Why build your professional academic website (known as an “ePortfolio”)?
Your professional website serves as a central hub for information about your work. Your department webpage is a good start, but departmental pages usually don’t allow you to quickly and easily make changes or updates (without going through a university IT department) and usually have limited options for layout, content, and integrations. Building your own gives you more control over these things. Read more here.
Where can you build your PFF/PFP ePortfolio?
You can create your ePortfolio using several tools such as WordPress, Wix, and Google Sites. However, we strongly suggest using ODU’s WordPress, an online tool that allows users to create and publish their own websites. Old Dominion University has made the WordPress professional suite available to the entire campus community. With dozens of free, professional-looking themes, easy content management, and a library full of custom plugins, WordPress gives its users the tools to create fully featured websites. (from https://www.odu.edu/ts/wordpress). To make the process easier, you can activate templates specifically designed for each pathway and its corresponding requirements. These templates can be found under the Student Success tab on the template menus as ‘PFF Template’ and ‘Preparing Future Professionals (PFP) Template.’
What resources are available to help you build your ePortfolio?
The Center for High Impact Practices (CHIP) offers assistance and support for creating your ePortfolio via the ePortfolioTeamand ePortfolio Studio (Learning Commons 1313). Support options include individual appointments with ePortfolio Assistants (in-person or online), Workshops, Tutorials, Open Studio Sessions, and Video Feedback (without an appointment needed). For more information about the program, visit https://www.odu.edu/success/programs/eportfolios. For tutorials visit https://www.odu.edu/success/programs/eportfolios/tutorials.
ODU ITS also offers several resources (see https://www.odu.edu/ts/wordpress) and compiles a list of tutorials (see https://wp.odu.edu/tutorials-2/)
The Center for Learning and Teaching (CLT) offers workshops to help you create your ePortfolio using WordPress, including workshops on ‘Creating Your Faculty Website’ (open to graduate students) and ‘WordPress: Extending Your Site with Plugins.’ More information available here: http://clt.odu.edu/facdev/calendar.php