ePortfolios as Literacy Arguments “Documenting Learning. Electronic Portfolios: Engaging Today's Students in Higher Education” by Flickr user Giulia Forsythe Dave Fisher Joonna Trapp Emory Writing Program 14 August password: portfolio

What is an ePortfolio “Stacks of Folios - University of Chicago” by Flickr user Sharat Ganapati 2

Folio Thinking  What is an ePortfolio?  Why would you want to use one in your course or program?  What experience have you had with portfolios before. Was it positive or negative? Why? “Thinking” designed by Joe Shelton from the Noun Project 3

Outcomes By the time you’ve finished this workshop you’ll be able to  Create and organize a mini-portfolio using a free drag-and- drop tool  Explain the differences between a learning portfolio and a presentation portfolio  Develop curricular maps, learning goals and outcomes, learning activities, and assessment practices that are “constructively aligned” and “portfolio friendly”  Draft a scoring guide for assessing an ePortfolio or the artifacts therein  Design the broad outlines of a course that engages students in collection, selection, reflection, and connection  List some of the affordances and constraints of several ePortfolio platforms 4

A recent study conducted by the Association of Authentic, Experiential, Evidenced-Based Learning (AAEEBL) found that in 2012 more students are producing ePortfolios than ever before. In 2011, 15% of respondents reported that % of students at their institutions had ePortfolios. In 2012, about 28% reported that % of students at their institutions are building ePortfolios. There also appears to be movement away from ePortfolios focused on a single course toward those that are program- based. (Chen, Brown, & Gordon, p. 133). The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) recent paper titled: “It Takes More than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success” states that “ more than 4 in 5 employers say an electronic portfolio would be useful to them in ensuring that job applicants have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in their company or organization.” 5

Discourses “A Discourse is a sort of 'identity kit' which comes complete with the appropriate costume and instructions on how to act, talk, and often write, so as to take on a particular social role that others will recognize. Imagine what an identity kit to play the role of Sherlock Holmes would involve: certain clothes, certain ways of using language (oral language and print), certain attitudes and beliefs, allegiance to a certain life style, and certain ways of interacting with others. We can call all these factors together, as they are integrated around the identity of 'Sherlock Holmes, Master Detective' the 'Sherlock Holmes Discourse.’ This example also makes clear that ‘Discourse’... does not involve just talk or just language.” Gee, J. P. (1990). Social linguistics and literacies: ideology in discourses. New York: Routledge. 6

Discourses Gee, J. P. (1990). Social linguistics and literacies: ideology in discourses. New York: Routledge. “Another way to look at Discourses is that they are always ways of displaying (through words, actions, values and beliefs) membership in a particular social group or social network (people who associate with each other around a common set of interests, goals and activities).” 7

What is an ePortfolio? ePortfolios are multimodal compositions in which people argue that they are members of one or more Discourses by curating a collection of their performances. To create ePortfolios, people Collect artifacts from throughout their careers Select artifacts from that collection that align with the activity of the Discourses they want to join or with which they want continue their involvement Reflect, explain, or argue that their selections qualify them as a member of the Discourse Design, build, and publish a multimodal composition that embodies their central arguments 8

What is an ePortfolio What Is an ePortfolio? N.p., Film. 9

Where to ePortfolios work best? Evaluate performance or quality of learning in courses that emphasize  Clinical practice  Scientific methods  Writing or written analysis  Creativity  Craft 10

Learning/Process Portfolios  to show growth or change over time  to help develop process skills such as self-evaluation and goal-setting  to identify strengths and weaknesses  to track the development of one more products/performances Mueller, Jon. “Portfolios (Authentic Assessment Toolbox).” N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Aug

Presentation Portfolios  to showcase end-of-year/semester accomplishments  to prepare a sample of best work for employment or college admission  to showcase student perceptions of favorite, best or most important work  to communicate a student's current aptitudes to future teachers Mueller, Jon. “Portfolios (Authentic Assessment Toolbox).” N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Aug

Evaluation Portfolios  to document achievement for grading purposes  to document progress towards standards  to place students appropriately Mueller, Jon. “Portfolios (Authentic Assessment Toolbox).” N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Aug

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TraditionalPortfolio Measures student's ability at one time Measures student's ability over time Done by teacher alone; student often unaware of criteria Done by teacher and student; student aware of criteria Conducted outside instruction Embedded in instruction Assigns student a gradeInvolves student in own assessment Does not capture the range of student's language ability Captures many facets of language learning performance Does not include the teacher's knowledge of student as a learner Allows for expression of teacher's knowledge of student as learner Does not give student responsibility Student learns how to take responsibility National Capital Language Resource Center. “Portfolio Assessment.” N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Aug Authentic Assessment 19

Portfolio Characteristics  Collection of texts  Range of performances  Delayed evaluation promoting time for revision  Selection of texts  Student-centered control  Reflection and self-assessment  Growth along specific parameters (e.g., speaking/conversation)  Development over time which provides evidence of progress 20

Possible Artifact s Mueller, Jon. “Portfolios (Authentic Assessment Toolbox).” N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Aug

Folio Thinking  What do you envision as the purpose for the ePortfolio you’re contemplating?  Whom do you see as the primary audience for the portfolio? What are this audience’s expectations?  Who are the secondary audiences? What are their expectations? On the “What is an ePortfolio?” page of your mini portfolio, write a paragraph in which you answer these questions