Website E-Portfolio Instructions

Website E-Portfolio 

 

Throughout the semester, you will be learning how to compose, design, and advocate. As an ongoing semester project, you will create, design, and maintain a website that will serve as a semester portfolio. A portfolio is used by many disciplines to showcase a student or employee's work. They are common for educators, artists, web developers, advertisers, and so on. Think of this as an opportunity to collect, reflect upon, and showcase your work this semester.

 

All major assignments will be featured in your e-portfolio.  You can add additional links and design it any way you want—with stipulation that all semester’s work be able to be found and accessed on this website.  Keep in mind that this is an academic, professional website. Think carefully about the rhetorical choices you make about the presentation of yourself and your subject of interest.

 

Your homepage will be worth 5% of your grade, and the web portfolio is worth 15% of the grade.

 

Compose: The E-Portfolio will be an ongoing assignment due during finals week. Using Microsoft SharePoint, FrontPage or a compatible product, create a website that represents how you understand and appreciate the topic/subject you have chosen. 

 

Design:  Be absolutely sure to save and collect all the assignments you have completed this semester. The E-Portfolio will consist of completed assignments, i.e. papers, presentations, posters, relevant in-class assignments, etc. You must make any and all corrections to papers, assignments etc. prior to uploading; once receiving graded work that contains suggestions for improvement, the corrections must then be made before the assignment can be uploaded.

 

At minimum, the e-portfolio should contain the following:

•      Homepage

•      Genre analysis

•      Literature review and research report

•      Collaboratory documents

•      Online Opinion Piece

You may post other materials relevant to these projects, and other assignments as desired.

 Design Plan:

 What typeface and colors will you use?  Will you use graphics, pictures, and images?  

• In what order will you arrange your ideas?  
• How you will use logos, pathos, and ethos?  
• How you will produce and test the website and its navigation?
• Where on your website will you post or make your assignments available?   

Product Testing:

You will need to test your website repeatedly with different browsers to see if it works!

Advocate: The E-Portfolio is designed to provide you a forum by which to showcase your accomplishments and breakthroughs throughout the semester so that you may understand how your connection to the community begins in the classroom.   

(Source: http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/ENGL1312/paper_1.htm )

Advice for Students using Technology

Save early, save often, save in multiple places. Losing material because of computer crashes, disk problems, etc. is never an excuse for late or incomplete assignments.

(Source: http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/engl1312/syllabus.htm )

Instructor Web Site

This site contains____________ courses.

Here, students can

• view their syllabus, course schedule, project descriptions, and supplemental materials
• contribute to discussions through blogs and forums
• turn in assignments
• keep up to date on the course through an RSS feed
• comment on all content, including assignments

This course site is developed in ___________ and should meet ______ accessibility guidelines. If you have trouble accessing the site, please contact me.

(Source: http://instructors.cwrl.utexas.edu/spinuzzi/ )

Facebook has big potential for teaching and learning

( Source: http://spinuzzi.blogspot.com/2007/06/facebook-vs-blackboard.html )

Checking Facebook out today, I notice that BJ Fogg from Stanford has set up a Facebook group on "Teaching and learning with Facebook." He lists three main advantages of using Facebook:

Compared to other online systems, Facebook's tools for groups are limited. Facebook offers no wiki, no group notifications, no applications you can install on a group page. Despite the current limitations (which we all hope will change soon), Facebook has big potential for teaching and learning. 

Facebook offers three clear advantages over any other solution:

#1. Our students use Facebook and like it 
In most cases our students are already on Facebook. They hang out here. They like it. As teachers we bring our expertise and learning processes into their world. 

#2. The social connections are built in
Facebook maps out students' social connections. This can be used in many ways, such as having students get peer feedback on their work. (The value of Facebook's Social Graph is a big topic, which we'll explore together in the coming weeks.)

#3. New applications launched daily
Facebook is adding applications faster than any other company. It seems that most days someone posts a new app that benefits teaching and learning. Soon we'll have a wealth of options. Most important: All this functionality will be integrated with social connections. (This last idea probably should be point #4.)

