This is not a one-semester project!

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been turning my attention to another project for the last several days. I finished it last night and moved onto yet another project. I'm starting to feel the pressure of trying to get my portoflio done by the end of this semester. Jamming the entire process into one semester - and then taking the time out for three hurricanes to pass through - is craziness! I realized that I'm starting to make decisions based on "Do I have time?" instead of "Is this worth doing?"

One semester isn't enough time to thoughtfully build a portfolio. I've realized (and accepted) the fact that my portfolio-as-comp will be my first draft - or perhaps my second. But perhaps this "feeling' is simply reinforcing the notion that the portfolio process is lifelong professional development. It might be never feel like it's "done" or that I have enough time. I am, and always will be, trying to document a moving target.

A Double Eureka Day!!!

I've been spending some time developing a module for a class project. The objective of the module is to teach someone how to build a teaching portfolio. As I was looking for something for that project, I found this matrix. I've seen very similar ones in my examination of the ISTE NETS-T work, but had forgotten about them. Now that I've been wrestling with documenting my artifacts against standards, this jumped out at me. I think it provides a much nicer view than the narrative pages I'd been trying to write.

I also think I came up with title for my portfolio....but I'm not telling for now.

Working on an artifact

I spent too much time in meetings today. I was able to spend a little bit of time developing an online module for creating teaching portfolios for Dr. Boote and the Professoriate Certificate Program.

I hope I can have it done in time to include it in my portfolio! It will be a rich artifact demonstrating instructional design skill, an understanding of the portfolio process, and an opportunity for me to authentically use and include video in the course - and in my portfolio. I've also decided to create one or more little QUIA activities to enhance the module.

The Course Development folks use Cascading Style Sheets and I'm working from their templates to create this module. I thought I would have a more difficult time doing my writing using default settings and then having them applied automatically. I'm becoming accustomed to this.

I need to learn CSS. Course Development and the campus tech writers occasionally have workshops on this topic. I've always had a conflict, but I have to make this a priority soon. There are too many benefits and I don't want to miss out on those benefits.

The Checklist Crowd

I'm a holistic thinker. When I think of my work, I do so holistically. I know I need to accommodate the "checklist Charlies", but I was thinking I would probably send them to their checklists of standards through a link in the narrative. This approach would allow me to offer the holistic presentation of my work while providing the checklist approach to those who preferred it.

I've had to rethink this strategy. When Dr. Baumbach mentioned making it easy for the graders to review and fill out the rubric, I decided my approach was probably doomed to fail. I've suggested (and she liked it) that we create a folding menu system under the Resources part of the right-hand navigation bar. One of the resources will be called Information for Reviewers. Under it, we'll put the portfolio rubric and a link to each standard with documentation of my work demonstrating competence in that standard.

.....another iteration of the design......

Inspiration in the airport

Yesterday I was eating a very late lunch (or was it early dinner?) at the airport. Since there was no one there for me to chat with, I was thinking about my work on my portfolio. It's funny how inspiration hits! I started thinking about how I would could write about my Ethnography class project. I had considered this project a failure, but as I thought about it further, I realized it was a FINE portfolio entry and - upon further reflection - not a failure at all! For months, I viewed it as something "I pulled out of the fire" at the last moment. As soon as I finished my salad, I hurried to the boarding area so I could capture my thoughts. (No plug and only half a battery charge!) I typed up what I could and crossed my fingers that I'd gotten enough down that the rest would come back to me. This would have been the perfect opportunity for a digital voice recorder - an audio reflection!

I was tired by the time I got home so I finished up the ethnography piece this morning. I think it looks pretty good!

"Substantiated by deliberation and conversation"

The title of this posting is from Lee Shulman's definition of teaching portfolios.

This week I've been in Chicago for the Fall AECT International Conference. I did a roundtable session on the key considerations for decision makers considering an electronic portfolio implementation. It was well received and one woman in particular was very excited about the model I've been developing. The other outcome was that the topic of my presentation - and the sustained interaction time available at a conference - has opened up some dialogue about portfolios. Because I have the files for the template, I was able to show my conference roommates something visually appealing. That led to more discussion about portfolios and I shared Shulman's definition. Then we started talking about my portfolio and some of the things I've been thinking about.

This morning, 2c and I had a nice long chat about the portfolio project, too. We talked about the standards (I have to get them to him), types of evidence to include, and some of the more challenging things to document. We also discussed the overall structure of the portfolio. One of the more interesting things he brought up was something I hadn't considered. (I guess that's what made it interesting to me!) I'm trying to compile my portfolio here at the end of the program. I've saved many of my work products "just in case" but have discarded a lot of my emails. Had I been engaged in the portfolio process from the beginning, I would have better evidence. He has suggested I make that, and other, recommendations to the committee of reviewers. I thought I'd only be defending my work. I didn't realize I could also suggest improvements! I guess it shouldn't have surprised me, but it did. Now I'm going to try to keep track of things I want to recommend.

On the one hand, it's nice to have generated interest in the project. On the other hand, there's a little more pressure to do it well. I guess that just goes with the territory of any high-stakes assessment.

Proposal Approved!

It's official! Our proposal for me to do an electronic portfolio in lieu of comps has been approved! Watching this play out has been an interesting process. Change is slow. Dr. Baumbach and I started talking about this in July. I alternated between feeling confident the change would be approved and worrying about it. Now I don't have to worry any more. I think three hurricanes and two delayed meetings account for much of the delay. I suppose the lesson to be learned is that it's a bad idea to implement programmatic change during the worst hurricane season in 150 years!

I talked to 2c about the proposal and approval for a couple of minutes later this evening. He suggested (but I don't think he will require it) we use three reviewers for a little more inter-rater reliability. That's probably a good ida. If we're going to do this, we might as well do it right! Next, the question will be to determine who will be willing to review it.

