Tag Archives: Integrative ePortfolio

Out of the Assignment Mindset

Starting this winter session, the consultants will be working with WRT 102 professors to help them and their students understand how to create model WRT 102 ePortfolios. According to our eportfolio evaluation survey results, many students view ePortfolio as an assignment. Students upload links to their documents and call it a day. I’ve heard that many students were afraid to add design to their ePortfolios because their professor would be against it. We want students to think beyond that and realize it’s a place for them showcase their design and organization skills, include hobbies, work, goals and more. Students with model ePortfolios understand this, so we studied what makes model ePortfolios great.

A model ePortfolio has a nice welcome page that includes a picture and a sentence that one lives by. A model eportfolio has an about me section which tells viewers who the author is in five short facts/sentences. The about me section also includes a picture of the author. A banner and colored background are also highly desirable.

We created a document that explains these sections and included links to Writing 102 students who demonstrated these skills so professors and students can get an idea of how to design their own ePortfolios. We’re not saying that all students have to make their ePortfolios alike. We encourage creativity to the fullest.

We also included links to writing students with excellent cover pages. We want students to post short descriptions about their essay and try to think of a picture that helps describe it best. While this seems like a hard task, it forces the students to reflect on what the essay is actually about. Reflection is one of the main things we look to achieve with eportfolios.

After working with WRT 102, we plan on taking a look at other courses and encouraging creativity to get students and professors out of the assignment mindset.

Any suggestions?