For example, within an electronic portfolio, a student can play a digitized tape of the most important part of his persuasive speech or show a movie of how he used math and science to help rebuild a park area. Various parts of electronic portfolios can be interconnected through hyperlinks. Papers and materials do not get lost or misplaced. New student work can replace older work with minimal effort. There is no need to search through a thick manila folder.
Electronic portfolios save space.
Each student's paper portfolio documenting the K-12 years could take two filing drawers per student. Electronic portfolios can be stored on the school's network or even on an external disk such as the Zip cartridge. Students can take their electronic portfolio with them to another school or even send it to college as part of their application. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Word processing portfolios are limited in functionality.