Background and context prior to Digication Pilot:
- September-October 2009: worked with ITD to test Taskstream digital portfolios — linking student IDs with courses with vendor; linking standards and outcomes; did not adopt/implement
- October: discussed with FYW administrators a St. Olaf model of integrated first-year writing portfolios; reflective and cross-disciplinary, based on FYW learning outcomes
- October: Met with IS administrators to review previous digital portfolio initiatives at DePaul, ongoing since mid-1990’s
- November: worked with WRD student technology assistant to develop WRD/FYW-specific portfolio templates based on St. Olaf model; did not implement
- October-December: piloted Pearson Publishing’s MyCompLab digital portfolios; 46 students, two sections of WRD103 — did not adopt. [examples] Second Pearson pilot, the first being slowed by technical issues.
- December: presented possible integrative models based on St. Olaf initiative at DOTS training
- December 2009-May 2010: piloted iWeb, Acrobat, and WordPress digital portfolios [platforms] [examples] [students]
- January: developed Student Technology Consultant Program (STCP) for 143 McGaw, linking situated/social aspects of student learning and peer support with the pedagogical design of the physical learning space. Initial consultant supported 25-30 digital portfolios; program cancelled and replaced with security-enhanced lab monitor
- March: attended e-portfolio planning meeting with representatives from IS, Academic Affairs, DePaul Communications, Career Center, and Student Affairs
- May 2010: presented overview of December 2009-May 2010 pilot and discussed Digication and D2L digital-portfolio capabilities with Online Learning Incubator (OLI) Committee and Teaching, Learning, Technology (TLT) Committee
Digication Pilot
- May: met with Education Associate Dean, faculty, and staff to review their Digication efforts, which have been ongoing for one year, via their Center for Educational Technology (CET)
- May: attended workshop given by Melissa Peet, on Integrative Knowledge Portfolio Process
- June–July: worked with Jeff Yan, developer of Digication, to identify writing-pedagogy and writing-program contexts in Digication; discussed visual components, collaborative possibilities, and how students and teachers interact via the platform
- June: presented digital portfolio materials and initiatives at Digital Media and Composition (DMAC) workshop at The Ohio State University
- July: met with FYW administrators to plan Digication pilot
- August 18: Invited and facilitated Jeff Yan’s first visit to DePaul, for our train-the-trainers workshop (IS & FITS)
- August: met with Faculty Instructional Technology Services (FITS) staff to prepare for faculty training
- August: Met with IS and LA&S staff to develop PeopleSoft “batch” protocols, giving students and instructors access to Digication via Campus Connect
- August: met with FYW Tech Committee to update on Digication pilot
- August 24: WRD pilot training; collaborated on digital-portfolio assignment and evaluation materials. We were joined by representatives of Media Production and Training (MPT), who will provide student support, and Library staff, who would like to integrate Digication with library instruction and orientation
- August: continued meeting with Education/CET staff
- August: met with FYW administrators; shared concerns about Digication AMS, submitting (students) and collection (instructors) portfolios at the end of terms
- August 28: presented Digication at FYW Faculty meeting
- September: integrated pilot efforts with D-WRD working group, especially in areas of support, training, and classroom use — format, structure, visual rhetoric, privacy, and the shift from print to digital literacy practices
- September: Reviewed pilot efforts with OLI
- September: met with FYW Tech Committee to update on Digication pilot
- October: pilot group/D-WRD: privacy concerns, con’t; portfolio format & structure options; “reading” portfolios
- October: Kathleen Yancey visits DePaul for a very well received talk and workshop on reflective practice
- October: attended Education Dept. Student Portfolio Showcase
- October: contributed to “instructional technologies” section of Strategic Planning retreat white paper
- November: facilitated pilot group and D-WRD meetings: organizing principles, methods of reflection
- November: developed and deployed student and faculty feedback surveys
- November 16: learned that Digication had been adopted at the university level, effective immediately
- November: met with FITS administrators to discuss AQ2011 implementation, integration with D2L, and training
- November: debriefed AQ pilot with Writing Center administrators; explored possibility of encouraging walk-in and appointment tutoring beginning in the WQ, rather than open labs in 202 McGaw — they were amenable.
- November: attended another workshop given by Melissa Peet, on Integrative Knowledge Portfolio Process
- November/December: collected downloaded Digication .ZIP files and URLs for FYW Assessment Committee
- December: met with MPT staff to plan for focused WQ student support based on student survey responses: formatting text, banners, and rich-text options
- December: helped to prepare random samples of digital portfolios with FYW Assessment Committee
- December: update to FYW faculty meeting; Pilot Report, which provides iterative and followup materials, both technical and pedagogical for Pilot II, WQ2011:
Technical / support
- Introductory training: why and how-to
- Advanced features for those who trained in AQ2010:comments, tags, course settings, collaborative projects and portfolios
Pedagogy
- Focus on organization and organizing principles, which may include integrating alphabetic text and multimodal materials; emphasis on the Reflective Essay and its role in the portfolio; linking, both literally (the hypertext capabilities in Digication) and figuratively (coherence)
- Methods of reflection: drawing on disciplinary expertise and our introductions to the work of Yancey, Peet, and Cambridge
- Intellectual property & copyright, especially as it pertains to images that students and instructors integrate into their Digication portfolios: fair use, attribution, and citation styles
- Document design: print and digital writing conventions; student concerns about document design, double spacing, and indenting