Assignment: Semester E-Portfolio Project

One of your projects this semester will be the design and development of an e-portfolio. You will work on the e-portfolio throughout the semester and its final, fully loaded version will be due on the December 12, the final exam date for the class.

There will be progress due dates. Your initial “shell” is due in class in Week 5. There will be sessions of workshopping your project in class and online collaboration opportunities to work on it. A finished draft of the website, with all your pages, page links, and images completed, is due at class time in Week 8, and all final drafts of assignments as well as any other work as directed by the instructor should be uploaded as it is completed.

What is an E-Portfolio?
There are many types of e-portfolios, but all share some common characteristics. They are designed to favorably impress an intended audience of the value of the material archived in the e-portfolio. For example, an artist might choose pieces to present and to discuss based on, perhaps, a story of innovation, beauty, or talent the artist wants to share with a particular audience. An investment advisor might choose artifacts that persuade the audience of successful investment strategies, with the story designed to inspire trust in current and potential investors. The point of both is to choose specific artifacts and to frame them so as to convey a specific story to specific viewers and readers.

What sort of e-portfolio will I create in this class?
Another type of e-portfolio is the education e-portfolio. While there are a variety of purposes for education e-portfolios, the one you will create serves the purpose of chronicling your academic work and framing it with reflections that tell the story of your learning to your fellow-student collaborators, to your professor, and to potential audiences such as those responsible for choosing interns, scholarship recipients, graduate students, and employees. Furthermore, the e-portfolio you create in this class can be used for the learning you experience in all of your courses, which effectively will yield an academic profile of you and your academic career.

What ought to go into my e-portfolio?
At a minimum, all of the major projects of this course will be archived, along with reflections about the process of your learning with each. Ideally, reflections will be archived in a blog that is part of the e-portfolio. (I will provide questions to guide your reflections.) Beyond these, it is your decision about what to include.

Where will I build my e-portfolio?
Many platforms exist to support the creation of e-portfolios, and many of these are free of charge. Most have templates from which you can choose and most provide tutorials to help you get started. While you are free to choose a platform of your liking, the Rhetoric and Writing Studies Undergraduate Program recommends the following platforms:

  • Weebly.com (tutorial:
  • Wix.com (how to get started:
  • Google Sites (beginner’s guide:
  • Wordpress (need help?:

When should I get started on the e-portfolio?
Now. You’ll want to peruse different e-portfolio platforms to determine the affordances each offers. You might also want to query friends and fellow students for recommendations. Decide whether you will make the e-portfolio public or private. That is, if you choose to make it public, anyone with access to the internet will be able to view your e-portfolio. If you choose to make it private, the general public will not have access. However, you will need to supply the URL of your e-portfolio to the class, as you will comment on others’ e-portfolios, from time to time, and they will comment on yours. After making these choices, set-up an account on one particular platform and work first to build your blog.

Keep a digital file of all of your course assignments in a cloud file, your computer’s hard drive, MySpace, or a USB. Having them collected in one location will make it easier to transfer them to your e-portfolio.

May I include other content in the e-portfolio?
Yes. However, you will need to carefully consider how additional content aligns, contributes, and amplifies the story you want the e-portfolio to tell to your audiences and potential audiences.

Will you provide additional guidance on the e-portfolio throughout the semester?
Yes. I will provide information regarding the genre conventions of websites, web design, and web writing. The Rhetoric and Writing Studies Program will also provide workshops in the Writing Center that you can attend to receive more specific instruction about e-portfolio design and development. And, of course, you can ask for assistance at one of UTEP’s computer labs, such as ATLAS (in UGLC).

How long should I plan to keep my e-portfolio active?
You will continue to add to your e-portfolio throughout any additional course you take in the Rhetoric and Writing Studies Undergraduate Program. However, I recommend that you add to it throughout your academic career.

How will my e-portfolio be assessed or graded?