( Source: http://spinuzzi.blogspot.com/2007/06/facebook-vs-blackboard.html )

Website E-Portfolio

Website E-Portfolio (ongoing all semester): Students will create, design, and maintain a personal website that will serve as a semester portfolio. All assignments, essays, and writing will be stored and linked. As assignments are completed, they will be uploaded. Students can add additional links and design the E-portfolio any way they want--with the stipulation that all of the semester’s work be accessible through the student's homepage. The student's e-portfolio functions as a comprehensive final examination. (Source: http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/engl1312/syllabus.htm )

Web Enhanced Class

This course is taught as a web-enhanced class--with regular face-to-face meetings for lecture and discussion, and the rest of the course utilizing Internet. This provides students with permanent access to the syllabus, supplemental reading materials, e-mail, and discussion groups. It is vital that students check and participate in Facebook discussion consistently as it is an integral part of the course. (Source: http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/engl1312/syllabus.htm )

Rewrite Policy

Rewrite policy: Students will be requested to rewrite assignments that are not of acceptable quality. Requested rewrites are due within 5 calendar days of request. No late or rewrite penalty will be assessed on timely rewrites. Rewrites are an important part of the instructional process, so there is no option to decline a rewrite. Requested rewrites not completed with five days fall to a "zero" (not an "F"). Students are also encouraged to rewrite and improve any work in their E-Portfolio at any time before the next assignment is due.  (Source: http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/engl1312/syllabus.htm )

Use of Technology

If home access is not possible, arrangements can be made to use a computer regularly on campus in order to complete the work. Student computer labs are available all over campus, i.e. bioethics, and the library , but schedules do vary. A great deal of work will be done online, and not having access to a computer will not be an excuse for incomplete or late assignments.

Technology problems are also not an excuse for work that is late or missing. Students need to get into the habit of completing assignments for this course well before the due date to allow time for dealing with technology problems. Expect that at some time, the network will be down, computers will malfunction, or some other small catastrophe will occur. If students are prepared ahead of time, they can go to their alternative plan, i.e. a friends house who has an internet connected computer, a coffee shop or store with wi-fi access(take your laptop) or a Kinkos which allows for computer rental by the hour..The choice is up to the student, but students are encouraged to always have a technology backup plan.

(Source: http://wiki.utep.edu/display/0311text/ENGL+1311+syllabus,+Fall,+2009 )

Netiquette

Always consider audience. Remember that members of the class and the instructor will be reading any postings.

Respect and courtesy must be provided to classmates and to instructor at all times. No harassment or inappropriate postings will be tolerated. Such activities are against University regulations and will be referred to the Dean of Students for possible disciplinary action.

Do not use inappropriate language, all capital letters, mixed capital and lower case letters, smileys, or other inappropriate language short cuts. 

Online entries should be written in Standard English with edited spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

When reacting to someone else’s message, address the ideas, not the person. Post only what anyone would comfortably state in a face-to-face situation.

Be sure to read everyone’s responses before posting. Avoid repetition of what someone else has already said. Add something new to the discussion!

No credit will be received for yes/no answers. Posts should justify positions and provide specific examples. 

Students must demonstrate that they have read the assignment and their classmates’ comments carefully and thoughtfully.

Be sure to post in a timely fashion to receive credit for the discussion. Late postings will not receive full credit. Pay close attention to the posted deadlines.

Facebook and your web portfolios are public Internet venues; all postings should be considered public. Students should have no assumption of privacy for anything posted anywhere on line.

(Source: http://wiki.utep.edu/display/0311text/ENGL+1311+syllabus,+Fall,+2009 )

Group Assignments

Group Assignments can sometimes create tricky situations. Some students don’t always “pull their weight” and this upsets group members that are doing their work and being good contributors to the group. Despite this, Group Assignments are valuable because they help students work together for a common goal. GROUP work is a “professional life” reality and learning how to work in a GROUP will be central to one of the projects in this class. Students who are not doing their share of the GROUP work can be "voted off of the island" and will have to complete the entire work of a GROUP ASSIGNMENT on their own.

(Source: http://wiki.utep.edu/display/0311text/ENGL+1311+syllabus,+Fall,+2009 )

Can Facebook Replace Blackboard

Can Facebook replace Blackboard? Maybe! 

Blackboard suffers from slow development, poor aesthetic design, poor social networking and student engagement interaction design. Its main advantage is that it is secure and students are automatically signed up in their classes, but if a student fails to pay his/her fees on time, they no longer have access to Blackboard -which can create a bump in the students progress in the class.

Facebook, which has great scalability and development, good aesthetic and interaction design, and a huge base. You can set up private and public groups, create events, etc. Students are familiar with the Facebook interface, and since it is a platform they are comfortable with, their engagement level in the course can increase.

