Due Date
While this project is due at the end of the semester, you are expected to work on it throughout the semester by adding assignments and other content as needed.
Assignment
Mindfully crafting your online presence and maintaining an electronic portfolio of your work are two important parts of being a contemporary scholar. An electronic teaching portfolio is also required as part of the Graduate Certificate in College Teaching. Through the semester you will collect artifacts and objects you create in the class and use them with your electronic portfolio.
Deliverables
- Explore your path to intellectual leadership, identifying the elements needed for an online presence and working on some of the technical pieces
- Collect weekly and project assignments throughout the semester in a digital portfolio
- By the end of the semester ensure your digital portfolio contains many of the elements required for the graduate teaching certificate in addition to assignment work
A portfolio is required for the Graduate Certification in College Teaching, a credential granted to those who satisfy the requirements, of which this course is one. For this class the required elements by the end of the semester are:
- Your weekly and project assignments
- A statement of teaching philosophy
- A space to begin to reflect on workshops and other professional development activities
Note: if you are interested in the Graduate Certification in College Teaching the College of Arts and Letters has a system that assists you with navigating the program located at http://achievements.webapp.msu.edu/
Assessment
I will be using the rubric provided by the Graduate School for assessing your digital portfolios at the end of the semester. Download the Digital Portfolio Assessment Rubric
What are Options for Portfolios?
The short answer to this question is that you can use whatever platform you’d like to use for a portfolio as long as it can be shared with me, however below I have outlined a few options that you might use, including why you might use them.
Video Overview of Portfolio Options
Option 1 – Humanities Commons – http://www.hcommons.org/
Humanities Commons (hcommons) is an opportunity to create a professional profile and portfolio in one space. A profile on hcommons is helpful as you work in your field, allowing you to both share your interests with others and network with like-minded scholars. There is also a website creation option in hcommons (a WordPress site) that allows you to create a site with navigation, theming, etc.
Info: Free, easy to use, social networking options. It is a more public space so if you are not comfortable doing your work more publicly then this site may not be the right one for your portfolio.
Option 2 – MSU Domains – http://www.msu.domains/
MSU Domains is a web hosting service provided by MSU and free for all graduate students and faculty at the university. MSU Domains is a fully functioning hosting package that allows open-source software installation, multiple domain names, databases, PHP, etc. It is a great option for more advanced portfolio builders and/or those who know they may want to use other digital tools in their work (e.g. Omeka, Drupal, etc.).
Info: Free, somewhat more difficult to learn. Variety of privacy options dictated by users, opportunities for expansion and other projects.
Option 3 – Google Drive and Sites – http://googleapps.msu.edu/
MSU provides the google apps for educators package that includes Drive, Docs, Spreadsheets, Sites, Classroom and Calendar. If you wish to capture your portfolio items somewhere easy to use/share, and with the ability to keep the documents private or only share with certain individuals. Drive documents can also be share widely if desired. Many students using Drive for a portfolio create a folder in their Drive called “AL883” or “Portfolio” and then arrange assignments and other documents within the folder. Alternatively, you can build a website using Google Sites which takes advantage of an easy web builder and the ability to directly connect to documents in your google drive.
Info: Free, simple and easy. Can be very private or public depending on settings.