ePortfolio reading preparation tips memo #1 (Digication group, Fall 2011-)
In-class writing and directory search
1. It’s important that we be able to search for your students’ ePortfolios in the Stony
Brook Digication directory. This is why they were advised to put their full names in
the title of their ePortfolio. Before the reading, you can check with them to make
sure that their ePortfolios can be found in the directory. Just tell them to do a name
search for themselves in the directory, preferably while they are not logged in to
Digication.
2. In-class writing: You can have your students do their in-class writing directly in
Google Docs. (This is recommended.) They can then copy the links directly into
their own ePortfolios, but you should tell them that they are to make no changes
after the in-class writing on this piece (at least, until after the ePortfolio reading is
over). Tell them that we will be checking the time stamp, and if changes are made
after the in-class session, we will not accept their portfolio. When they set the
permissions on the in-class writing, they should add you (the instructor) as an
editor by e-mail address.
Below is a screenshot that shows the general permission set at “anyone with the link
can comment”, but Peter Khost has been added as an editor from his Gmail address.
If your students add you as an editor, you can see their revisions, and check to see if
they have been a) revising their essays, as they should be, and/or b) revising the inclass essay, which they should not be.
3. If you don’t want to/can’t bother with Google Docs this semester, you can collect
their in-class writing as Word docs, and post them in a separate ePortfolio that you
manage, like this one:
https://stonybrook.digication.com/writing_102_inclass_essays/Home//
I made pages for each section, typed in the students’ names, and uploaded the Word
files as hyperlinks, using the toolbar in Edit mode. The links to the files are inserted
using the little unbroken chain link in the tool bar. You upload them directly from
your hard drive on your computer. The students can email you the Word files after
they write the in-class writing, or they can post them in Blackboard discussion
Board as attached files.
At least one person is scanning handwritten in-class writing and posting them to an
ePortfolio as .pdf files. While this is quite a bit more work for you, it is fine if you
prefer to do it that way (especially if you are not able to get a computer classroom
for your in-class writing day). The “amazing superscanner” is available for use in
the Writing Program office if you need it.
4. A last resort way of doing in-class writings would be to collect handwritten
writing and leave it with the front office. Although this may seem easiest, it places a
burden on the front office and is being phased out; as you are the trending group, I’d
hope you’d not depend on it. Please use it only if you cannot get a computer
classroom reserved in time to do electronic writing and do not have time or are
unwilling to use the scanner.