Written by: Mariea Whittington, SJSU MLIS, Dec 2014 (Vice Chair, SJSU ASIS&T 2013-14)
As many of you know, to graduate the SLIS program, you have to either write a thesis, do a thesis project, or create an e-portfolio. Many students decide to take the latter option because it gives them the opportunity to build an online profile and to see the overall encompassing work that they’ve done while they were in the program. It allows a time of reflection and introspection, which helps to see how your different posts, homework assignments, exams, and projects fit into the grand scheme of what the SLIS program has tried to incorporate in your education. It also prepares you for potential employment interview questions, giving you an opportunity to use certain aspects in your academics as examples. All of the aforementioned reasons were why I decided to embark on the e-portfolio, and after completing it, I see it as a huge resource for me to recall later on in my LIS-related career.
Below are some tips that I think will help you as you compile, write, and complete the e-portfolio in a timely manner.
Relax/Don’t Stress Out: the reason why I put this first is that when you start on the e-portfolio, you may have underestimated the amount of work that it entails. Depending on the professor, you have either 14 or 15 competencies to complete, and that does not include your Introduction, Statement of Purpose and Philosophy, and Conclusion. And when you add the amount of pages that are needed for each comp, you are looking at about a 45 page document, and with the other items, will be about 60 pages total. If you are working, or taking other classes, or an internship, this can be a bit overwhelming. Take a break and relax. Remember that you WILL finish and if you pace yourself, everything will fall into place.
Save Everything & Organize Everything: and I mean everything. This is something that you have heard from professors, staff, and faculty in the SLIS program. Why? Because you will possibly need something you did in LIBR 204 as a piece of evidence in one of your comps. So, save your discussion posts (I found it easy to copy and paste them in a Word document), and anything else you completed for a class. Then, organize it by course. Some will keep one general folder on their computer or Cloud that has everything in it. The earlier you organize yourself, the easier it will be when you are compiling your evidence.
Join the E-portfolio Support Group on Facebook: it is a secret group, so a current member of the group has to invite you. Here, you can meet and support your fellow peers that are going through the e-portfolio process.
Schedule Your Comps: some professors have certain deadlines. Wrenn-Estes, for example, was my professor during the e-portfolio process. She had a mandatory due date in September where students had to turn in 2 comps. This not only gave you experience in compiling the comps, but also made sure that you were on the right page. If you start to schedule your comps in the beginning of the semester, not only will you make the SLIS deadline, but you will more than likely finish early. Starting early in the semester, you can probably do about 1-2 comps a week, if not more if you are so inclined. On average, it took me about 3 hours per comp – which included editing, proper citation, and adding images, if the the evidence called for it.
Write Down All the Comps and Go Through Your Syllabi: this step helped me immensely. I took each comp and printed them on their own piece of paper. Then, I went through all of my syllabi (you can access most of the previous semester’s syllabi here: http://ischool.sjsu.edu/current-students/courses/syllabi) and looked at the Core Competencies that the courses went over; every time it listed a comp letter, I would write that down on the comp page it belonged to. What this does is helps you start to organize your thoughts. If you know that LIBR 210 supports Core Competency I, then you start to think about potential types of evidence that would fit there. After you do that, you can go through the comp sheets and see what is missing and think of unique ways to make sure each comp has three pieces of evidence.
Break Down Your Competency Compilation: for my e-portfolio, I decided to break down my comps into three sections: introduction, which gave a general overview as well as my understanding of the comp; evidence, three to four pieces of evidence from my time in the SLIS program that fit the comp, and; conclusion, of which I discussed how I would use this comp in my future LIS career. By following this pattern, I knew what came next, and what was needed for the comp to be complete.
Evidence: The evidence part helps the professor support your understanding that you stated in your comp introduction. I used various items – group and individual projects, discussion posts, my ASIS&T experience, internships, and non-SLIS classes. There are times when you see that you have zero classes that fit a certain comp letter. Do not worry; there are always other classes that touch upon that topic and you can use it for that particular comp. For example, say that you have nothing that relates to Core Competency I – Use service concepts, principles, and techniques to connect individuals or groups with accurate, relevant, and appropriate information. Break down the comp into manageable pieces. You know that you have to use techniques and principles to connect with people. A great example would be anytime that you attended or hosted a meeting through ASIS&T, or when you had to make a certain presentation on a topic. There will be times where you have to think outside the box to fulfill the comps
Proof-read and Submit: After putting together your comp, you need to proof-read it. If you do not have anyone to peer edit it for you, read your paper aloud. This helps you catch any mistakes or hang-ups that your paper may have. Be sure to also add any links and references that you used in your comp. When submitting, make sure you read the syllabus from the professor; some accept any and everything you send in, and some only allow three submissions in a week.
Breathe Easy: you’ll probably have to do some edits on your e-portfolio, and your professor will most likely give you notes on how to complete the comp. But once you do, you’re finished! All that hard work means that you are ready to graduate. Congratulations!
I hope this information helps you a little bit when you take on the e-portfolio. If you follow the steps above, it will help make the momentous task of constructing the e-portfolio a much smoother process. Good luck to everyone and have a wonderful day!