LASE1559: ePortfolios

Collect, Select, Reflect

LASE1559 - Spring 2015 - Mondays 10:0 – 10:50 AM
Instructor: Yitna Firdyiwek (ybf2u@virginia.edu)
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Resumes in the 21st century have to be more than a piece of paper, not only because digital technology is ubiquitous, but also because it can represent us in a more multi-dimensional way than print can.  Those who need to evaluate and assess our experiences and capabilities, therefore, can get a better picture of us and our work.  

In this class we will show you how to leverage a digital portfolio platform to build dynamic presentations of yourself using artifacts that support your claims about your abilities, skills, knowledge, and experiences. You will learn how to assemble electronic portfolios tailored for particular audiences (peers, parents, instructors, prospective employers, etc.) and various purposes (educational, employment, etc.). 

The course will be broadly divided into three sections paralleling the three stages of the portfolio building process: "collection", "selection", and "reflection."  While these stages may overlap, typically, the first third of the semester will be devoted to collecting artifacts and categorizing them for ease of access.  In the second third of the term we will focus on selecting and assembling/linking/mashing artifacts for different audiences.  The last third of the term will be spent on producing your reflections on each of the e-portfolios (at least three) that you created. 

There is no traditional "content area" in this course which will be based on an “active learning” model of teaching. But there will be some reading including documentations for the tools we will be using, as well as some articles on the topic of electronic portfolios and their value as methods for taking ownership of one's own learning. Based on our discussions we will formulate a rubric which we will use to evaluate at the end of the semester the e-portfolios produced in the class.