Have you noticed anything…new…in the ePortfolio? The title of the post kind of gives it away, doesn’t it?

Okay, so we aren’t great at surprises, but we are absurdly pleased to announce a new element that promises to add real dimension to the ePortfolio: integrated study groups! When we launched the ePortfolio back in April, it was a place to visually plan out your learning and conveniently access your transcript. We mentioned some coming changes, too: the ability to upload work samples, your resume/CV, and connect with others via discussion forums. We highlighted some of those new features in August.

Now, the joyful task before us now is to turn this new tool over to our students, and for that, let’s let Devon take the floor:

“I am very excited to launch this new feature. Through conversations with our users, and from following the forums, I know that there are Saylor.org students out there who are looking to connect with each other. Study groups give you the power to engage with your fellow ‘classmates’ at a level you choose. Want to create a massive group to work through CS101 this Spring? Go ahead and create a public study group and invite all 250+ open users currently taking the course. Work better with just one or two people giving encouragement and helping you a long? A small private group may be best for you. The choice is yours, and I’m happy that ePortfolio can now help facilitate that choice.”

Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t give a short introduction, so look below for screen shots and instructions (though we think it’s pretty intuitive).

With this enhanced ePortfolio, we hope to make your learning more convenient, more social, and more fun. It’s also time for us to take a breather with new ePortfolio features and throw our efforts into polishing what’s already there. Got a thought? A gripe? A compliment? Let Devon know, or catch up with us in the forums!