Artifacts an Overview
To develop your portfolio, you will gather a representative collection of your work which best shows your skills, competencies, and talents. You should also include evidence of your professional accomplishments, educational achievements, and assessments made by professionals and in some cases instructors. In addition, you may want to identify personal goals or auxiliary areas of competency that enhance your value in the profession.
Together, these items are called artifacts. You should collect a wide variety of such materials in your working portfolio. Don’t save everything: collect only items which show you at your best. From this collection in your working portfolio you can customize a selection that meets the needs of your presentation portfolio.
Although there are no fixed rules regarding the classification of artifacts, it helps to divide them into categories. Typically, artifacts are divided into 4 categories. Click on the tabs to view additional information.
- General Artifacts
- Reproductions
- Attestations
- Productions
Artifacts are documents produced in your high school and college 
courses or gained through general life experience. Remember, your selection of final artifacts for your presentation portfolio should be tailored to the job you want or the firm you want to work for.
The following are lists of artifacts that we suggest you collect.
Instructional Designer
- Multimedia products developed
- Blogs and Wikis
- Planning documents
- Instructional web sites
- Needs assessments and analysis
View a sample portfolio.
K-12 Teacher
- Unit/lesson plans
- Assessment/test tools
- Performance Improvement Plans
- Staff development projects
- Internet/Intranet activities
Reproductions are documents about events in your typical work environment. To read a list of reproductions, click on each arrow.
Instructional Designer
- Presentation at professional association displaying your mastery of tools
- Photos of completed designs
- Graphic files of completed design
Click here to view a sample portfolio.
K-12 Teachers
- Video/audio tapes of lessons
- Photos of learning centers or bulletin boards
- Photos of students involved in class projects
- Evidence of participation in professional organizations, committees, or work team
Attestations are documents about your work prepared by someone else. A sample of the type of artifacts that would be include in your presentation portfolio are provided below.
- Letters of gratitude or recognition
- Licenses or transcripts
- Letters of recommendation
- Performance evaluations
- Evidence of professional development hours accrued
- Diplomas or certifications
Next you may want to view a sample portfolio.
Productions are documents prepared especially for your portfolio. Examples: personal career goal (mission) statements of beliefs about your profession, industry, or a solution to a target industry problem.The following is a list of productions you should include in your presentation portfolio.
- Traditional resume
- Reflective evaluations
- List of major accomplishments
- List of goals and objectives
- Personal Mission Statement
- Membership & affiliations
- List of skill competencies
