This section of the Frequently Asked Questions is broken up into potential audiences: faculty and students. These FAQs and responses address the philosophical and practical implications of the ePortfolio at LaGuardia Community College. If you have technical questions about creating your ePortfolio, please move to the "Develop Your ePortfolio" section of this web site where you will find a separate FAQ section for technical concerns.
| Q 1. |
What is an ePortfolio? |
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ePortfolio is an electronic portfolio which allows students to showcase their work and demonstrate strong evidence that students are using their critical thinking skills to learn about their academic environment, as well as, their interpersonal skills. The ePortfolio program is an initiative at LaGuardia Community College that allows students to engage in the creative process of creating an academic website.
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| Q 2. |
What are the different types of ePortfolios? |
The three types of ePortfolio are: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced.
The Basic level is the simplest ePortfolio. You collect your digital work and place it in the collection area. Then you link your work into an ePortfolio Template. Everything is done through the Blackboard learning management system through an internet browser such as Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer.
The Intermediate level allows students to download a template from the ePortfolio website. The students then modifies the template using Netscape Composer/ Adobe Dreamweaver or any other HTML editor. After adding content to the template students put the ePortfolio in the "My Collection" Area and then share it with their professors.
The Advanced level allows students to create their ePortfolios from scratch. The students create their template following guidelines provided by the staff and fill in the required sections
Click here to view samples of the Portfolios
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| Q 3. |
Who will decide what type of ePortfolio I will work on? |
Your Professor will recommend the type of the ePortfolio you should build.
OR
You can take the initiative and take the “ePortfolio For Me” quiz to know what type of portfolio you should create on your own. There are a lot of resources available so you can develop your ePortfolio.
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| Q 4. |
What is assessment? |
The following information was provided by the assessment committee of LaGuardia Community College:
All colleges and universities examine teaching practice and student learning in order to improve the education provided to students. At LaGuardia, this process is called Program Assessment. And we do it, in part, with samples of class work that students place in the Program Assessment folder in the ePortfolio system.
At different points in your career, you will be asked to remove your name from samples of class work and place it in the Program Assessment folder in the ePortfolio system. This work will NOT be used to make judgments about you and your individual progress. Instead, the college will use your work, anonymously, to better understand what students learn at the college and how the college can help them learn better.
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| Q 5. |
How can I contact the assessment committee? |
Paul Acario is in charge of program assessment at LaGuardia Community College.
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| Q 6. |
How will I start building my ePortfolio? |
You can either build your ePortfolio through a class or on your own. If you are building an ePortfolio through your course work then you professor will requests ePortfolio workshops and you will learn from an experienced ePortfolio instructor. You may also go on your own and use resources like the tutorials on the ePortfolio website. In any case e312 (the ePortfolio studio) is open to anyone creating an ePortfolio. The e312 studio lab is open from 10:30 -5:30 PM Monday to Friday. You can view the studio schedule by clicking here:
http://www.eportfolio.lagcc.cuny.edu/lab_schedule.html
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| Q 7. |
How much space do I get for storing my portfolio and miscellaneous files? |
The standard media device for backing up your work is a flash drive. Diskettes are also usable however their space is limited. Diskettes are also known to malfunction. The newer computers on the market may not even carry a floppy drive so it’s best to obtain a flash drive.
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| Q 8. |
What types of storage devices should I use to back-up copies of my ePortfolio? |
The standard media device for backing up your work is a flash drive. Diskettes are also usable however their space is limited. Diskettes are also known to malfunction. The newer computers on the market may not even carry a floppy drive so it’s best to obtain a flash drive.
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| Q 9. |
I have uploaded my zipped ePortfolio folder to "My Collection Area". Will my Teacher be able to view my ePortfolio? |
No, your professor will not be able to view your portfolio because you haven’t shared it with your professor. Refer to the following tutorials to share your ePortfolio with your instructor:
http://www.eportfolio.lagcc.cuny.edu/intermediate_tutorials.html
http://www.eportfolio.lagcc.cuny.edu/tutorials/word/intermediate/9_10_Sharing_cv_070606.doc
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| Q 10. |
What is the difference between the Courses Folder and My Files Folder? |
Course Folders are for placing current work for each of your classes. Toward the end of your semester you can select from a pool of work.The instructor of the course has access to this folder.
