Self-introduction in online courses is a universal standard at Quinnipiac and other institutions because it is considered a best practice.  Faculty make professional and personal information about themselves available online to their students in a number of formats e.g. vitae, written autobiographical sketch, Web site, podcast, and/or video. The problem with the online format is that a significant number of faculty do not have the skills that are needed to create a professional looking self-introduction and are not satisfied with the quality of their online self-introduction. Implementing an ePortrait practice allows us to provide faculty with a quality online self-introduction. Additionally, this practice enhances faculty knowledge of digital media creation and  provides an opportunity for QU Online staff to engage in an enjoyable project with the faculty in a new form of professional development.

The first ePortraits we made were of staff members from our own instructional design team who teach online as adjunct faculty.  We were able to develop a scalable process and come up with examples to show the faculty. We created an invitation to ePortraits and a guide for how to prepare and what to expect such as time commitment. Our goal is to create one ePortrait per online faculty.

In summary, ePortaits is a scalable project that every institution could use to enhance faculty satisfaction and increase instructor presence in online courses. The Faculty ePortrait Guide and Example ePortrait should be helpful for getting started.