OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I Core Assignment 2 Guidelines

Developing an Academic and Professional Electronic Portfolio

(NOTE: These instructions have a lot of links – and links are always changing, so if you find some invalid ones, please feel free to email me directly. Thank you!)

Objectives for this assignment: • Develop (or employ) technical skills and technology-based tools, including website design and

publishing, in support of the development of an academic and professional e-portfolio. • Demonstrate project management, design, and creativity skills through the development of your e-

portfolio. • Identify and illustrate your professional skills and competencies, in light of key skills associated

with the contemporary workplace. • Describe and illustrate key knowledge and skills (gained through the Organizational Leadership

Program), including the presentation of artifacts and reflective writing. • Develop a deeper understanding of learning theory, and how key knowledge and skills can be

effectively showcased in an online environment. • Demonstrate a variety of communication skills and best practices with respect to electronic

portfolio development.

Deliverable: For the purposes of Assignment #2, you will be providing me with an active web link to your Electronic Portfolio website. In developing your e-portfolio, you will follow the basic guidelines that I offer here in the assignment instructions. There is a fair amount of latitude for personal expression and creativity, and there are also specific content items and artifacts that you will want to include in your e-portfolio as outlined in this document.

Background: One central element of OGL 481/482 (throughout both Pro-Seminar I and Pro-Seminar II) will be

the development of an academic and professional Electronic Portfolio (EP). In Pro-Seminar II, you will also be able to explore and incorporate certain aspects of a learning portfolio into your creation – with a reflective / personal leadership developmental aspect to it.

In today’s digital age, the use of electronic portfolios is becoming standard practice for academics, students, and professionals alike. Electronic portfolios typically include information such as your professional background, education, career goals, and the identification of some of your key skills and accomplishments (along with various “artifacts” that demonstrate your proficiency in key skill areas). Much of this information is similar to what you might have developed for a professional networking site (such as linkedin.com). However, beyond what one might create for a networking site, EP’s generally go a little deeper in terms of the presentation of your specific skills and knowledge – and you have more control over the structure and presentation of your material, which of course is one advantage of having your own professional website.

Beyond an approach to organize you professional image online, EP’s generally also have a “learning portfolio” element. This aspect of an EP can take on many different forms depending on your goals (or the assignment requirements)! In a learning portfolio, it’s common to have things such as: A reflective element (such as a personal e-journal or blog); extensive details on your academic learning (or

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training and development / other learning experiences); learning tools and various learning assessment outcomes; other kinds of reflective content or personal developmental data, as applicable.

From a student’s perspective, e-portfolios can serve as dynamic, developmental spaces for representing your academic accomplishments and your professional “self” on the internet. They can also serve as a tool to help you enhance your technological competence and expand the repertoire of technology-based skills and tools under your command.

In future assignments, as you progress through your pro-seminar experience (in both Pro-Seminar I and Pro-seminar II) you will have opportunities to add to, and refine, your EP. In fact, you are already underway! The learning connections and organization of key knowledge and skills that you accomplished with Assignment #1 will serve as both a starting point and roadmap as you consider the organizational and even technological aspects of your EP website.

Electronic Portfolio / Website Design & Development Considerations: There are a number of considerations and decisions you’ll need to make as you go about creating

your EP. First, you’re basically creating a website (which, not so many years ago, would have required a significant amount of technical expertise)! Even if you consider your technology skills to be lacking, fear not! While your level of “technological savvy” may influence the decisions you’ll be making for the initial development of your EP, you’ll be successful in getting your EP launched, regardless of your technical skill level!

Although many of the criteria for this project are carefully described, there is a great deal of latitude in terms of execution; where your EP will be hosted, what your EP website will look like; navigation options; organization of content; media / multi-media options; among other things.

Creativity is as important as careful execution. Work carefully toward the goal of creating an engaging and meaningful EP. Your EP website should be a masterful effort of design and creativity – and a powerful tool for your own learning and development – as well as a platform for academic and professional presentation.

Since I’m not giving you an “exact formula” for how your final product will look and operate, you might want to do some “benchmarking” as you begin to consider some of the key elements that you want to shine through in your EP…

Getting Started! First things first. Before considering the parameters of this project, take some time to learn a little

about the concept of EP’s, and take a look at some examples of EP’s that students have created. Do a little informal, online research on “electronic portfolios.” You may be surprised at the number of links / resources that pop up!

Note: I’m providing you here with some links to various examples and information on e-portfolios. The problem, we all know, with linking to websites is that web links will inevitably become inactive over time – if you do see something that is not working, please let me know! It’s always my goal to provide you with the most up-to-date (not “up-to-fate”) instructional content! I appreciate your help here!

