Honors ePortfolios

At ODU, Honors College students are required to develop ePortfolios as a means of preserving their course work and actively demonstrating their cumulative learning throughout their entire program of study. ODU supports such active learning practices through many means, so that graduating students possess a valuable resource that effectively showcases their undergraduate work.

An "ePortfolio" is a digital collection of a student's work. A portfolio will include artifacts (samples of the students work) and reflective components (the student's observations on the learning that occurred). Such material emerges from individual courses, with particular emphasis on the following:

  • First-Year Seminars
  • Learning Communities
  • Writing-Intensive Courses
  • Undergraduate Research
  • Service Learning
  • Internships
  • Capstone Courses

Create a series of folders within your Honors College folder, using the bolded subsections as the title for each Folder.

Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (Must be updated each semester)

Participation in an Undergraduate Research Learning Community, observations and responses to research-related lectures, inventories of lab techniques and research methods practiced in classes and assignments, sample research reports and research papers, etc.

  • Upload any materials related to these activities (scan documents if needed, take pictures, upload videos, presentations, etc.)
  • If necessary, embed links in a Google Doc in which you introduce and discuss your participation in Undergraduate Research Activities at large.

*Tip: Consider having a colleague record any presentations you give; upload both the recording and any slides or presentation notes you might have.

*Tip: Develop topics for course assignments linked to your interests and the development of knowledge/skills related to the exploration of your major and career.

Academic Material (Required)
  • Within the "Academic Material" Folder, create a folder for the current semester. Then, within that folder, create a folder for each class you are taking this semester.
  • Upload course materials for each course.

*Required documents: syllabi, major assignment prompts (papers, projects, labs, etc.), major assignment submissions, and any other "major" work from the course.

*Optional documents: reading and class notes, homework prompts and work, images from chalk board notes or lab/research experiments, etc.

*Tip: Keep copies of ALL course materials.

Co-curricular & Leadership Activities 

Internships, Field Trips, Interviews, Grant-related Research

  • Upload any materials related to these activities (scan documents if needed, take pictures, upload videos, presentations, etc.)
  • If necessary, embed links in a Google Doc in which you introduce and discuss the Co-curricular Activity at large.

Extra-curricular Activities

Social or Professional Organizations, Sports Teams/Organizations, Philanthropic Communities

  • Upload any materials related to these activities.
  • If necessary, embed links in a Google Doc in which you introduce and discuss the Extra-curricular Activity at large.
Professional and/or Civic Activities

Material related to work/ jobs (such as Resumes) or community engagement.

  • Civic Learning Project Folder. Within this folder, include:
  1. The description of your project that was approved by the HC Dean. This description should include: your name, major, the name of the host volunteer organization, a description of your duties, a description of what you hope to learn from the experience and the name of your volunteer work supervisor.
  2. Scanned HC Worksheet pertaining to your project.
  3. Documentation of your forty-five hours of volunteer work, as found in your daily observational journal. Documentation can also include images, video, sound recordings, etc.*
  4. The list of research questions related to your project.
  5. The description of your research methodology for answering those questions.
  6. Other related products/deliverables associated with your Civic Learning Project.
  7. The final two-page paper that shares your discoveries regarding your research questions and describes how you and the sponsoring organization benefited from the experience.

Your Civic Learning Project with reflection paper, journal, and other supporting documents uploaded in your digital portfolio is due the first day of finals week.

*Please consider: Although we enthusiastically support you digitally recording aspects of your experiences, please be sure to carefully consider the privacy and security of individuals and information with which you might be working. You probably want to talk with someone from the volunteer organization about what types of images, audio, and/or video you might safely record.

  • Upload any materials related to these activities
  • If necessary, embed links in a Google Doc in which you introduce and discuss the Professional or Civic Activity at large.
Awards & Scholarships

List of Summer Research Fellowships, Grants, Scholarships to which you are thinking of applying (include application deadlines),Applications, Recommendation Letters, Official Announcements, Programmes, Pictures /Video with Award, etc.

