I. Setting the Portfolio Context
II. The Working Portfolio
III. The Reflective Portfolio
IV. The Connected Portfolio
V. The Presentation Portfolio

Stage 1: Defining the Portfolio Goals and Context

• Identify the purpose and audience for the portfolio
• Identifty the standards that will be used as the organizing framework for the portfolio
• Identify the computer equipment and software available
• Identify the level of technology skills of the portfolio developer
• Select the appropriate portfolio level to begin electronic portfolio development:

• Set up electronic folders for each standard to organize the artifacts (any type of electronic document)

You will know you are ready for the next stage when:

• You have identified the purpose and primary audience for your portfolio.
• You have identified the standards or goals that you will be using to organize your portfolio.
• You have selected the development software you will be using and have completed the first stage using that tool.

Stage 2: The Working Portfolio

• Identify the portfolio artifacts (examples of your work, hopefully in electronic form) or experiences you have that demonstrate that you have met this indicator.  You may have artifacts that demonstrate more than one indicator, and that is fine.
• Collect and store those artifacts in appropriate folders on your disk or server.
• Interject personality into the portfolio design.  Use some of the graphics capabilities of the software to add style and flair to the portfolio.
• Use appropriate multimedia to add style and individuality to the portfolio.
• Use a scanner (or camera) to digitize images [Level 2]
• Use a microphone and sound digitizing program to digitize audio artifacts [Level 4]
• Use a video camera, digitizing hardware and software to digitize video artifacts [Level 5]

You will know you are ready for the next stage when:

• You have a collection of digital portfolio artifacts that represent your efforts and achievement throughout the course of your learning experiences.
• You have used the graphics and layout capability of the chosen software to interject your personality into the portfolio artifacts.
• It is time to turn this collection into a portfolio.

Stage 3: The Reflective Portfolio

• Write general reflective statements on achieving each standard.
• Select the artifacts that represent achievement of the standards or goals.
• Write reflective statements for each artifact, elaborating on why it was selected and its meaning and value in the portfolio.
• From the reflections and feedback, set learning goals for the future.The portfolio becomes a lifelong learning tool, when we take these reflections and set goals for future learning.  For each performance indicator, write a statement about what you still need to learn in this area, setting some reasonable goals for yourself.

You will know you are ready for the next stage when:

• You have selected the artifacts that are going into your formal or presentation portfolio.
• You have written the reflective statements and identified learning goals for the future.

Stage 4: The Connected Portfolio

Organize the digital artifacts. Select software that allows the creation of hypermedia links between goals, student work samples, rubrics, and assessment.
Identify patterns through the "linking" process.

• Convert word processing, database or slide show documents into either PDF [Level 3]

or HTML  [Level 4]
AND
• Create hypertext links between goals, student work samples, rubrics, and assessment.
• Insert multimedia artifacts [Level 3 & 4]

You will know you are ready for the next stage when:

• Your documents are converted into a format that allows hypertext links.
• You can navigate around your document using those hypertext links.
• You have inserted the appropriate multimedia artifacts into the document.
• You are ready to share your portfolio with someone else.

Stage 5: The Presentation Portfolio

• Record the portfolio to an appropriate presentation and storage medium.
• Share the portfolios with an appropriate audience