Following is some information to help you get started. I can’t wait to see what you come up with! • To spark your imagination, here’s a brief video ASU introduction to e-portfolios:

o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB1YFeNVMCU • Here, you’ll find brief introduction to the nature and purpose of e-portfolios:

o http://teachonline.asu.edu/2013/05/the-e-portfolio-revolution/ • Some complementary information from Penn State regarding portfolios in higher education:

o http://portfolio.psu.edu/about/ (be sure to check out some of the recommended readings listed here) and http://portfolio.psu.edu/best-practices-students/

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• To get your “creative juices flowing,” here are some examples of e-portfolios from ASU students. While the nature and structure of these examples aren’t necessarily the exact form that your EP will take (based on assignment criteria and your own goals), I think these are some good examples to check out as you go about benchmarking and coming up with some creative ideas for your own EP project!

o Academic e-portfolio examples (from ASU students): ! https://asu.digication.com/courtney_blackmer/Welcome/published ! https://asu.digication.com/sam_kaserer/Welcome/published

o Academic course-based e-portfolio example: ! https://bu.digication.com/winniehsieh_portfolio/Welcome/published

• Some additional e-portfolio examples: o http://lucaslovegrove.wordpress.com/ – This one has a particularly interesting “Artifacts

ASU provides an e-portfolio platform (digication.com) that is fairly simple and straightforward. As an ASU student, you can access this site here:

and Reflections” content area.

Now, you may be wondering, do you have any examples of e-portfolios developed by Organizational Leadership students in your Pro-Seminar courses? Ones that you particularly like? Yes, I do! And thank you for asking! And, since these links do disappear often over time, I’m hoping your e-portfolio is spectacular enough to include here for future students!

https://ashleylynmoser.weebly.com/ http://bearendon.weebly.com/ http://chouselogl2017.weebly.com/ http://mailelarson.weebly.com/ https://ronaldjordanhoon.weebly.com/

OK, did you love those as much as I do? One thing for sure, our Organizational Leadership students are incredible. And, if I haven’t said so lately, thank you for being such an inspirational group. All of the above students gave me permission to use their e-portfolios, and I hope you enjoyed them. Please keep in mind though, that I am constantly enhancing this assignment based on student feedback, so some of the older examples above might not follow the current version of the assignment instructions perfectly! Now let’s get down to the “nitty gritty” details of the assignment!

Completing Assignment #2 Now that you have done a little background research, the best first step might be to consider your

long term goals with respect to this opportunity. Consider your website development experience; consider your own unique vision and interest with respect to creating and maintaining your own presence on the web (for personal or professional reasons beyond the scope of this course); consider motivation level and the amount of time and effort you will be able to put into your e-portfolio development project.

Taking your own individual circumstances into consideration, the best first step is probably to decide on a hosting platform. Generally, this is the online space where you will design, develop, and publish your EP website.

EP Hosting: There are a couple of obvious first choices, especially if you have limited technology experience

(or little interest in developing that experience) – and depending on your long term vision for your EP: ASU’s e-portfolio development platform and Google Sites.

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http://asu.digication.com/ – You may have to log in with your ASURite ID and create an account. It looks like a very user-friendly interface, and a number of faculty have started using it in various courses. To see if it’s something you’re interested in using, you may just want to log in and play with it a bit.

http://sites.google.com/ – This well-supported and user-friendly website development system has the advantage of being part of the Google suite of products. If you’re developing a basic website, its user interface is good, and many students (without a lot of technological expertise) have used it for similar kinds of projects. Again, maybe the best idea is to have a sense of what you want to create, then go in, create a site and play with it for a while. See if it’s for you.

Beyond those, there are many other options. Some are free, and others may charge a fee for certain services. Beyond your own experiences and Google searches, here are some additional sources of information regarding possible hosting platform choices:

http://blogging.org/blog/top-25-free-hosting-companies/ – Deciding on a hosting platform for your website will also be an important decision that you will consider this week. This site is one of many that list some of the top free hosting companies.

Other sites that I have heard good things about (especially in the education realm for similar kinds of projects) are:

• http://www.jimdo.com/ • http://www.weebly.com/ • http://us.webnode.com/

Site Design Considerations:

Once you have decided on a hosting platform, you can start designing your site. First, you’ll probably want to consider the overall structure of your site. Here are some things to consider in terms of content areas (pages) that you will want to include in your EP:

• An “About Me” navigation tab: You’ve seen this kind of tab on websites before. This is an opportunity to talk a little about yourself, your background, your general interests, you goals, etc. You may also want to include some pictures, graphics, perhaps some favorite links, videos, etc. Be creative!

• A tab (or tabs) for Pro-Seminar I and Pro-Seminar II. It will be helpful to have access to some of your work from Pro-Seminar I and Pro-Seminar II for the purposes of EP development. Go ahead and create a tab for each course.

