ePortfolios in Student Media Practicum
Prologue
Student media practicum in higher education incorporates communication disciplines including journalism, advertising and public relations across a broad spectrum of authentic and organic applications. A robust organization explores and applies practical usage of techniques involving engagement, interviewing, writing, research, design and technology that is diverse and nuanced as each individual institution (American Press Institute, 2013). Public scrutiny within each community assesses and engages each outlet accordingly within the norms of their operation (Sonderman, Rosenstiel, 2015, p. 2-3).
My innovation plan (IP) for the DLL program has developed along the lines of being a tool to measure, document and display student-centered achievement and learning. There are two subdivisions separated into Student and Instruction.
The Student division emphasizes student application of prior knowledge and current learning for journalism, advertising and public relations degree tracks at the Lamar University Press student newspaper (UP) and within the LU College of Communications (LUCC). Additionally, the ePortfolio serves a starting point for learners to transition from a student identity to a professional identity for career development (Graves, Epstein, 2011).
The Instruction division emphasizes the implementation and use of ePortfolios for advisers, faculty and staff. The IP has developed with the consideration to ease of implementation, use with corresponding professional learning for the instructor (Roberts, Maor, Herrington, 2016, 22-33).
For both divisions, the guiding principles include Choice, Ownership, Voice and Authenticity (COVA) as a framework for creating and maintaining significant learning environments (Harapnuik, 2016), the development of student-to-professional identities (Graves, Epstein, 2011), student achievement and assessment, and student media operations.
The IP is currently in its fifth generation/semester. The timeline that plan follows must be considered for several reasons. Some students work at the UP because of degree plan requirements and that might include one to multiple semesters. Additionally, some students are free of academic constraints and voluntarily create ePortfolios, again including from one to multiple semesters (Thibodeaux, Cummings, Harapnuik, 2017).
Throughout my enrollment in the DLL program I have been able to refine my overall IP and elaborate on the application of various concepts and define and research specific components (Baquet, Kahn, 2017).
The most difficult challenge about the IP has been to structure all the components into definable sections for the purposes of publication and research for learners and instructors. There are several crossover components where the instructional methods and outcomes are complimentary, but serve a different purpose depending on the audience.
Future prospects are the development of this IP program as a capstone component of the Department of Communications undergraduate degree completion requirement. Students would begin the ePortfolio component upon entering one the Communications degree tracks and it would be a terminal requirement for senior-level capstone courses, including internships and professional employment.
Publication Outline
Description
“Student Media ePortfolios: Live it, Own it, Love it”
This session has been submitted as a conference presentation at the 2018 Texas Intercollegiate Press Association, March 21-24 in Dallas.
I presented at the 2017 TIPA conference, 22-25, “Advertising ePortfolios for the Job Market” and because of positive response from attendees, I was asked to submit for the 2018 conference. A session is scheduled for 45 minutes.
The 2018 conference presentation by Stephan Malick was submitted January 6, 2018, “Student Media ePortfolios: Live it, Own it, Love it” is designed to be larger in scope to include multiple components and emphasize the use of WordPress as a platform and will address issues for both learners and instructors.
The presentation will be a hybrid of discussion with a slideshare presentation.
I. What ePortfolios are and why do I need one?
A. Define ePortfolio purposes for students and instructor
B. Define achievable practices and platforms
C. Student media audience engagement and assessment
II. The differences of student identity vs. professional identity
A. Examples of student and professional portfolios
B. Implementation and continuity for learners and instructors
III. Discussion and feedback
A. Exchange contact information
B Share resources and documentation
Journal options:
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication: http://www.aejmc.org/
My department Chair Natalie Tindall and I are co-authoring an article modelling and findings of implementing ePortfolios in freshman-level Media Writing and News Writing courses at LU.
I, we, are also evaluating submitting to the following journals for the same article and/or separate articles of the same or similar topic.
