RAPPORT Vol 3 RAPPORT Vol 3 Issue 1 | Page 54

RAPPORT Volume 3 Issue 1 (2018) Part B), and as e-portfolio pages are not the same as text-based pages an indicative word count was provided. 2. Templates to guide students in using the e-portfolios Lisa adapted the current assignments into templates for students to adapt. A journal page template was developed which students could copy several times for their weekly reflective journal exercises. Five of these could then be added to a journal collection, for which Lisa developed two further templates: Part A where students were required to reflect on three things they had learnt from completing each of the five reflective exercises, as well as reflecting on additional core learning that demonstrated they had achieved at least three of the five course learning outcomes; and Part B to reflect on what they had learnt about being creative, creative problem-solving, and coming up with solutions to challenges in their daily lives. The latter included three text-based reflections and two video reflections. Therefore, the final reflective journal collection was to comprise five reflective journal pages and two further pages (A and B). Students had the option of sticking to the templates or devising their own versions once they fulfilled the assignment briefs. 3. Activating Loop Reflect and introducing students to e-portfolios and assessments The plan was to include all the assignment details in the course overview document on Loop Reflect and explain these during the first class of the semester, as well as giving an overview of the e-portfolio element of the assignment. Students were asked to activate their Loop Reflect accounts by the end of the first week so Lisa could add them to a group where on-line resources could be accessed, including the templates. At the start of the second week Lisa would come into the class to explain the benefits of using e-portfolios, how to get started and use the templates, and what supports were available on-line for them to develop these. 4. Encourage students’ early engagement with e-portfolios In addition to the above, as students hadn’t used e-portfolios or Loop Reflect before, it was important to get them to engage with them early in the semester. Deadlines for submission were revised to allow time for students to practise using e-portfolios prior to submitting the full e- portfolio reflective journal collection. Originally, the reflective journals were submitted as one assignment in Week 10 and accounted for 70% of the course grade. This was revised so that students submitted an e-portfolio page each week, starting in Week 3. The first exercise, a trial one requiring students to research definitions of creativity and reflect on these, was compulsory. The rationale for this was to test that the Loop Reflect submission facility was working and that students engaged with e- portfolios and reflective practice early in the semester. Following this, students had to submit five out of seven possible reflective journal exercises. These submissions constituted the formative element and accounted for 20% of overall assessment. Each student had the opportunity to have feedback on at least one assignment prior to final submission. All the assignments were set up on Loop Reflect prior to the start of the semester so students would see the deadlines for 53