
Another thought I had on why not being used, was before it was much harder to move your space from .psu space when you graduated. Showing students how easy it will be to move their Movable type blog from .psu space when they graduate will be also important. IMHO
Hi Kim,
I definitely agree with you. Ease of portability is the other critical success factor.
Jeff