Prior to 3500 B.C., communication among indigenous people was dominated by paintings until Egyptians developed hieroglyphics in circa 3200 B.C. The first alphabet composed of 22 symbols (all consonants) evolved with the Phoenicians in circa 1200 B. C.  As illustrated in the infographic above, communication proceeded to change with the Chinese inventing the first postal service in 900 B.C. followed by messengers on horseback delivered messages in 200 B.C., and the first printing press in 305 A.D. It would require another 1100+ years before Gutenberg would refine the printing press by inventing movable type. The Internet would not evolve until 1969.  When we compare the progression from hieroglyphics to the Internet (a period of roughly 5400 years) with the progression from the first text editors in 1976 and the creation of HyperText Markup Language in 1978 followed by the World Wide Web in 1990, we should not be surprised that many people are lost in the information age. Check out this video on YouTube.com that illustrates the History of Communication. I particularly enjoy this presentation because there is humor, graphic design, and technology blended in an entertaining presentation (6:27 minutes).  Technological advancement has been evolving at light speed since the launch of the web.

• 1990 - Search Engines

• 1994 – Wikis created by Ward Cunningham

• 1996 – Instant Messaging

• 2002 – Social Networking started with Friendster, then MySpace followed by Facebook.

• 2006 – Microblogging was initiated with Twitter
• 2010 - Pinterest introduced an image "pin board" with access by invitation only until 2012 when the Social Media provider skyrocketed to third place behind Facebook and Twitter.
• 2010 - Apple introduced Instagram an online photo-sharing and social networking service named for the similar format to the Kodak Instamatic Camera.  

• 2011 – Online Content Collaboration requires a combination of web design, social networking, and word processing. 
  

Check out this YouTube video that illustrates the History of Social Media: A Timeline over 2 Decades (3:07 minutes). The video and the list above only highlights the major forms of social media that have evolved, but it is clearly evident that new channels of communication are evolving rapidly.  Future graduates from our academic programs will need to demonstrate their ability to write clearly and utilize the latest forms of communication to convey information to the customers of the future.  How will you demonstrate your communication skills and the effective utilization of the current channels of communication?  How will you infuse your personality and professional skills through your eportfolio? Check back for further information on infusing your voice and demonstrating your skills in your eportfolio. 

I have created several boards on Pinterest related to Careers, College Advice, and Jobs.  The boards provide links to some of the most valuable news and statistics regarding trends in the hospitality and tourism industry. 

• Careers & Employment
• College Advice
• Customer Service
• Online Income Opportunity

What should you consider including in an developmental or formative e-portfolio? Perhaps the most important difference between a standard eportfolio and an developmental eportfolio is the electronic repository of a student’s papers over the length of a course or curriculum and the student's self-reflection.  A developmental eportfolio is a work in progress, an on-going composing and revising process. I will review the recommended contents of a developmental portfolio dividing the elements into 2 sections: Structural elements and In-progress Elements. 

Structural Elements:

• Student Information: name, contact information, major, minor, graduation date, etc. The student's name and email should be available on each and every page of a well-designed eportfolio regardless of the purpose of the document.
• Navigation (Table of Contents) and/or index: You need to ensure that viewers of your eportfolio can find the information they seek with as few as 3 -5 clicks of their mouse. Every page should have a navigation bar either across the top of the page or along the either the left or right side of the page. 
• An introductory or personal statement: The home page or landing page should include include a well-written statement describing the purpose of the eportfolio.  
• Curricular standards and/or criteria: Include learning outcomes, accreditation standards, and/or general education requirements for the respective course or courses.  Reference the course or curriculum requirements as you add documents and reflect on the learning achieved. 
  

In-progress Elements:

• Self-reflection/self assessment Blog: This is a critical and essential aspect of the developmental eportfolio.  The self-reflection should occur across the duration of the course and/or curriculum that is the focus of the eportfolio.  Include the learning outcomes, standards, and/or requirements that are relevant to the topic and/or assignment, particularly when you are reflecting.
  
• Rubrics: Many instructors now utilize rubrics to inform students of expectations and to analyze the student's assignment submission. Rubrics include a criteria-rating scale, which not only evaluate student performance they provide students with the information necessary to complete an effective self-assessment.
• Artifacts: Depending on the purpose of the developmental eportfolio, the student should provide a series of examples to illustrate their progression  over time. The developmental or formative eportfolio stresses indications of growth and/or improvement.  Therefore, students should be encouraged to revise and improve documents following peer or instructor reviews.  The examples of student work (artifacts) might include word processing documents, images, illustrations, charts, spreadsheets, video, audio, etc. stresses “symptoms of growth,”  For example, a first draft or outline for an essay would be followed by the instructor's and/or peer feedback.  After revision, a second draft would be posted followed by the instructor's review and graded rubric.  The final document would include the revised   essay demonstrating your ability to argue a claim or position supported by citations and references.
  
• Instructor and Peer Feedback: When a student posts their eportfolio on the web, the eportfolio will be accessible to a much wider audience than a traditional assignment. An online survey (an abreviated rubric) can be utilized to provide peers and the instructor an opportunity to share insight and comments on documents.  In the formative or developmental eportfolio, it is important the instructor fosters a student-friendly “positive learning environment” rather than a “grading environment.” Since the focus is on development, peer and instructor's feedback can serve to motivate a student to improve their documents to showcase their growth and improvement.