Eportfolio Tools

I explored six eportfolio tools that I found when searching Google for eportfolio platforms.  Though, there were several comparisons from the perspective of a company or institution, I was unable to find one from the perspective of the student.  As a person who utilizes several computers daily, the ease of use (no printing or hole-punching) and ease of mobility (not carrying a binder) are the most obvious differences  between eportfolios and physical portfolios.  In addition, the various media, including video, that can be used in eportfolios is significant.

The platform that I chose to use is Epsilen.  My eportfolio is http://www.epsilen.com/cabramsky.  The first platform that I ruled out was Canvas (https://www.canvas.net/) due to the fact that this platform does not appear to offer individual eportfolio options.  Pricing is not transparent at all (you must request a pricing quote.  Even if Canvas had an individual eportfolio option, having to request a price quote is a negative for me. 

Other platforms and information that I found include:

Platform	Price	Storage	Additional Details
Evernote (https://evernote.com/)	Free	60 mb/month	Although I found this sight when searching for an eportfolio platform, it seems to be more of a “note to self” type platform with the ability to show your information in slide format.
Epsilen (www.epsilen.com)	Free	75 mb (according to http://www.aaeebl.org/?page=Epsilen)	Limited to .edu and .k12 email addresses.  Has an age requirement of 18 or older unless under supervision of parent or teacher.  No software download required.  Only allows US users.
Digication (www.digication.com)	19.95/ year for student 34.95/ year for teacher	100 mb	Much better pricing (including a free option) for Google Apps for Education Administrators and Schools
FolioTek               (http://www.foliotek.com/)	19.00/ year	250 mb	The fancy scrolling on this site distracted me from really looking too deep into the platform.

While several of these platforms offer free trials, I decided to go with one that appealed to me and is always free.  The best part of Epsilen for me is that the hosting is done online.  This allows for access to my eportfolio on any computer, without having to download software.  People who currently access materials from anywhere using Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. will appreciate this feature. 

Obviously Epsilen is not useful for many people in different contexts.  For example those who are not either students or teachers would not be able to join.  Also, the website Terms of Service excludes users outside the United States. 

If I were asking my students to create eportfolios, I would further investigate the Digication platform using the Google Apps for Education, because previous research on Google Apps for Education showed they are careful about student privacy and do not require email addresses for students under the age of 18.