The Secret Lives of ePortfolios

Abstract

This chapter looks at student ePortfolios as a potential resource for graduate careers through text network analysis. The chapter begins with a critical examination of the current state of applicant tracking systems (ATS) and the way they utilize ranking algorithms to reduce graduates to a bundle of fungible skills. As a complementary corrective to these systems, the essay suggests text network analysis of ePortfolios, arguing that this would be one way to hire graduates for the future by opening the possibility for latent networked skills and meanings to re-define jobs. Network applications allow for prospective employers to quickly analyze ePortfolio content and see potential connections and innovations. Moreover, a text network analysis would be one way to develop more team-based approaches that would focus less on the individual than on the way that graduates might combine with each other in innovative teams. ePortfolios emerge here as a way of bringing back complexity into what is fast becoming an entirely automated hiring process.