Daily Post — 3/12/15

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Electronic PORTFOLIOS

Course Description: Transcripts and resumes in the 21st century have to be more than a piece of paper.  This is not only because digital technology is ubiquitous, but also because digital technology allows us to represent ourselves in more multi-dimensional ways than we can in print alone.  This in turn allows those who assess or evaluate us to have a richer and more accurate picture of who we are and our capabilities, experiences, and accomplishments.

In this class students will learn how to assemble “learning portfolios” (created for personal reflective purposes) and “presentational portfolios” (created for external audiences such as prospective employers, instructors, peers, or others).

This is an experimental one-credit course on building electronic portfolios (e-portfolios) using the … platform. Students will get training on how to use the … as well as some training on basic tools for image layout and video/audio editing.  However, the primary focus of the course is on collecting and organizing digital artifacts, selecting items for specific purposes, and writing reflective self-assessments, biographical self-introductions, and cover letters.

Students will be reading articles and texts on electronic portfolios as well as viewing and critiquing each other’s work. Based on the readings and discussions the class will formulate the rubric we will use to evaluate the portfolios produced by each student at the end of the semester.

Project
Design two electronic portfolios:

one to present as your “educational self-portrait”, meaning the learning experiences you have had in the past that significantly shaped the way you think, act, or feel, and

one to present to a prospective employer showcasing your skills, knowledge, and achievements.

Both portfolios must be supported with a variety of “evidence” from such areas as academics, sports, arts, fieldwork, community service, or any other activities that effectively represent you.

The material evidence for your portfolios will be digital:

•    Documents (things you have written, things others have written about you, or writings by others that have meant something significant to you),
•    Images (photos and graphics that you created, or ones created by others that have a special meaning for you), and
•    Audio/Video clips (clips that you created, or ones created by others that have a special meaning for you).

Both portfolios also need to contain your reflections on the significance of, and relationship between, the artifacts you have collected, and how they contribute to the representation you are creating.

Process

Collect: The first step in the process is to collect as many potential artifacts as you can. You can create these items in the ePortfolio tool you are using, or upload into your ePortfolio tool things created elsewhere. It is a good idea to keep your material varied (images, texts, audio/video,
etc.). As you collect your material, it is also good to think about how each artifact could fit into the “portrait” you want to create. It is important to start out with more material than you will eventually need. That way you will have flexibility when you get to the next step. Having fifteen to twenty items (or more) to choose from is a good idea.

Select: Go through the material you have collected and pick out the artifacts that work well together to create the theme of your ePortfolio. The selection process should allow you to create a coherent narrative or story for the reader about your learning experiences.  This is not to suggest that you create a linear story (first this happened, then that, then that, etc.).
Instead, make your artifacts relate in interesting ways. For example, a photograph may have a connection to a paper you wrote. Or a description of an event may have an audio track associated with it. Or a line in a poem may be connected to a map of a place you have visited. The selection process is where you begin to weave together the “educational self-portrait” out of the various artifact in your ePortfolio.

Reflect: The three steps here are not mutually exclusive. You will probably begin reflecting even as you start collecting your artifacts or weaving them together in the selection process. But the final reflection you write (or record, if you prefer audio) will be what holds the ePortfolio together. Here are some questions to consider in your reflection:

•    Why did you pick the artifacts you picked?
•    What is their relationship to each other?
•    How do they coalesce to constitute your “educational self-portrait”?
•    How do you evaluate your own ePortfolio?
•    How do you evaluate the experience of putting it together?\

The reflection document may be a sort of introduction-and-conclusion rolled into one. Or you may prefer to have two separate documents (or recordings) – the traditional introduction at the beginning and conclusion at the end. In either case, this is your chance to explain what you have created and give your own perspective on the work you have done.

•    Collect a lot of artifacts before you start building your ePortfolio (starting out with more than you need is much easier than struggling to “bulk out” an anemic collection).
•    Be creative. Pick things that are meaningful to you, and things about which you have something to say.
•    Look for “aha!” moments and learn from the process as you are putting this project together.
•    Imagine creating an ePortfolio at the end of each year you are at UVa, and this being your first one.
•    Create something that shows where you are coming from as you begin your time at UVa.
•    8-10 Artifacts,
•    1 “About me” page
•    1 “Contact info” page
•    1 “Reflection” (Introduction / Conclusion, or combined into one)

ePortfolios are highly individual and creative products based on specific assignments, in specific contexts, at specific institutions. Using Google to search “sample ePortfolios” and “sample PebblePad ePortfolios” produces an interesting sense of what other institutions are doing. We encourage you to look around on the Web to get ideas of what might be possible, while  keeping in mind the specific assignment and specific tool we are testing for this course.