The “My Files” area is private storage space only accessible by the students. You may upload any other academic related material that isn’t closely tied to your course work. If you don’t have your storage device while working on an important project, you can save and upload it here.
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| Q 11. |
Who will be able to access my Course Folders? |
Access to your course folders will be limited to you and the LaGuardia faculty member teaching the ePortfolio course,
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| Q 12. |
What can I put inside “My Collection”? |
You can upload any kind file inside “My Collection”. This area is private so your professors cannot access it.
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| Q 13. |
What goes into my Course Folders? |
You can place any work into your course folder. This can include but is not limited to papers, PowerPoint presentations, PDF files, artwork, poems, creative projects, and any other kind of information you and your professor would like to have in the archive. Your professor will help you make decisions about the information that should be placed in your collection. You will also be asked to write reflections on this work and to store those in your collection as well.
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| Q 14. |
What is the difference course folders and my files folders? |
The course folders are created specifically to hold your work from your courses. You can give access to your professors to view anything inside these folders.
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| Q 15. |
Can anyone view my ePortfolio on the internet? |
ePortfolio’s at the college are on a private server and only people who you give permission to can view your ePortfolio.
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| Q 16. |
How can someone outside the college view my ePortfolio? |
You can create a temporary logon account which is used to access your ePortfolio. ePortfolio is on a private server so its not viewable to the public unless you give permission.
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| Q 17. |
What is a Logon? |
A Logon allows you to create a visitor ID and a password for your visitors. You can give the logons to friends,family, prospective colleges or future employers..
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| Q 18. |
How many logons I can create? |
You can create only three logons
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| Q 19. |
What is a reflection? |
A teacher may ask you to reflect on your work. This means you need to think about why you have selected this work, what you have learned by doing this work and how this work connects to other things you are studying or thinking about, academically, professionally or personally
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| Q 20. |
Where can I find Tutorials to create an ePortfolio? |
The tutorials are available on ePortfolio website in different formats (word, pdf and flash formats) Click on the following links to for the tutorials: Basic Tutorial Page and Intermediate Tutorial Page.
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| Q 21. |
How can I make my ePortfolio available to my Instructor? |
In order to make only one portfolio available to your Teacher you have to enable sharing on your eportfolio. Seek assistance in E312 or click here for instructions.
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| Q 22. |
Once I created a logon for a visitor, can I change the visitor ID and the password? |
You cannot change the visitor ID but you can change the password. Click here for further instructions:
http://www.eportfolio.lagcc.cuny.edu/documents/Faculty_Docs/ePSharingFac.pdf
Check steps 16 for more information.
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| Q 23. |
If I need help in preparing my ePortfolio, where should I go? |
You can go to E312 which is the ePortfolio studio. You can also contact your professors for additional information so you can receive assistance. The room is open from 10:30 AM -5:30 PM Monday through Friday. Sometimes the room may be in use for workshops or scheduled classes so availability may vary depending the week. There are people available to assist you with your ePortfolio called STMs. STMs are student technology mentors who have been trained to assist students and staff with ePortfolio and other educational technologies.
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| Q 24. |
How will I know the schedule of the ePortfolio studio? |
Refer to this link here to check the ePortfolio studio schedule:
http://www.eportfolio.lagcc.cuny.edu/schedule.html
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| Q 25. |
How can I contact the ePortfolio Instructor(s)/Consultant(s)? |
Email: eportfolio@lagcc.cuny.edu
Office: M 220
Specific Contact Information of Faculty who work with ePortfolio:
http://www.eportfolio.lagcc.cuny.edu/contact.html
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| Q 26. |
Who can I contact if I forget my password for Blackboard? |
You can contact the ePortfolio staff to reset your password at the following address:
eportfolio@lagcc.cuny.edu
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| Q 27. |
Who can I contact if I forget my password for Netmail? |
You can contact support staff in e255/e256
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