writing portfolio

We've got a writing portfolio assignment for first year students, so we can assess their ability to write at a college level. I helped find and plan an electronic method for gathering the portfolios. Students were to hand in from 10 to 25 pages of their own writing; one paper from their first two classes (their first year experience), one from any class thereafter and one essay reflecting on their writing. Students have had a little less than one month to hand in a physical and an electronic copy. The electronic copy is for archival and emergency purposes, in addition to being a way to get the students in a system so it'll be easier to get them their grades.
I held two workshops with the writing center director to explain the electronic submission process and combining files; on average, I had a half person at each. Students either didn't hear about the workshops (advertised three or four times in email digest messages) or they found themselves to be exceptional and worthy of individual help. Indeed, I saw several students both before and after the workshop getting help with scanning and uploading their documents.
I also created a video to show students how to electronically hand in their writing portfolio. Some assumed it was just to be emailed; perhaps that would work for next year. One would just reply to the student with their grade and could sort by sender (though students who used non-cc email accounts might be out of order...
Without further ado: the video!

I wanted the text in the video to be legible (this version's a bit blurry, but the original on the internal site was clear!), but I also wanted it to be short. It had to show the students how to upload the video in the fewest steps. Looking back, perhaps the best way to accomplish that would have been to have a pop-up window or frame with links and images for all the steps. I tested the video out and my small test audience was able to successfully upload their files based on the instructions in the video. 

The most confusing part of the video was probably the webpage redirect we employed as a url in the printed materials we printed at the beginning of the school year before the final upload solution was agreed upon. Below is my text on how to upload the video, included above the video: 

1. Combine your documents (visit the CAT Lab for help)
2. Visit www.coloradocollege.edu/writingportfolio
3. Sign in to PROWL
4. Enroll yourself in the Writing Requirement Portfolio course (click yes)
5. Scroll down and click "Writing Requirement Upload"
6. Upload and submit your portfolio
7. Smile and know you're done, unless you haven't turned in the physical copy as well.

The writing center website also had a page of links to documents to help the students with the process.
Lessons learned:

• We may want to change the language of the requirement to students MUST upload the electronic version (we may switch to electronic only).
• There should be two or three student workers accepting applications the day it's due.
• One of my student workers should probably be there with a stapler and staple puller and scanner to help students scan their assignments for electronic submission.
• Each time the portfolio workshop is given it should be explained that the portfolio will also be handed in electronically. 
• We should get all students' permission to put them in the digital repository, regardless of whether we actually put them there.

Student Projects and Initiatives

Occasionally, students approach me with schemes and ideas. They often don't have any kind of support on campus, though people may be interested. Most often, these ideas have some kind of web-based component. There are several people on campus who have responsibility for the website (not to mention the fact that each department is in charge of its own departmental site), so it's often unclear to these students what to do or to whom to turn.

• NSS - probably the director. This group is in charge of the server space and the 'back-end' components that keep our site running. This includes scripts, CMS platforms, etc.
• Communications - probably the web/new media people specifically, as they're responsible for the leading edge of the website that web visitors see. 
• Possibly a VP or Dean - these are the people that can make final decisions about what is really part of what we want to do here at school.
• Interested departments and programs - a project involving film would likely benefit from support from the film program. It seems this is where most projects may be pitched first. 

Alternatives.to NVivo

One thing that occasionally comes up is what software people should use to do certain tasks and what alternatives there are. Sometimes, I have no expertise in the area and can't do much more than do a search for them. One person approached me with a personal project and wanted to know what technology resources the school could provide him. He specifically wanted to transcribe oral interviews for a kind of research project. I him where he could access NVivo and gave him other information on other aspects of his project. He asked if there were alternatives to NVivo; I didn't know any off the top of my head, but thanks to the site alternativeto.net, I found a two or three (thanks to following links on the site) and with some more searching and reading, another two possibilities:

• ATLAS.ti is one commercial alternative
• Transana is another open source alternative that runs on Windows and OS X (Mac); it’s specifically for managing and analyzing audio and video.  
• MAXQDA is another alternative
• Dedoose – “a web-based Mixed-Methods and QDA applications, and it kicks NVivo around the block at a fraction of the price. Sign up is free and non-commital! Being a web-app their is nothing to install, updates are free forever.” A few months ago, they said they’d be bringing audio and video support online in early Q2 2011…
• HyperRESEARCH is another alternative I just read about online. 

As I haven't used either NVivo from QSR International or any of these, I'm not in a position to say how 'true' these alternatives are. I'm sure some of them do certain tasks better than the others, but I believe that choice, especially in markets, is a good thing.