Using Artifacts

Using Artifacts

Artifacts are a critical aspect of your learning portfolio. An artifact is anything that can provide evidence of your education and experiences. This will likely be primarily coursework, including tests, essays, projects, presentations, or anything else assigned to you in class. For co-curricular experiences, you will likely include more media-driven artifacts, such as video and photographs.  Reflection may also be used as an artifact.

Having direction:

While a  comprehensive learning portfolio has its merit, it may be more prudent to tailor your portfolio so that it better represents your pursuits. For example, if you are pursuing engineering, you may want to include more artifacts from your engineering courses. Remember that you can set yourself apart from other students if you include artifacts that show your unique approach to education. 

Progression:

While not required, you may wish to demonstrate your progress over time by including artifacts that show your ability and motivation to learn a certain subject. This can be progress within one class or experience, or it can be over a variety of classes and experiences that cover a certain subject or theme. 

Remembering Variety:

We recommend that you consider using a variety of artifact types within your portfolio.  Many students will limit their portfolios to essays or writing assignments, for example. Including only one type of artifact shows only part of your capability as a student. For example, you could include a video from a public speaking or performance-based course or a Powerpoint that you created for an in-class presentation -- be creative!

Digital Storytelling:

Digital storytelling is a form of communication that allows you to create narratives using multiple forms of media (photographs, audio, video, etc) to cover a certain subject or experience. You might consider using digital storytelling in addition to your other artifacts, as it allows you to present a lot of information in a short period and makes the experience more compelling for the audience. This could prove especially useful for co-curricular artifacts, especially if you finding yourself lacking in quantity. It can also be used as a broad reflection piece, which in turn can be used an an artifact, discussed below.

Reflection as an Artifact: 

While reflection is not necessarily a typical portfolio artifact, it may prove useful in adding to and elaborating on the artifacts that you have already provided. Reflection allows you to present certain ideas that may be missing from your other artifacts, as well as any thoughts that you have developed that are pertinent to the evidence you are trying to present. Additionally, reflective activities can allow you to "beef up" your portfolio in areas where artifacts are sparse or difficult to find.