University of Washington Catalyst Portfolio Tool

Where did we get the idea? My Action Plan (Portfolio) Group Introduced the idea for a tool to guide students through the University Discussed an online portfolio tool Sketched out a quick schematic on a whiteboard Catalyst group sought support and ideas from students, faculty and administrators

Resources Catalyst group (under Vice-Provost of Educational Partnerships & Learning Technologies) supplied main funding Student Technology Fee committee gave $97,000 Program for Educational Transformation through Technology provided $30,000 Computing & Communications furnished server space and maintenance Office of Undergraduate Education offered the Freshman Interest Group program as a test-bed

Project Assumptions Tool cannot be built without input from students, instructors, and academic and career advisers Tool should be flexible—students should be able to use it for classes, extra-curricular activities, job searches, or personal reflection Tool should be useful for students in all colleges and schools

How did we build it? Asked everyone on campus who has ever uttered, or is likely to utter the word “Portfolio” Looked at other universities’ tools and commercial products Read scholarly articles on the uses of portfolios in education Conducted focus groups and usability tests with UW instructors and students

“Big” Questions What is a portfolio? One view or many? Are portfolios student-controlled or institutionally controlled? Does the tool work like an “assignment tool” – with due dates and other restrictions? Who gets to see student work and when?

Basic Decisions: Students should be able to collect anything they want to and have exclusive access to those collections Students should be able to publish many different portfolios of their work on the Web Instructors and advisors should be able to easily lead students through the process of building certain types of portfolios, but students still own these portfolios

What is a portfolio tool? There is a distinction between collecting artifacts, reflecting upon them, and thoughtfully presenting them in a portfolio Students will be collecting artifacts throughout their academic careers and should have exclusive access to their collections Using portfolios for reflection is a process that is important in all phases of an academic career, not just at the end of senior year

What is a portfolio tool (cont.)? Instructors, advisers, and peers should collaborate with students to help them present artifacts in a reflective way Students should be able to present a variety of portfolios for different objectives: completing coursework or demonstrating academic, personal, or career development

Student Instructor /Adviser Instructor /Adviser Portfolio Page* Stored Portfolio Artifacts Published Portfolios Portfolio Tool Concept Model Employers Graduate Schools Parents Peers Instructors Advisers *“Wizards” serve this function to a degree. They are designed by expert instructors and advisers to start students on a reflective path and point them to campus resources.

Current Initiatives Freshman Interest Group Program 3200 freshman & 162 FIG leaders Students building reflective portfolios Portfolio Working Group Central Advising, Career Services, FIG program, MAP Group, PETTT, APAC Pilot projects with professors Information School, Communications, Engineering, Psychology and others Medical school integration

New features to be added Add notification for students Add storage space—increase quota Let students organize portfolios into groups (folders) Add new templates and other features to publishing section Password protection for student published portfolios Add “pre-fab” projects for students to work on

Contact Info: Tom Lewis, Director Ed-Tech Development Group Educational Partnerships & Learning Technologies University of Washington