The new Blackboard Portfolio tool released with Blackboard learn in April 2014 is much-improved and provides an easy-to-use platform for students to demonstrate and reflect upon what they have learned throughout their university career. Northern Illinois University (NIU) implemented the portfolios campus-wide during 2015, and it was used by thousands of students in a relatively short time. This presentation at BbWorld16 will provide an overview of the portfolio tool, strategies for developing portfolios that serve different purposes, and best practices for institutional adoption. Sample portfolios and exemplars from faculty who are using Blackboard portfolios in their classes will be shared, along with NIU’s campus-wide implementation process. Opportunities and challenges will be discussed to provide insights for others planning to roll-out portfolios at their institutions.

1. The Blackboard Portfolio Tool:
Features, uses, and campus-wide
implementation process

2. Presenters
Jason Rhode
Director
Faculty Development and
Instructional Design Center
Northern Illinois University
jrhode@niu.edu
@JasonRhode
Stephanie Richter
Assistant Director
Faculty Development and
Instructional Design Center
Northern Illinois University
srichter@niu.edu
@slrichter

3. Agenda
• Background information
• Blackboard Portfolios: Features and examples
• Campus-wide implementation process
• Portfolio usage across campus
• Considerations

4. Background Information

5. Northern Illinois University Overview
• Main campus in DeKalb, IL
located 65 miles West of Chicago
• Total enrollment: 20,130
• 1,174 Instructional faculty
• Student to instructor/faculty
ratio: 15:1
• Online programs: 8 undergrad,
7 graduate, 7 certificates

6. Why the Institutional Emphasis on Portfolios?
• NIU PLUS Taskforce
• High Impact Practices
(HIP’s)
• Focus on student
retention and success

7. Features and Examples

8. Who has created a Portfolio in Blackboard?

9. Building Portfolios
• Add artifacts from files or from prior Blackboard
Assignment submissions
• Embed media directly in the page
• Customize and preview features
• Manage multiple portfolios for different purposes
• Use templates for standardized portfolios

10. Grading Portfolios
• Faculty can create an Assignment with Portfolio
Submission enabled
• If Portfolio Submission is enabled, students can only
submit a Portfolio
• Faculty can grade and provide feedback as usual in
the Grade Center

11. Sharing Portfolios
• Share snapshots internally with institution users
• Share snapshots externally with people outside the
institution
• Download entire portfolio as zip file for future use
and portability

17. Campus-wide Implementation Process

18. Campus-wide Implementation Process
Identify Key Stakeholders
Raise Awareness
Test Portfolio Tool
Upgrade to April 2014
Develop Support Resources for Users
Train Users

19. Identify Key Stakeholders
• Provost’s Office
• NIU PLUS Taskforce
• Office of Assessment Services
• Division of Information Technology
• Faculty Development and Instructional Design
Center
• First and Second Year Experience Program
• First Year Composition Program

20. Raise Awareness
• ePortfolio Symposium: Regional College Readiness
Partnerships – September 2014
• Teaching Effectiveness Institute – January 2015
• Demonstration of Bb Portfolio tool to stakeholders –
January 2015
• Teaching with Technology Institute – June 2015

21. Test Portfolio Tool
• Part of annual upgrade testing
• Tested:
• Creation
• Sharing
• Grading
• Templates
• Built sample portfolios for further promotion

22. Upgrade to April 2014
• Memorial Day weekend 2015
• Featured the updated portfolios as part of the
upgrade
facdev.niu.edu/bbupgrade2015

23. Develop Support Resources for Users
• Developed throughout summer 2015
• Documentation, quick guides, sample portfolios,
and tutorials
• Materials for both students and faculty
go.niu.edu/portfolios

24. Train Users
• Offered 8 hands-on workshops for faculty and staff
• Nearly 150 faculty and staff trained
• Special audiences:
• UNIV 101 Instructors
• First-Year Composition Instructors
• Met with additional faculty 1-on-1 for
template creation

25. Portfolio Usage Across Campus

26. Usage
In 1 year, we have…
9
Templates created
6,332
Portfolios created
41
Courses with
templates
3,447
Portfolio users

27. Training and
Documentation
In 1 year, we have…
8
Hands-on
workshops
5,587
Website pageviews
137
Participants
639
Tutorial views

28. Considerations

29. Staffing
• Campus partners
• Blackboard testers
• Trainers
• Resource developers

30. Implementation Time – 1 year
• Test Blackboard
• Upgrade Blackboard
(if necessary)
• Develop student &
faculty support resources
• Train faculty users
• Learning about portfolios
• Raise awareness on
campus
• Demonstrate Blackboard
Portfolios to key
stakeholders

31. Support Resources
• Focus on student support needs
• Work with stakeholders to determine what they
want to see in a portfolio
• Create multiple formats (e.g., text, video, printable)
• Create sample portfolios, export and share on
website

32. Establish Policies
• Who gets a template?
• What do you name templates?
• Who approves template format (or at least provides
guidance for template structure)?
• How long are student accounts active (and thus
portfolios are accessible)?

33. Summary

34. Summary
• Implementing Portfolios is a campus-wide process
involving multiple stakeholders
• Consider how Portfolios will be used for teaching
and assessment as you plan your implementation
• Students will need the most support, but faculty
need to be comfortable that students can be
successful

35. go.niu.edu/portfolios

36. Join Bb Users Community Group
j.mp/bbportfoliousers

37. Questions?
Jason Rhode
Director
Faculty Development and
Instructional Design Center
Northern Illinois University
jrhode@niu.edu
@JasonRhode
Stephanie Richter
Assistant Director
Faculty Development and
Instructional Design Center
Northern Illinois University
srichter@niu.edu
@slrichter

38. Don’t forget!
Rate this session
in the BbWorld App.