Creating an eportfolio using Blackboard 9.1 Before you begin working on your eportfolio, you will need to do some preparation: Collect the files (aka artifacts ) that you wish to include in your eportfolio and save them to an accessible location. Make sure that there are no spaces in your filenames. Write and save a Reflection for each Artifact. Reflections should describe your experiences while creating the Artifact. Consider the answers to the following questions: What have I learned? How have I progressed? How do my artifacts relate to these factors? Read through the rubrics provided by your program of study and decide which page each artifact should be posted on. Building Your eportfolio 1. Log into Blackboard and click on the Content Collection tab 2. Click on Portfolios, My Portfolios, Create Personal Portfolio. 1
3. Choose Select Existing, select the desired template from the pull down menu, click on Save and Continue, click on Build 4. To update the eportfolio header with your information, click on the option menu icon, then click on Edit. 5. Update text with your name and email address and click on Submit. 6. After submitting, you will be taken back to the Build tab. Scroll down to view the Initial Reflections section (The sections below the header are also referred to as a portfolio pages). Please read the Description and Instructions. They provide guidelines about the content that should be included in this portion of you eportfolio. 2
7. Click on Create New Artifact. 8. A new window labeled Create Personal Artifact will open. Type in a name for the artifact - - in this case, Initial Reflections - - and type in a description of the artifact. [You will be the only one who sees the description. If you have many artifacts and many different eportfolios, this description will be helpful in finding the artifact that you are looking for.] 9. Scroll down to the Content section and type in your Initial Reflections text. Click Submit. 3
10. After submitting, you will be returned to the Build tab. Now that you have completed the Initial Reflections section, you are ready to construct the pages in your eportfolio that will contain your Artifacts and Reflections. Scroll down to the next section (in this example, Written Communication). Please read the Description and Instructions. They provide guidelines from your instructors about the content that should be included in this portion of you eportfolio. 11. Click on Create New Artifact. Artifact creation in these sections will involve creating links to your artifact files and adding your reflection text. A suggested format is illustrated in the examples to follow. 12. General information Name and Description. Please read the instructions in the illustration below. 4
13. Content In the edit window, type in the heading Artifacts. Highlight the word and click on the bold key. Click on the paper clip icon to attach a file. A file upload popup window will appear. Click on Browse My Computer, select the desired file, click on Open. Click on Submit. Repeat as needed to add all of your files to this artifact page. 5
In the edit window, type in the heading, Reflections. Highlight the word and click on the bold key. Be sure to turn off the bold mode by clicking the bold key a second time. If you have not already written out your reflections, type them in and then click on Submit. If you have written out your reflections, open the text file and copy the desired text and then click on Submit. Special note: Some versions of the Firefox browser will not allow you to copy and paste using command menus. You may need to use the keyboard shortcut CTRL- C to copy (Command- C on Mac) and CTRL- V to paste (Command- V on Mac). 14. Be sure to save your eportfolio as you work. After submitting the Written Communications page, scroll to the top, and click on Save and Continue. 6
15. Click on Build to resume work on the next section. 16. Repeat this same procedure for the remaining sections of your eportfolio Inquiry, Research, and Analysis; Critical and Creative Thinking; Cultural and Intercultural Literacy and Knowledge; Summary Reflections. 17. When all sections are complete, click on Save and Continue. Mark the document as complete and Available. Submit. 7
Sharing Your eportfolio Unless you share it, only you can see your eportfolio. The share option is available from the Edit screen. If you are following the previous steps, the Edit screen will appear right after you click Submit. If you are returning to work on your eportfolio, access the Edit screen as follows: 1. Log into Blackboard and click on the Content Collection tab 2. Click on Portfolios, My Portfolios 3. Click on the Option menu icon next to the desired portfolio and click on Edit 4. Click on Share 8
5. To share your eportfolio with your instructors, click on Share With, and choose, Institution Roles. 6. Highlight PHIL- Faculty, click on the right arrow and click on Submit 7. To share your eportfolio with your class, click on Share With, Courses, click on Browse. 9
8. In popup window search box, enter the course name (in this example, PHIL- 4600-001), select Contains, select Course Name, click on Search, check the box next to the desired course section, click on Submit. 9. To share your eportfolio with a Stockton Blackboard user, click on Share With, Users. Type in the username and click on Submit. If you wish to enter more than one username, type in a comma after each username. You can search for a username by clicking on Browse. It is best to search for an Exact Match on Last Name. Optional: If you scroll further down on this screen, you will see that you can also send an email notification to the person with whom you are sharing your eportfolio. Just check the Send Email box and type in your message before clicking on Submit. 10
10. To share your eportfolio with someone outside of Stockton, click on Share With, External Users. Enter the email address. 11. The external user will be notified by email. Enter the desired subject line and message. Do not delete or edit <PORTFOLIO_URL>. This will be the link to your eportfolio. Optional: check the boxes to send a copy/blind copy of this notification to your own email address. Optional: Assign a password for eportfolio access and limit the amount of time the eportfolio is viewable. Complete the options as desired. In this example, the password is set to viewmyportfolio, the password is included in the email notification, and the eportfolio is available for 1 week. 12. Click on Submit. 11
Viewing a Shared eportfolio If an eportfolio has been shared with you as an individual, log into Blackboard and click on the Content Collection tab. Click on Portfolios, Recieved Portfolios. Click on the desired eportfolio to view it. If an eportfolio has been shared with you as a member of an Organization Role (e.g., PHIL- Faculty) or as a class member (e.g., PHIL- 4600-001), you can search for the eportfolio by portfolio name. Name or Description means the name of the eportfolio, not the name of the person. For the purposes of this document, the name will be Philosophy and Religion. (This is the same name as the template used to create the eportfolio.) You can narrow the search by also entering the desired username in the Portfolio Username field. Click on Submit If an eportfolio has been shared with you as an external user, access instructions and a web link are in the email sent by the eportfolio owner. 12
Exporting your eportfolio Your portfolio can be exported to a ZIP file. This file contains everything necessary for it to be viewed from a thumb drive. 1. Log into Blackboard and click on the Content Collection tab 2. Click on Portfolios, My Portfolios 3. Click on the Option menu icon next to the desired portfolio and click on Edit 4. On the edit screen, scroll down and click on Package the Portfolio, click on Download. 5. Save the ZIP file to its own folder on the thumb drive. 6. After downloading, extract all files. 7. To view your eportfolio, open the index.html file. When first accessed, a generic message describing the Philosophy and Religion template will appear. Click on any item on the menu to the left to view your content. 13