Step 1: Accessing your Student Google Drive

  • Enter "drive.google.com" into your address bar
  • Enter your MIDAS id @odu.edu address (example: mmize001@odu.edu)
  • Leave password BLANK
  • Hit "Enter"
  • On the Shibboleth Single-Sign On, enter all of your MIDAS information
  • Hit "Enter"
     

Step 2: Creating Your Honors College Portfolio

  • Top left, select "Create" or "New" Button
  • Select "Folder" from drop down menu
  • Name your Folder: Last name, first name. UIN.
     

Step 3: Archiving Your Learning Material
Create Folders within your Honors College Folder, using the items listed below as the title for each Folder.

  • Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities
  • Academic Material (Required)
  • Co-curricular & Leadership Activities
  • Extra-curricular Activities
  • Professional and Civic Activities
  • Awards & Scholarships
     

Step 4: Sharing Your Honors College Folder

  • On the left side of your Drive Screen, select your HC folder (the Folder in which the others are placed).
  • Again at the top right, you will see a "Share" icon (this looks like a person with a plus sign).
  • Share your portfolio with the ePortfolio Learning Coordinator: mmize@odu.edu
    • Be sure to give the Coordinator editing privileges in the drop down menu.
       

Support
For additional information or support, please visit the ePortfolio Learning Coordinator, Megan Mize, in the Student Success Center (Rm 2022). Contact her at mmize@odu.edu if you have questions. To make an appointment, please call the Honors College at 683- 4865.

As part of our efforts to support student learning, the Honors College requires students to develop ePortfolios which mark a student's progress through the curriculum. To help you begin your ePortfolio, please read the information below and follow the instructions provided.

An ePortfolio is a digital collection of student work developed across varied contexts (classes, internships, social activities, etc.) over time.

An ePortfolio provides opportunities for organizing, archiving and displaying work. As you progress through a course of study at ODU, an ePortfolio can serve as a repository for your work. As a result, when the need arises for you to display your experiences, you may draw on the archived material, crafting a showcase portfolio. Due to its digital nature, an ePortfolio allows you to create and share multi-media elements, such as videos, audio files, animation, and so forth.

Google Drive is a cloud-based storage service that allows you to store your documents, photos, videos, and more online. From Drive, you can also use a variety of Google applications, such as Docs, Sheets, and Forms to generate new content.

Due to Google Drive's cloud-based nature, you may store and access materials in many ways. You may create material within Drive or upload to it (you may do so on a mobile device); conversely, you may download material from Drive to your hard drive.

Though there are a number of ePortfolio platforms available, the Honors College values Google Drive's ability to support creation, collaboration, and sharing. By using Drive as your initial ePortfolio platform, you are able to save and export material over the years, so that you may use it in a variety of contexts. Furthermore, as an ODU student, you have free space available to you in Drive. Finally, your material is protected through MIDAS; you control who is able to access your work.

Starting fall 2015, the Honors College will have ePortfolio mentors who can assist you with your ePortfolio. Outside of the Honors College, Academic Enhancement offers Academic Coaches and peer advisors who are available to meet with students one-on-one in order to help them with ePortfolio questions and suggestions.

The Honors College provides continuing support for students developing ePortfolios. The Honors College conducts Workshops and Open Labs throughout the Fall and Spring semesters. We strongly encourage students to make appointments to meet with the Honors College Advisors.

During your time in the Honors College, you will be asked to archive your ODU experiences in your Drive Folder to create an archive ePortfolio. For instance, courses such as your Undergraduate Learning Community and Civic Learning Project will mandate that you maintain digital folders for each.

Additionally, each semester you will create folders for every class, not just those satisfying Honors College requirements, in which you save a copy of the course syllabus, your work, and especially your larger projects. You may see the full requirements here. These subfolders are useful when you meet with your Honors College advisor, as they demonstrate your progress through the program.

Using a Cover Letter to prepare for your advising session each semester, you and your Honors College advisor will also review the ePortfolio to help you identify your academic strengths/weaknesses, as well develop a plan to get the most out of your Honors Monarch Experience. Finally, as a senior, you will construct a final "showcase" portfolio, displaying your learning and experiences throughout your time at ODU.