Teacher Centered Design: The electronic portfolio is a good example of a teacher-centered design in that it is a solution designed to address a specific problem faced by teachers: managing the traditional (paper-based) portfolio method of teaching and assessment. The portfolio is a very successful pedagogical tool. However, its bulk and logistical complexity have frequently proven it to be too impractical to implement. The electronic version attempts to solve these problems through document organization, archiving, and portability. (No more mounds of manila folders to schlep around!).

On the Internet, the "web-based electronic portfolio" (web-folio) goes even further by addressing another problem teachers face with portfolios: peer-interaction between students. While the use of portfolios for assessment involves delivery of documents (student-to-assessor), the use of portfolios for teaching is heavily sustained by a more dynamic web of communications (student-to-student, student-to-instructor, etc.).

For the instructor, the electronic portfolio relieves burdens that inhibit the use of what is otherwise a powerful pedagogical tool. As part of an integrated system, the electronic portfolio (or the "integrated-folio"), supports the instructor by not only sustaining the course, but also maintaining cumulative data (student work, instructor/evaluator communications, etc.) for teacher research purposes.