You can't post grades in Facebook, but you can use Blackboard's separate secure gradebook. You can't give multiple choice exams or quizzes in Facebook, but you can in Blackboard.

In terms of privacy issues, the student of today is quite adept at self-censoring information that they post in public.
By posting drafts of assignments and essays, students benefit from peer review and are often more conscious and careful with their writing, since they know it will be seen by everyone, not just the instructor. 

(Source: http://spinuzzi.blogspot.com/2007/06/facebook-vs-blackboard.html )

Facebook Discussion Board

Throughout the semester we will post multiple articles, statements, ideas, etc. to our  Facebook page. You are asked to go to the Facebook site, and discuss your thoughts on these  posted items at your leisure. You will be graded based on your input into the discussions. Each  time you make a post, it will be evaluated on its contribution to the knowledge of the area. You  will be graded on both the quality of your posts, and the quantity of your posts .  You may post on any given topic up to two weeks after it is posted (all posts after two weeks,  will not be graded).

(Source: http://www.rpts.tamu.edu/Courses/202/Syllabus%20Fall%202009.pdf )

Instructor Responsibilities

I see my primary responsibility to lead, guide, and motivate a group of committed and 
dedicated students in the learning process, and to determine the extent to which students have mastered the material covered in this course. I am committed to this task. By signing up for this course, you have accepted the responsibility of being an active learner and of participating in the classroom discussion. Most importantly, students are expected to be committed to learning the subject matter. If you are not open to new ideas, or are not committed, expect your grade to reflect this. 

Grades are a carrot that encourages learning. While I will not hesitate to give a poor grade when your performance indicates that you have not learned the material, I want to see everyone do well. Thus, I will do my best to help you understand the topics and to do well on the exams. I realize that you have a busy schedule and often face difficulty in getting in enough time to study. This makes it all the more important to get involved while you are here. 

We are going to have fun but expect to work hard. In the past I have found that students in my courses experience unpleasant surprises on tests because they mistake my easy-going personality for an easy-going tester. I don't want this to happen to you, so for your sake put in the time that you need to really know the material. More than anything, this means reading the textbook instructions for the assignments. Just coming to class (and pretending to do the work or coming up with excuses for why you did not complete the work) is not going to work very well for you in this course.

(Source: http://www.marietta.edu/~delemeeg/econ375/SyllabusFall2009.pdf )

Facebook Group Discussion Board

I’ve created a Facebook group for the course that will host online discussions regarding course  material and current___________ events. If you haven’t done so already, please sign up for  a Facebook account and look for an invitation to join the ___________ group. 

Discussion questions based on outside readings/videos/podcasts/etc. will be posted throughout the semester. You are expected to reply to the postings according to the following protocols and grading rubric: 

(1) Protocol for posting threads and contributing to an online discussion are as follows: 

Postings should be evenly distributed during the discussion period (not  concentrated all on one day or at the beginning and/or end of the period). 

Postings should be a minimum of one short paragraph and a maximum of two  paragraphs. 

Avoid postings that are limited to 'I agree' or 'great idea', etc. If you agree (or  disagree) with a posting then say why you agree by supporting your statement with  concepts from the readings or by bringing in a related example or experience.   Address the questions as much as possible (don't let the discussion stray). 

Try to use quotes from the articles that support your postings. Include page  numbers when you do that. 

Build on others responses to create threads. 

Bring in related prior knowledge (work experience, prior coursework, readings, etc.) 

Use proper etiquette (proper language, typing, etc.). 

(Source: http://www.marietta.edu/~delemeeg/econ375/SyllabusFall2009.pdf )

TIme Expectations

This is an interactive course where participation is key to success. Many of you will achieve the course objectives as you work on “Learning Practices” in solitude, however interacting and responding to learning practices with your peers is important as well. You can expect to  devote at least 5-8 hours per week to the activities of this course. Each week’s activities will require you to participate at least 3-4 times in asynchronous “blog” communications called "reflection practices." (Source: http://atlantisrisingcampus.us/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/Digital-Storytelling-Sylllabus.pdf )

Posting Online and Discussion Boards

Keep postings professional and related to the content of the course. No personal names should be used. Be careful not to use this area to gripe about your co-workers, leaders or life! This is not a private area of communication. When presenting challenges, barriers, concerns, consider presenting it as an opportunity to learn from others rather than defending limitations. 

Be generous about positive comments as well making an effort to share experiences and resource links that may help others see a new path of possibility in moving things forward!

