What is "teacher centered design"? Technology solutions designed to address specific problems faced by teachers may be considered to be "teacher centered design." The electronic portfolio is one of the best examples of teacher centered design. While portfolios are considered to be a powerful and effective method of teaching and assessment, managing the traditional (paper-based) portfolio is a teachers nightmare. The portfolio's 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!). As such, the electronic portfolio is a good example of teacher centered design.

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.