International Journal of ePortfolio: http://www.theijep.com/index.html
Association for Authentic, Experiential, and Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL): http://aaeebl.org/
International Journal of Communication: http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc
References
American Press Institute (2013). Blueprint for Transformation. N2 Newspaper Next: The Transformation Project. Retrieved February 4, 2017 https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/N2_Blueprint-for-Transformation.pdf
ASNE Newsroom Census (2015). American Society of Newsroom Editors 28 June 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2017 from http://asne.org/content.asp?pl=140&sl=129&contentid=129
Baquet, D. & Kahn, J. (2017). Journalism That Stands Apart: The Report of the 2020 Group January 2017. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/projects/2020-report/ February 3, 2017.
Frand, J. L., (2000) The information age mindset: changes in students and implications for higher education. EDUCAUSE September/October 2000, pp. 14-24. Retrieved ebscohost.com June 14, 2017.
Graves, N. and Epstein, M. (2011). E-porfolio: a tool for constructing a narrative professional identity. Business Communication Quarterly, Volume 74, Number 3, September 2011 342-346
DOI: 10.1177/1080569911414555
Harapnuik, D. (2016, September 29). COVA Model [Web log]. Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?s=cova
Karimi, J. & Walter, Z. (2015). The Role of Dynamic Capabilities in Responding to Digital Disruption: A Factor-Based Study of the Newspaper Industry, Journal of Management Information Systems 2015, 32, (1), pp. 39–81. Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, ISSN 1557–928X (online) DOI: 10.1080/07421222.2015.1029380. Retrieved http://content.ebscohost.com Lamar University library share January 23, 2017.
Ring, G. L. (2015). Implementing a peer mentoring model in the Clemson e-portfolio program. ISSN: 0040-5841 print/1543-0421 online. DOI: 10.1080/00405841.2015.1077616. Published and retrieved ebscohost.com June 14, 2017, Theory Into Practice, 54:326–334, 2015, Changing Landscapes: The Impact of e-Portfolios on Teaching and Learning. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
Roberts, P., Maor, D., & Herrington, J. (2016). E-Portfolio-Based Learning Environments: Recommendations for Effective Scaffolding of Reflective Thinking in Higher Education. Educational Technology & Society, 19 (4), 22–33.
Robinson S, (2012). Teaching “journalism as process”: a proposed paradigm for j-school curricula in the digital age. Teaching Journalism and Mass Communication, Vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 1-12, Winter 2013 http://www.aejmc.net/spig/journal. © Sue Robinson 2012. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
Sonderman, J. & Rosenstiel, T. (2015). “A culture-based strategy for creating innovation in news organizations.” Published May 27, 2015 American Press Institute.
Thibodeaux, T., Cummings, C., and Harapnuik, D. (2017). Factors that Contribute to e-Portfolio Persistence, International Journal of e-Portfolio, Volume 7, Number 1, 1-12. http://www.theijep.com ISSN 2157-622X
Additional reading resources
Hattie, J. (2014) Visible learning. Digital learning and leading BlackBoard reference EDLD 5316. Retrieved from https://visible-learning.org/john-hattie/. Original link broken.
Mertler, C. (2015). Classroom and school-based action research. Blackboard EDLD 5315 classroom. https://luonline.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-2654311-dt-content-rid-20488008_1/xid-20488008_1
Ohler, J. (2012). Digital citizenship means character education for the digital age. Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, 77(8), 14-17. (PDF: Ohler_Digital_citizenship_means_character_education_2012.pdf)
Polgar, D. R., & Curran, M. B.F.X. (2015). We shouldn’t assume people know what digital citizenship is. Retrieved from http://www.teachthought.com/technology/we-shouldnt-assume-people-know-what-digital-citizenship-is/
Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools: Nine elements all students should know (3rd ed.). Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education
Smith, M. K. (2003). Learning theory, the encyclopedia of informal education. [http://infed.org/mobi/learning-theory-models-product-and-process/. Retrieved: Jan 26, 2018]. http://infed.org/mobi/learning-theory-models-product-and-process/. Blackboard course reading list EDLD 5313.
Yancey, K.B. (2015). Grading e-Portfolios: tracing two approaches, their advantages, and their disadvantages. ISSN: 0040-5841 print/1543-0421 online. DOI:10.1080/00405841.2015.1076693. Published and retrieved ebscohost.com June 14, 2017, Theory Into Practice, 54:301–308, 2015, Changing Landscapes: The Impact of e-Portfolios on Teaching and Learning. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