• A “Professional Skills & Knowledge” navigation tab. Under this heading, you will have a series of pages (maybe one page for each skill you want to showcase), and you will also include some specific “artifacts” that speak to the key skills and knowledge you chose to highlight. This is also where I want you to put in some significant effort in terms of creative and critical thinking! For more information on highlighting your skills, see the next section – “Highlighting Your Professional Skills.”

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• An “Organizational Leadership / Key Learnings Associated with Academic Coursework” content area. This is your space to include information about your degree efforts in the Organizational Leadership program! For more information on highlighting your skills, see the section, “Reflecting On Your Education” below.

• A “Professional Goals” navigation tab. Go ahead and create a “Professional Goals” navigation tab. You might include some information about your goals and ambitions, or maybe even some visuals, and other ways to represent your goals. If you don’t know what to include here, don’t worry too much about it. In Pro-Seminar II, you’ll be developing a Career Plan for inclusion here. For now, perhaps you can your current resume or some current career objectives.

(We will be revisiting the Professional Goals section of your EP in OGL 482 Pro-Seminar II.)

• Feel free to add other navigation tabs as applicable to your own interests, professional accomplishments, your current resume, goals, certifications, etc. Other aspects of your EP

are a reflection of you, and you should feel free to let your own creativity and personality shine through on its pages! Some suggestions might include a current Resume / C.V. or links to any other presence you may have on the internet already (such as a blog or a personal / professional website.)

As you are designing the layout of your site, it might be helpful to sketch it out visually on paper, and play with a couple of different ideas. I know, if you’re already familiar with web design, you probably know of a number of applications that can also help with the early design process. Goggling something like “website design” can yield an overwhelming number of hits. No worries, most of the website development platforms will help make the design process easier, and you’ll be able to select templates and a number of other tools to help create the look and feel you’re looking for. It is a good idea, though, to begin with a sense of how the pages will come together, and what kinds of links and functionality you would like to have.

Highlighting Your Professional Skills: The Professional Skills & Knowledge (Including Key Artifacts) section is one of the central

elements of your EP. Be sure to put some major thought into how you will highlight your professional skills for this assignment. How you approach this part of your EP (and the depth of content / context) will vary depending on how much professional experience you have accumulated. I’ve had students from their late teens to their late sixties – from across all walks of life and social circumstances. The links that I will provide below will give you a sense of what’s most important in terms of skills in the contemporary workplace. Those of you who have more professional experience will recognize these as indeed important – and it’s also true that there are more specialized skills that are required as you work your

Suggested Layout for E-Portfolio Personal Background – About Me Pro-Seminar I Reframing Organizations (Beneath this heading you can create some sub-tabs for various Pro-Seminar I artifacts – assignments, discussion topic responses, etc.) Pro-Seminar II Career / Life Management (Beneath this heading you can create some sub-tabs for various Pro-Seminar II content items and artifacts – next semester.) Professional Skills & Knowledge (Including Key Artifacts) (Beneath this heading you can create sub-tabs for “Highlighting Your Professional Skills” content items – see below.) Organizational Leadership / Key Learnings Associated with Academic Coursework (Including Key Artifacts) (Beneath this heading you can create sub-tabs for “Reflecting on your Education” content items – see below.) Professional Goals (We will be revisiting the Professional Goals section of your EP in OGL 498 Pro-Seminar II.) Resume / C.V. / Personal Blog / Etc.

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way “up the ladder” in your career field of choice. Again, when you get to OGL 482 Pro-Seminar II, you’ll have an opportunity to consider skills again, but for now, take a look at the following links. These may give you a sense of what kinds of skills you might want to highlight in your EP:

• https://eoss.asu.edu/careerguide/careerpreparation/careerskills • https://eoss.asu.edu/sites/default/files/SKILLSdevworksheet.pdf • http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/10/11/the-10-skills-employers-most-want-in-

20-something-employees/ (You may have to cut and paste this link into your browser (versus just clicking on it), in order for the article to come up.)

One thing that you notice as you review these lists of critical skills is that “skills” is conceptualized broadly. Human relations skills (like the ability to influence others), as well as personal characteristics (like flexibility and work ethic), are considered critical, along with some of the more traditional skills that one might imagine. Keep this in mind as you consider the skills that you want to highlight in your EP. Also, take a moment to review your contribution for Assignment #1. This assignment provided you with an opportunity for you to carefully consider what you have been learning, including possible artifacts of your learning, as well as some insight into the nature and structure of how you learn.

Your goal then, for the “Professional Skills & Knowledge (Including Key Artifacts)” content area of your EP is to select what you consider to be your top skills, and:

1. Select some specific skills (or knowledge) that you would like to showcase. (Five to seven skills are probably a good number to shoot for).

