By Ashley Bergner, photo/graphics editor

When I discovered that I had to buy LiveText for a class last fall, my first inclination was to start complaining, particularly about the price. The program – which lets students store their work online and create visual portfolios – costs about $100.

Although that’s a lot of money for a cash-strapped college student, I decided that it wasn’t right to complain until I had given the program a chance. I would use the program for a semester and see what it had to offer.

Now that I’ve used the program, I can honestly say that it wasn’t worth the money I paid for it, and the services the program offers can be found for free or much cheaper elsewhere.

First, I was disappointed in the portfolio feature of LiveText. Although it lets students create an online portfolio, there aren’t many templates to choose from, and the templates that are available don’t offer many options for modification. This may be especially frustrating for art and graphic design students, who want to give potential employers a taste of their personal design style.

Also, not just anyone can access your LiveText portfolio – you have to send them a visitor’s pass that allows them to look at your materials. They have to go to the LiveText site and then enter a special code.

I was able to create an online portfolio for free at Wix.com. It was much easier to add my own photos and graphics to the site, and it offered a nice selection of clip art. Many different templates are available on Wix, allowing students to express their personal style, whether it be formal and businesslike, or artsy and fun. It is also easier to share your Wix portfolio with potential employers. You can just send them the URL, letting them go directly to the Web page.

Other features of LiveText – such as uploading documents and photos – can be found elsewhere for free. Issuu.com allows students to upload documents, and Flickr.com allows students to upload photos. I uploaded several projects to these sites and linked them to my Wix portfolio, again for free.

Alternatively, students can use flash drives to store files they’d like to save. These devices are relatively inexpensive (you can buy an 8 GB flash drive on Walmart.com for about $20). You can also find a 500 GB portable hard drive for about $80. And unlike LiveText, these don’t have to be renewed. LiveText expires after five years, and it costs $55 to renew the program for three years.

I haven’t logged into my LiveText account since last semester, and I probably won’t access it after I graduate in May. Maybe if I had purchased LiveText as a freshman, and more of my instructors had required it, I would have gotten more use out of the program. But at least for me, LiveText wasn’t worth the price tag. College students often have limited funds, and Friends University should encourage students to take advantage of free services like Wix.com or inexpensive devices like flash drives, instead of requiring them to purchase LiveText.