(Source: http://atlantisrisingcampus.us/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/Digital-Storytelling-Sylllabus.pdf )

Research on how to use Twitter in education

Research on how to use Twitter in education http://twitter.com/sowk300 

Ice Breaker -Your homework assignment is to use and become familiar with your classmates through Twitter. (See below for some additional Twitter info, but post (tweet) at least 10 times over the weekend.) You should also read How Twittering Creates a Social Sixth Sense Clive Thompson, from Wired and Friends Swap Twitters and Frustration&Wall Street Journal. These are both short and should only take you 15 minutes to read. If you are looking for classmates to follow you should go to my Twitter profile and add in some of your classmates. You don’t necessarily need to follow everyone in the class but add in at least ten to get the Twitter experience. You can also choose to follow people who are not in our class. There are several personalities on Twitter if you would like to follow them. Barack Obama or John Edwards for example, if you find others leave them in the comments. Two other notes on Twitter. To make you Twitter experience better you should get a Twitter client for your computer or perhaps integrate it with your Facebook page. Finally, note that if you want to block people or make your tweets (posts) private Twitter enables this function. 

(source: http://outsidethetext.com/trace/38/)

Track a Word: Through Twitter you can “track” a word. This will subscribe you to any post which contains said word. So, for example a student could be interested in how a particular word is used. They can track the word, and see the varied phrases in which people use it. Or, you can track an event, a proper name (I track Derrida for example), a movie title, a store name see how many people a day tweet that they are at or on their way to a Starbucks. (To do this send the message “track Starbucks” to Twitter, rather than posting the update “track Starbucks” you will now receive all messages with the word “Starbucks.”)  

Classroom Community: Once students started twittering I think they developed a sense of each other as people beyond the classroom space, rather than just students they saw twice a week for an hour and a half. This carried with it a range of benefits, from more productive classroom conversations (people were more willing to talk, and more respectful of others), and also helped me to understand what type of students they were.  

Get a Sense of the World: You can have students look at the Public Timeline of Twitter. This is the place where all public messages get posted. The “noise” ratio here is pretty high, but one gets a sense of how varied are the things people are doing around the globe. Just a quick look at the timeline shows a range of languages, although English is still the predominate one. Additionally the public timeline serves as a sort of quick measure of what people are paying attention to.  

Follow a Professional: Students can follow someone else who is on Twitter, who interests them. Grammar: Surprisingly Twitter is actually good for teaching grammar. Why? Because of its short form those who tweet often abbreviate and abuse grammar rules, developing their own unique “twitter rules.” This helps to demonstrate, both how all communication needs rules/structure and how important something like a comma or a period can be. (Some Tweets become really ambiguous because of their lack of punctuation.)  

Maximizing the Teachable Moment: It is often hard to teach in context, Twitter allows you to do this, but better yet, allows your students to do it for you (a way that others will hear perhaps).  

Public NotePad: Twitter is really good for sharing short inspirations, thoughts that just popped into your head. Not only are they recorded, because you can go back and look at them, but you can also get inspiration from others. This is really useful for any “creative” based class. 

(source: http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia/ )

YOUR IDEAS, EVALUATIONS, ETC.

1. In general, your ideas, comments, suggestions, questions, etc. are welcome. Your discretion in these matters is expected, however. No part of your grade will be based on anything other than your coursework.  

2. You are encouraged to take advantage of instructor office hours for help with coursework or anything else connected with the course and your progress.  

3. Class lab time is expected to be spent in lab work. Lab time is not free time. Attendance and honest work on assignments are required. Work at home will be required in addition to work during lab times (work at home should not substitute for work during lab periods).  

4. Policy on Class Participation: It is up to the student whether s/he chooses to actively participate in class via the completion of readings, assignments, quizzes and discussion. However, you are likely to acquire and retain more knowledge, and to enjoy your classroom and online learning experience more, if you are actively engaged in the course. Thus, students are STRONGLY encouraged to complete all readings and assignments, to challenge themselves and to post questions or respond to questions and posts on the discussion board on a weekly basis. (source:http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/syllab-4.htm)  

5. This course is taught as a web-enhanced class--with regular face-to-face meetings for lecture and discussion, and the rest of the course utilizing the Internet and social work computer lab. This provides students with permanent access to the syllabus, supplemental reading materials, e-mail, and discussion groups. (source:http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/engl1312/syllabus.htm)