Common Questions

and Some Answers

Q: Is the ePortfolio required?
A: Yes, it is a course-level requirement in all General Education courses, but it is not a General Education graduation requirement. Think of it as an assignment that is common to all General Education courses. Build the ePortfolio outline once, and use it for all of your General Education courses. Please note that an increasing number of academic programs outside of General Education are requiring the ePortfolio for graduation.

Q: Are there campus resources to help me construct my ePortfolio?
A: Yes. Starting Fall 2016 any students creating an ePortfolio for the FIRST time should do so using SLCC's platform, Digication. If you built your ePortfolio on another platform prior to Fall 2016, you can continue to use that. SLCC has trained staff who can assist you. Click HERE for information on where and when to get one-on-one help if you need it.
NOTE: The College is NOT responsible if you have a bad experience with a particular platform.

Q: Will my instructor teach me how to build an ePortfolio?
A: No. Instructors are busy teaching you complicated subjects in one semester, so they cannot dedicate class time to help you build your ePortfolio. SLCC has trained staff who can assist you. Click HERE for information on where and when to get one-on-one help if you need it.

Q: Does this result in more work for students?
A: The truth is that SLCC’s ePortfolio initiative results in a little more work for students. Students will need to build the ePortfolio outline once, and then use it in all their General Education courses. Students put one or more assignments from each class into their ePortfolio along with a couple of paragraphs of reflective writing. It takes less than 15 minutes to add a page to your portfolio, upload your assignments, and paste in your reflection.

Q: What kinds of things can I put in my ePortfolio?
A: We use the term “artifact” for the assignments you put in your ePortfolio. Your instructors in General Education courses will tell you which signature assignments will result in artifacts that you can put in your ePortfolio. You can put many different kinds of digital artifacts in your ePortfolio, including text files, images, audio, video, and links to webpages. Two things to remember:

Showcase your assignments and reflections for each courses instead of just dumping files on the page. Click HERE for a file dump and bad reflection example.
Most dynamic and engaging ePortfolios/websites contain multiple forms of communication. Try incorporating relevant images, videos, etc. on each of your pages. Incorporating images you've taken, videos you've created, audio you've recorded is preferred because they are artifacts that you've created. Click HERE for an example of a dynamic course page that showcases the assignment and reflection for the course.

If you use the work of others, make sure to give them credit and to make sure that you aren't violating copyrights when you do so.

Click HERE for information on Creative Commons/Fair Use.

It is NEVER ethical, wise, or cool to plagiarize!

Q: What is the grade-weight of the ePortfolio requirement in each General Education course?
A: Each instructor determines how much the ePortfolio assignment and reflection counts toward your total grade in a given course. It may be as low as 1% of your grade up to 40% or even more.

Q: I notice that Wix has a “upgrade” version that costs money. Do I have to purchase it?

A: No. You can build an excellent ePortfolio using Wix without upgrading to the “pro” version. The "upgrade" versions are reasonably priced, and get you increased capabilities and features.

Q: Can I put assignments or other material in the ePortfolio that are not mine?
A: Absolutely not. Plagiarism is a violation of the Student Code of Conduct and will be taken very seriously. You should know that the College subscribes to anti-plagiarism software that faculty use to compare current digital artifacts with those appearing anywhere else on the Web. For more information on copyright and permissions, please click HERE.

Q: How much personal information should I put in my ePortfolio?
A: Only as much as you feel comfortable sharing. This is suppose to be a public representation of your learning, but you certainly don’t have to put your photo, full name, address, email address, or other information in the portfolio if you don’t want to. You’ll have to decide how best to balance your privacy concerns with the desire to use the ePortfolio to showcase your educational aspirations and accomplishments. The primary audiences for your ePortfolio should be your instructors, your family, and possibly scholarship committees. Depending on the platform you choose, you will be able to either hide your ePortfolio from Web searches, or password protect key pages within it. For more information regarding privacy, please click HERE.

Q: Who owns the ePortfolio when I’m finished at SLCC?
A: Each student owns his or her ePortfolio and can continue to use it after leaving SLCC. If you transfer to a four-year college or university, our advice to you is to keep using it to document your learning--regardless of whether your new professors know anything about it. When you get into your major at the four-year college or university, use that section of the Coursework page to document your learning. That way, you’ll be able to chart your progress through from SLCC all the way to achieving your Bachelor’s degree.

Q: What if one of these sites loses my data?
A: SLCC cannot be responsible for the performance of these third-party sites. The situation is analogous to your instructor requiring you to create a spreadsheet on your computer. If your spreadsheet program eats your data, the manufacturer of the software is responsible rather than the College. For this reason we highly recommend that you keep a digital copy of the work you put in your ePortfolio as well as a copy of other work you do at SLCC. Invest in a thumb or jump drive to store your coursework.

Q: What if I’m concerned about my privacy?
A: There is little to worry about here, because you can either hide your ePortfolio from search engines or password protect pages within it. You own your ePortfolio, so you determine the visibility of your ePortfolio. Some tips:

Share your ePortfolio’s URL only with SLCC faculty and staff via MyPage, as well as family, trusted friends, and scholarship committees. Otherwise, keep the address to yourself.
When you sign up for your ePortfolio, don’t use your name in the domain name, so an address like www.kb345.weebly.com is far better than www.katyburklie.weebly.com.
Similarly, don’t title the ePortfolio heading with “Katy Burklie’s SLCC ePortfolio,” as that will make it easier to find on a web search.
Use only your first name throughout the portfolio--on assignments, on the Welcome page, and on your resume.
Don’t put pictures of yourself in the portfolio.
Don't put your S Number, SSN, Address, and/or phone number anywhere in your ePortfolio. On your "Resume" page, your email address is sufficient contact information. If you are uncomfortable with putting your resume in the ePortfolio, then create a "contact me" page.
Click HERE for more information regarding privacy.

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