Iterative design makes sense

The content for the Research section is finished! I thought I had carefully worked out the portfolio architecture. As I was developing the Research section, I realized I wanted to change the architecture slightly. Fortunately for me, Michel hadn't started coding the architecture so I was alright. She reminded me that changes would be more difficult if I tried to make too many of them after she started the hand coding. I gave the portfolio architecture one more look - made another tweak or two - and told her I was done. Really done this time. (I hope I can keep my promise!)

A milestone reached!

I have finished developing the content (I think) for the teaching section of my electronic portfolio. This feat is worth celebrating because the Teaching section will be the most complex. Yippee!! Yahoo!!!

Content is the most important aspect of design

I know it's been a while since my last blog posting. It's not that I haven't thought about posting, it's that I haven't been thinking about design. Instead, I've been busily working on the content for my portfolio. Then it hit me! Good content has to be the most important element of a good design. A beautifully designed - but empty - portfolio is not at all interesting. Having said all of that, Michel is doing a beautiful job on the design. You can take a look at the empty, but beautiful, design.

Making the navigation decision

I received sample files from Michel, the graphic artist. She has given me two choices for the right-hand navigation. She has designed a nested navigation that uses folder icons. When you click on the major section of the header, the subsections expand. I like this design. It is a familiar design, much like the interface in the operating system - whether Windows or Mac. It also keeps the reviewer/user well-oriented to avoid being lost in hyperspace! It also keeps the interface clutter-free. It wasn't my idea, but I can recognize a good idea when I see it. That's important, too.

The Window as a Metaphor

Lately, I've been working on my paper for the AECT conference in a couple of weeks. As I was re-reading it, I decided to spend a little more time expanding on some work Helen Barrett suggested I read. After I picked up the book from Interlibrary Loan, I read the chapter by Burke, Fogarty, and Belgrad. In it, they talked about portfolios being a window in a student's head. I've been trying to think about the graphic element for my own electronic portfolio and the idea of a window captured my imagination.

What I like about the window metaphor is that it works two ways (unless you're in a police interrogation room, I suppose). I spent a couple of hours looking at stock photographs of windows. Here are some of the best ones I found and why I like them:

Blue bottle on display - This photo is from the inside looking out. The person inside has pulled aside the curtain to allow others to look in and also to allow sunlight. One blue bottle is on display. If this would work for the graphic artist (parts of the photo are dark), this has a fabulous metaphor-like story - especially at the beginning of a professional portfolio.

Collection on display - This photograph of a window captures the portfolio metaphor perfectly. The person inside has raised the blinds to allow passerby to look inside. He or she has placed a collection of interesting objects on display. I doubt this would work in the small size required for the graphic element, but I like the message in this photo, too.

Glass cube- Fabulous color, interesting angles, and all around brightness. The many windows in this image convey a multi-facetedness I find intriguing. I miss the idea of the collection on display, but this is probably most suited for use as the graphic element. A strong possibility!

A very cool image! - This window is interesting in several ways. I like how the mullions form their own graphic element and I love the upward-looking perspective. I also like the blues. I think it's too dark for my purposes, though.

Wrought iron - This one would need a Gaussian blur, I think. I like the elegance of the wrought iron scrolls, the blue of the sky, and the upward-looking perspective. Again - probably too dark.

Rose window - Very pretty, excellent as a graphic element, but possibly too dark. It doesn't support the story I want to tell. I just liked this one.

What does all this talk about graphics have to do with usability and design? That's simple. Gratuitous graphics are distracting. Graphic elements should be included to support the message being delivered. Applying the same (or closely related) graphic elements across the entire portfolio helps achieve unity.

Talking to the graphic artist

Michel and I talked today. She's a gem! She found the example very helpful to know what I like. We talked a lot about the types of artifacts that would be included in the project and how best to present them. Essentially, there are only a few. There will be html pages, links to external sites I've created for other purposes, and PDF files. There will be some image files embedded in the HTML pages.

I was having trouble figuring out if I wanted to start with the artifacts and put the reflection in a pop-up box for the user to call up on demand. My other idea was to make all links to the reflections and then call up the artifact. I decided on the latter and talking it through with Michel helped me make the decision. I've decided readers should see the reflection first. It is the reflection that tells them how the specific artifact fits in the bigger picture, what is notable about the artifact, and what I learned from developing that artifact.

Michel and I spent much of our time talking about the architecture for the site. I worked on that so I could get it to her. I used my Inspiration diagram to help me make an outline that would make sense to her. Hopefully it did.

As we were on the phone, we were pulling up some of the things I've done before. It turns out she was using that to assess my skill level. (I hope I passed!) She was looking at how I had made some of my headers and comparing it to the example site I sent earlier. We decided we would do something different. She suggested the background of the header area have a light color to separate it from body of the page. She's also planning to create something that makes the horizontal navigation bar more prominent - possibly a rollover?

We talked about how to handle screen shots for some of the artifacts I want to include. We also briefly talked about color scheme. She was looking at my EDF 6481 site and commented that the blue background had a lot of purple in it. That led us to link colors - the standard ones being blue for new links and purple for visited links. She suggested we use a blue with quite a bit of purple in it which would allow standard color links to look nice. Since Jakob Nielsen thinks link colors shouldn't be changed, this sounded like the perfect decision for me - usability and aesthetics, both! Isn't it great to work with someone who thinks to this level of detail!?!

Now that there's actually a weekend free of the distraction of a hurricane, I've been able to make good progress on my portfolio again. I was disheartened because of the lack of progress, but feel re-energized now that I'm back into it. What a relief that is!