1. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Educational Portfolios: an Overview

2. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Session Outline Portfolio creators Student portfolio uses Portfolio scopes Portfolio parts Portfolio formats Pitfalls to avoid Break Workshop

3. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Portfolio Creators Creators: –Students Details on subsequent slides –Faculty For tenure review Benchmark course portfolios (current state of learning) Inquiry course portfolios (track change across sections) –Institutions Accreditation Recruiting

4. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Student Portfolio Scopes Within one class Within one major / across core courses Across an entire program or school

5. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Student Portfolio Uses Functions: – Career portfolios demonstrate skills and supplement resume and cover letter – Assessment portfolios help determine if students have mastered information – Developmental portfolios help students make connections and articulate the intangible Forms: –Paper, Web, CD-ROM, video, combination

6. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Career Portfolios Often viewed as “Electronic Resumes” Demonstrates skills, samples of work, pictures, etc. Allows employers to view the level of detail they want to see Motivating power: High: similar to a resume

7. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Career Portfolio: Dangers Resume and cover letter must stand on their own –Employers may not take time to look at them –Technology may be a barrier Too much “flash” and not enough “substance” Mid-level computer skills might not be good enough

8. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Career Portfolio: Example Lisa Abate (Student of Indiana University's Instructional Systems Technology program, which requires a final professional portfolio) Instructional Systems Technology

9. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Assessment Portfolios Determine if students have mastered information, skills, concepts Used to assess writing, studio or applied art, teaching materials, etc. Require collections of “artifacts”--papers, photos, drawings, lesson plans, etc. Mid-term and final assessment of learning Motivating power: Mid: similar to an exam

10. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Assessment Portfolios: Dangers Poorly expressed or nonexistent goals for the Portfolio Collecting too much information End of course may be too late May be redundant or inefficient, esp. for objectively-evaluated materials. –Do you really need a Portfolio to do the job?

11. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Assessment Portfolios: Example Mark Kenefick (Student of Indiana University's Instructional Systems Technology program, which requires a final professional portfolio) Instructional Systems Technology

12. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Developmental Portfolios Help students make connections and articulate the intangible Enhance experiential learning through reflection Help students make informed, intentional decisions MAKE STUDENTS THINK ! Motivating power: Low: similar to a journal

13. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Developmental Portfolios: Dangers Collection without reflections Runs risk of becoming “just another requirement” Must be completed thoughtfully to be beneficial Web format does not guarantee connections Students and faculty both need to understand why they are participating

14. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Developmental Portfolios: Example Kate Jenks (Student of Kalamazoo College, which requires an ongoing developmental portfolio)

15. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Portfolio “Types” Misnomer – most portfolios serve more than one purpose Need to address each purpose individually and consciously

16. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Portfolio Parts Comparing pfolios from several disciplines, most have the following features: Requirements (set by the college) Benchmarks (set by state or a board) Artifacts (collected student work) Reflections or annotations (by student) Comments (from professor or advisor) “Resume” view (for employers)

17. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Portfolio Formats Is the Technology Worth the Benefit?

18. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ “Paper” Portfolios Media Used –Word files – either printed or submitted electronically –Three-ring binder –Printed photos, clip art, brochures, etc. Advantages –Easiest to make – little or no software training needed –Highest resolution – good for visual artists –Students focus more on content Disadvantages –Usually only one copy exists; hard to share –Mistakes can be hard to fix

19. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Web Portfolios Media Used –Dreamweaver, SiteMaker, Contribute Advantages –Easy accessibility and storage –Cross-linking capabilities; audio/video –Improvement of computer skills Disadvantages –Software learning curve –Too much focus on format instead of content –Software, training, and storage costs –Bandwidth problems “Web pages” can be delivered online, or on disc or CD. Best for career portfolios.

20. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ CD/DVD Portfolios Media Used –Web design: Dreamweaver, Contribute, SiteMaker –Presentation: PowerPoint, Authorware, Flash –Audio/video: RealProducer, QuickTime Advantages –Similar to web portfolios –No bandwidth problems Disadvantages –Similar to web portfolios –Can’t be updated – you have to burn a new disk –Highest hardware costs (CD or DVD burners) PowerPoint is usually the easiest “rich” format for students to use.

21. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Video Portfolios Media Used –VHS or digital video camera –Audio/video editing and production software: Visual Communicator, Audition, RealProducer, QuickTime Advantages –Captures performances that do not translate to words Disadvantages –Not well indexed; little reflection; steep learning curve. –Better to do clips embedded in other portfolio type.

22. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Proprietary Formats Media Used –Dozens of programs exist that claim “out of the box” portfolio creation Advantages –Could eliminate formatting issues Disadvantages –Haven’t yet found one that really speaks to different portfolio uses –Expense

23. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ How to Choose? If the primary purpose of your portfolio is… Your best format choices are… Career presentationCD or Web, with images and video as appropriate Assessment“Paper,” PowerPoint, or Web Reflection“Paper” Unless students have a high degree of technical skills (or are supposed to develop them), use the following guidelines:

24. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Pitfalls to Avoid Portfolio goals not clear to faculty and/or students. Portfolios that try to do too much. Portfolios that try to work in isolation. Portfolios that over-use technology.

25. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Short Break

26. Emily Springfield 2004 http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/ePort/ Workshop Fill out Portfolio Program Creation Worksheet Swap with someone and critique/clarify