2. Individually, describe / define each skill (in your own words) and discuss your mastery level of it.

3. Include example(s) or artifact(s) as evidence of your proficiency with each skill. Artifacts can be anything that demonstrates your skill in that area (from your academic, professional, or personal life) – writing samples, presentations, certificates / awards, project records, recommendations, videos, websites – virtually anything that you created that represented your skill for each of the skills you chose to highlight / showcase.

Reflecting On Your Education: The Organizational Leadership / Key Learnings Associated with Academic Coursework

(Including Key Artifacts) is another key aspect / content area for your EP. The goal here is to reflect on (and provide artifacts for) your learning and development in the Organizational Leadership program. Artifacts here would include things like key coursework and assignments that were most meaningful to you. Your goal is to demonstrate competence / mastery with respect to each of the four specific learning outcomes / key result areas of the Organizational Leadership program:

• Organizational Leadership: Include a reflection on what you learned about: 1) Organizational leadership; and 2) Organizational management. Discuss key skills, concepts, theories, ideas that you explored throughout the various courses you took as part of the Organizational Leadership Program. Also, be sure to include some key artifacts that you believe demonstrate your accomplishments in the Organizational Leadership key result area.

• Organizational Behavior: Include a reflection on what you learned about Organizational Behavior (key skills, concepts, theories, ideas) throughout the various courses you took as part of the Organizational Leadership Program. Also, be sure to include some key artifacts that you believe demonstrate your accomplishments in the Organizational Behavior key result area.

• Project Management: Include a reflection on what you learned about Project Management (key skills, concepts, theories, assessments) throughout the various courses you took as part of the

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Organizational Leadership Program. Also, be sure to include some key artifacts that you believe demonstrate your accomplishments in the Project Management key result area.

• Organizational Assessment: Include a reflection on what you learned about various aspects of Organizational Assessment throughout the various courses you took as part of the Organizational Leadership Program. Also, be sure to include some key artifacts that you believe demonstrate your accomplishments in the Organizational Assessment key result area.

Your goals with respect to presenting your key learnings in the Organizational Leadership Program are as follows:

• Use the four categories above to organize your reflection and presentation of artifacts in your EP. • Reflect meaningfully on your experiences and accomplishments during your academic career in

the Organizational Leadership Program. • Provide details regarding the depth and breadth of your academic coursework. • Highlight specific skills and knowledge developed through your work in the Organizational

Leadership Program, and provide artifacts as evidence of your accomplishments. • Be sure to include some examples of your work across a number of different courses.

Contextualizing Your Artifacts (in both the Professional Skills & Knowledge section and the Organizational Leadership / Key Learnings Associated with Academic Coursework section of your EP): With respect to the artifacts that you will include in your EP to illustrate your skills and knowledge – here are a few things to keep in mind:

• All artifacts that you use in your EP should be “introduced” clearly in some way. Each artifact should be accompanied by a caption that clearly explains the importance of the item (including title, author, date, and other details as applicable).

• Part of your introduction to each artifact should also include a brief reflection. Clearly explain how the artifact demonstrates your growth, competencies, accomplishments, and include goals for continued learning (long and short term).

Final Suggestions / Success Tips: Finally, be sure to keep in mind that your EP should:

• Have a professional “look and feel” to it – and be engaging and inviting to the users. • Be carefully and thoughtfully designed – and easy to navigate! • Include the following key sections: 1) Your professional knowledge and skills, including

transferrable skills; and 2) Your Organizational Leadership Program- specific academic skills / knowledge associated with each of the four categories / key result areas described above. These are the two most important aspects of your EP.

• Use artifacts effectively. Take some time to carefully consider the “artifacts” that you will include as evidence of your accomplishments, both professionally and academically. Introduce each artifact

• Be as visually engaging as it is content-rich! As you represent yourself and your skills, be sure to feature several different modes of engagement (examples might include text, graphics / visuals, audio, video, presentations, etc.).

If you have any questions, or need any clarifications, please let me know! I suspect that most of your questions will be answered by carefully reading this document (and the associated links).

Additional Resources of Possible Interest:

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• http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html – Bloom’s Taxonomy is a seminal concept in the field of education. This website provides a good introduction to Bloom’s Taxonomy. This might be something useful to consider as you are thinking about ways to represent your academic accomplishments.

• http://www.copyblogger.com/ – A site designed to help you build a better space, in our case an e- portfolio. Here you will find advice on blogging, social media, multimedia, and marketing. Use this site to find ways to improve the power of your content and attract readers.

• http://creativecommons.org/ – A place to legally obtain creative works including music, video, and images as well as a place to license your own work. Use Creative Commons to find music, images, and movies you can use to build your e-portfolio.

• http://www.pictaculous.com/ – A color palette generator that helps you decide what colors to use with an image. Pictaculous is an easy way to see if your e-portfolio has a nice aesthetic feel.

** Be sure to carefully review the grading rubric as well to be sure you’re not missing anything important in your final E-Portfolio!