One of the most important things I acquired from my Technology Project Management course was to always make note of lessons learned. This was driven in hard when I chose to attend the Learning Solutions conference in Orlando, FL in 2018 as an independent graduate student. After each session the trainer spoke of their lessons learned. The wisdom I compiled from generating my e-portfolio is to have perseverance, schedule twice as much time as you think it will take, and meditation. 

 

My initial response was disappointment in my limited abilities. I could not resolve my issue of not having the option to showcase the items I created in Captivate or Camtasia without the purchase of a license, due to the free trial period expiring. Since the e-portfolio is a new option for graduate students at the University of South Florida, it was an after thought to try and figure out how to publish my Captivate and Camtasia projects so that I could have the option to include them in my e-portfolio. The lesson I learned from building my e-portfolio is to create more screencast walk throughs of my projects. It is simpler to include videos than large files, especially if the videos are uploaded to YouTube. I continued to persevere through this struggle and was finally able to include the content I had the intention to share.

 

I have found one common thread with graduate students, they are juggling many life tasks while going to school. Although you may have designed your last training in a week, or wrote that 10 page paper last night, your e-portfolio is comprised of so many elements that it will take you longer than you scheduled to complete. Life has interruptions and sometimes it is best to sit in a quiet place at the library, but when that is not an option, allow yourself enough time to complete your portfolio the way you imagined it to look.

 

Finally, add into your schedule time to meditate. When you hit a blank and are unsure what to put in that big empty space, meditate. Taking a moment to stop and breathe is one of the healthiest things a person can do when under stress. Try to find time to relax. Stress can be the cause of many health issues. It only takes a few minutes to feel ready to accomplish the next task on your list.