Criteria / Unsatisfactory – 0% / Limited – 80% / Proficient – 90% / Exemplary – 100% / Rating
Selection of Artifacts
Weight for this criterion:
35% of total score / The artifacts and work samples do not relate to the purpose of the
e-portfolio. / Some of the artifacts and work samples are related to the purpose of the
e-portfolio. / Most artifacts and work samples are related to the purpose of the
e-portfolio. / All artifacts and work samples
are clearly and directly related
to the purpose of the e-portfolio.
A wide variety of artifacts is included.
No artifacts are accompanied by a caption that clearly explains the importance of the item including title, author, and date. / Some of the artifacts are accompanied by a caption that clearly explains the importance of the item including title, author, and date. / Most of the artifacts are accompanied by a caption that clearly explains the importance of the item work including title, author, and date. / All artifacts are accompanied by a
caption that clearly explains the importance of theitem including
title, author, and date.
Reflection/Critique
Weight for this criterion:
35% of total score / The reflections do not describe growth or include goals for continued learning. / A few of the reflections describe growth and include goals for continued learning. / Most of the reflections describe growth and include goals for continued learning. / All reflections clearly describe
growth, achievement,
accomplishments, and include goals
for continued learning(long and
short term).
The reflections do not illustrate the ability to effectively critique work or provide suggestions for constructive practical alternatives. / A few reflections illustrate the ability to effectively critique work and provide suggestions for constructive practical alternatives. / Most of the reflections illustrate the ability to effectively critique work and provide suggestions for constructive practical alternatives. / All reflections illustrate the ability to effectively critique work and provide suggestions for constructive practical alternatives.
Use of Multimedia
Weight for this criterion:
10% of total score / The graphic elements or multimedia do not contribute to understanding concepts, ideas and relationships. The inappropriate use of multimedia detracts from the content. / Some of the graphic elements and multimedia do not contribute to understanding concepts, ideas and relationships. / Most of the graphic elements and multimedia contribute to understanding concepts, ideas and relationships, enhance the written material and create interest. / All of the photographs, concept maps, spreadsheets, graphics, audio and/or video files effectively enhance
understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships, create interest, and are appropriate for the chosen purpose.
The graphics do not include alternate text in web-based portfolios. / Some of the graphics include alternate text in web-based portfolios. / Most of the graphics include alternate text in web-based portfolios. / Accessibility requirements using
alternate text forgraphics are
included in
web-based portfolios.
Audio and/or video artifacts are not edited or exhibit inconsistent clarity or sound (too loud/too soft/garbled). / A few of the audio and/or video artifacts are edited with inconsistent clarity or sound (too loud/too soft/garbled). / Most of the audio and/or video artifacts are edited with proper voice projection, appropriate language, and clear delivery. / All audio and/or video artifacts
are edited with proper voice
projection, appropriate
language, and clear delivery.
Citations
Weight for this criterion:
5% of total score / No images, media or text created by others are cited with accurate, properly formatted citations. / Some of the images, media or text created by others are not cited with accurate, properly formatted citations. / Most images, media or text elements created by others are cited with accurate, properly formatted citations. / All images, media and text follow copyright guidelines with accurate citations. All content throughout the
e-portfolio displays the appropriate copyright permissions.
Navigation
Weight for this criterion:
5% of total score / The navigation links are confusing, and it is difficult to locate artifacts and move to related pages or to a different section. There are significant problems with pages connecting to preceding pages or the navigation tabs. Many of the external links do not connect to the appropriate website or file. / The navigation links are somewhat confusing, and it is often unclear how to locate an artifact or move to related pages or to a different section. Some of the pages connect to the navigation tabs, but in other places the links do not connect to preceding pages or to the navigation tabs. Some of the external links do not connect to the appropriate website or file. / The navigation links generally function well, but it is not always clear how to locate an artifact or move to related pages or different section. Most of the pages connect to the navigation tabs. Most of the external links connect to the appropriate website or file. / The navigation links are intuitive. The various parts of the portfolio are
labeled, clearlyorganized and allow
the reader to easily locate an artifact
and move to related pages or a
different section. All pages connect
to the navigation tabs, and all
external links connect to the
appropriate website or file.
Layout and Readability
Weight for this criterion:
5% of total score / The e-portfolio is difficult to read due to inappropriate use of fonts, type size for headings, sub-headings and text and font styles (italic, bold, underline). Many formatting tools are under or over-utilized and decrease the readers' accessibility to the content. / The e-portfolio is often difficult to read due to inappropriate use of fonts and type size for headings, sub-headings and text or inconsistent use of font styles (italic, bold, underline). Some formatting tools are under or over-utilized and decrease the readers' accessibility to the content. / The e-portfolio is generally easy to read. / The e-portfolio is easy to read.
Color of background, fonts, and links decreases the readability of the text, is distracting and used inconsistently throughout the
e-portfolio. / Color of background, fonts, and links decreases the readability of the text, is distracting and used inconsistently in some places throughout the
e-portfolio. / Color, background, font styles, and type size for headings, sub-headings and text are generally used consistently throughout the
e-portfolio. / Color, background, font styles (italic,
bold, underline) and type size for headings, sub-headings and text are
used consistently and enhance the readability throughout the
e-portfolio.
Horizontal and vertical white space alignment is used inappro-priately, and the content appears disorganized and cluttered. / Horizontal and vertical white space alignment is sometimes used inappropriately to organize content. / Horizontal and vertical white space alignment is generally used appropriately to organize content. / Horizontal and vertical white space alignment is used appropriately to organize content.
Quality of Writing and Proofread-ing
Weight for this criterion:
5% of total score / There are numerous grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. The style of writing does not facilitate effective communication and requires major editing and revision. / The writing includes some grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors that distract the reader and requires some editing and revision. / The writing is largely free of grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. The style of writing generally facilitates communication and minor editing is required. / The writing is free of grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. The
style of writing facilitates
communication and no editing is required.
Total Score:

Rubric, University of Wisconsin - Stout
08-19-2014