Schools and districts using the Portfolios feature with SpacesEDU Pro have the option to enable Portfolio Sharing, which allows students and teachers to generate a publicly-accessible link for any portfolio. With this URL, Portfolios can be:
linked directly within other platforms
included in scholarship and post-secondary applications
sent to family members that haven't created a SpacesEDU account yet
shared for any other reason you might want to share a portfolio outside of SpacesEDU!
To access the shareable link, simply look for the Share button within any portfolio as a teacher or student:
This option is only visible if your school is licensing the Portfolios feature, and you have the Portfolio URL Sharing option enabled. By default, URL Sharing is disabled.
If you're the administrator of a district or school currently licensing Portfolios, and you'd like to enable the URL Sharing option or adjust any of your settings, please send us a message with the option in the corner of your screen.
If you're not currently licensing Portfolios for SpacesEDU Pro. and you'd like to find out more, contact pro@spacesedu.com
What can be accessed using the share link?
Without needing to create an account, anyone can open the share link to access:
All posts that have been added to the portfolio
Any media attachments on posts
A menu to filter and view different portfolio sections
The summary statement, if one has been added at the top of the portfolio
The shared version of the portfolio does not include access to:
Reactions
Comments on posts, or comment attachments
The portfolio description or any attachments added by the administrator when configuring the portfolio template
The full steps to access the sharing option as a teacher or a student are outlined below, along with the customizable settings available for districts.
Security and Privacy
❗Always keep in mind that the portfolio URL is a public link, meaning anyone who has the URL will be able to access the portfolio content. There are two important best practices to follow when using shareable portfolios:
Be careful when sharing the link. Make sure you only send it to individuals or organizations that you trust, and never post the link on social media if the portfolio contains any private information or photos.
Be careful what you include in portfolios. Even if you're sharing with trusted parties, there is always a chance your link may be accessed by others. If you have shared links to a portfolio, avoid adding any sensitive personal information in posts (addresses, phone numbers, etc.).
Student account
To access portfolio sharing as a student:
Log in to your account, and click the Back or Home button at the top left if needed to reach the home screen
Click Portfolios at the top of the screen
The first time you open a portfolio, you'll see a full screen view of the portfolio description, with links to any attachments - click Get Started at the top right to begin adding new posts
You can go back and access this description and attachments later by clicking the i near the top right of the portfolio
Once you've added some content to the portfolio and you're ready to share, click the Share button (three interconnected dots) at the top right, then click Copy Link
From there, you can paste the link into an email, an application form, another website, or anywhere else you want!
Keep in mind that this is a public link accessible to anyone with the URL, so be careful to only share it with trusted parties.
As a security measure, each link is valid for 10 months from when it was first generated (the date when it was first accessed by a teacher or student). If you'd like to keep a link active for longer, you can open the sharing menu in that portfolio again (steps 1-4 above), then click Reset Expiration.
Teacher Account
Teachers can access the portfolio sharing URLs for all students on the same page:
Log in to your account, and click the Back or Home button at the top left if needed to reach the home screen
Click Portfolios at the top of the screen
Click any portfolio name
On the next page, you'll see a list of student names along the left-hand side - to access the sharing link for any student, click the share button (three interconnected dots) to the right of their name
Click Copy Link
From there, you can paste the link into an email, another website, or anywhere else you want!
Keep in mind that this is a public link accessible to anyone with the URL, so be careful to only share it with trusted parties.
As a security measure, each link is valid for 10 months from when it was first generated (the date when it was first accessed by a teacher or student). If you'd like to keep a link active for longer, you can open the sharing menu in that portfolio again (steps 1-4 above), then click Reset Expiration.
District Options
Because this feature allows content in student accounts to be exposed to the public Internet, the sharing option is disabled by default, even for districts using the portfolios feature.
The SpacesEDU support team can only enable this option at the district level (or for an independent school), with approval from your lead administrator.
Before enabling the option, we encourage you to review this feature for compliance with your own policies regarding access to student information, and share the security and privacy best practices with your teachers and students.
When enabling portfolio sharing, by default it will be enabled for all grades (including any students that do not have a grade level set on their accounts).
Optionally, you can request to limit this feature to only certain grades: if you choose to enable sharing for specific selected grades, the sharing options will be disabled for students in all other grades (and those with no grade selected).
If the option is enabled, both students and teachers will have the option to generate the share link for portfolios they can access.
It's not possible at this time to disable student access to the share link while keeping it active for teachers.
Have questions or suggestions? Start a chat with us in the corner of your screen - we're happy to help!