This document discusses the benefits of using e-portfolios and Digication software for students. It outlines six major benefits of a liberal arts education, including thinking skills, learning how to see the whole picture, and gaining wisdom. It then discusses how e-portfolios can provide evidence of career and academic work, and how the process of creating a portfolio helps with self-assessment, confidence, and lifelong learning skills. Specific functions of Digication software are presented, followed by questions about its use and tips for getting started with e-portfolios.

1. Learn at Lunch:
Digication and
E-Portfolio’s

2. BENEFITS OF
A LIBERAL ARTS
EDUCATION
How do we convey this?

3. “Tell me and I’ll forget, show me
and I may remember, involve me
and
I’ll understand.
- Chinese Proverb

4. SIX MAJOR BENEFITS OF LIBERAL
ARTS
○ Think
○ Learn
○ Whole Picture
○ Wisdom & Faith
○ Exchange of Learning
○ Contributes to Student Satisfaction
- Robert Harris, On the Purpose of a Liberal
Education

5. I AM MORE THAN A NAME
ON A PIECE OF PAPER

6. Career
Quality of work, writing
for the public eye,
understanding of career
concepts, teamwork,
case studies,
showcasing professional
development.
PORTFOLIOS PROVIDE EVIDENCE
Advanced Degree
Quality of work,
academic writing, case
studies, practicum,
internships, student
teaching, community
outreach, volunteering.

7. BENEFITS FROM THE PROCESS
Self-Assessment
Students discover a
valuable exercise in self
assessment through the
reflection process in
selecting artifacts.
Self-Confidence
As students take control
of their own learning and
enhance their progress
they will gain self-
confidence and self-
esteem regarding their
knowledge.
Lifelong Practice
Students begin to
practice a process that
will be used throughout
their life in showcasing
their abilities and
learning pursuits.

8. BENEFITS FROM THE PRODUCT
Personal Development
Students will have a
personal learning record
that tells more than a
college transcript.
Career Planning
Students will have a
concrete way of
showcasing their work to
future employees of
advanced degree
programs.
Prior Learning
Assessment (PLA)
Students may receive
credit towards a degree
program by showcasing
what was learned in
their previous degree
program or through work
experience.

9. How can we
show what it means to be a Siena
Saint?

10. A PICTURE IS
WORTH A
THOUSAND
WORDS
A complex idea can be
conveyed with just a
single still image.
Students can showcase
Siena’s Franciscan
Values by just showing
who they are.

11. Creating a
Caring
Community

12. Showing
Compassion

13. Reverencing
All of Creation

14. Making
Peace

15. DIGICATION E-PORTFOLIO PROJECT
This software allows students to easily show and explain
their portfolio projects using simple templates and intuitive
site building tools.
Place your screenshot here

16. Overview of Functions
Image/Video/
Audio
The 'Image/Video' module
allows you to display a single
large piece of media, such as a
movie or an image.
Gallery
The gallery module is designed
for displaying multiple images
(or videos) within a page.
Google
Calendar
Show your Google calendar
directly in your portfolio.
HTML Rich Text
The 'Rich Text' module
provides a rich text area that
can contain formatted text and
display links to websites and
files, and images.
Equations
Allows complicated
mathematical equations in the
form of LaTeX and AsciiMath
notations.
Google Drive
Add documents, spreadsheets,
presentations and even your
Google calendar directly to
your Digication ePortfolio

17. WHY DIGICATION?
Easy to use
Digication has an easy-to-
use, intuitive interface.
Rather than having to deal
with html coding or figuring
out the layout, Digication
makes it very simple to
create a clean, organized
site.
Privacy Settings
You can limit who has
access to your site. You can
make it private, allow other
people at your school to see
it, or select the people who
can view the site.
Multiple Portfolios
Users can make multiple
portfolios with their account,
which let you create separate
department and class sites

18. GOOD QUESTIONS
Are there legal privacy issues involved with using ePortfolios in class?
Yes, and you should be aware of them. FERPA includes two requirements that are particularly
relevant to ePortfolios. First, student academic work cannot be made public without the student's
consent. So if your course requires that student ePortfolios be public (for example, if they are used
for professional self-presentation) then you must make it clear from the beginning of the course that
such public presentation is an expectation of the course. If your course does not require public
ePortfolios, you should remind students that they can make their portfolios private if they wish.
Second, universities cannot disclose personally identifiable information from students' "education
records" - especially their grades. Never post students' grades on a portfolio viewable by anyone
but the student!

19. GOOD QUESTIONS
Can I use ePortfolios on a smartphone or tablet?
Yes, with some limitations. Most of the functions of the software will work, but you can't use
anything that requires drag-and-drop, such as the Organizer tool. You'll need an actual computer
(desktop or laptop) for those.
Can students keep their portfolios after they graduate?
Yes. Access to Digication is free for alumni as long as Siena maintains its contract with Digication. If
for some reason that contract is ever terminated, students will still have two options: they can pay a
small fee to Digication to keep access (about $20/year), and they can download their portfolios to
their computers so they can be placed on a personal website.

20. HOW DO I GET STARTED?
○ Contact the Academic Technology office and let us know you are interested.
○ Ask yourself “what work might represent the idea of this class/program/etc?”
○ Create an outline/rubric/or learning objectives
○ Speak to other areas already using ePortfolio’s (FYS, International Studies,
Management)
○ Create a portfolio for your own academic representation (include courses taught,
biographical information, published works, etc)
○ Come into the Hines 105 Faculty Lab and work one on one with a member of the
Academic Technology team.

21. THANKS!
Any questions?
You can find me at:
Hines Hall 107
hmiller@siena.edu
http://acadtech.siena.edu
@theotherinside

22. CREDITS
Special thanks to all the people who made and released these awesome
resources for free:
○ Presentation template by SlidesCarnival
○ Photographs taken from the Siena College Facebook Page
● Where there is darkness, bring light - January 19th, 2015
● Happy Feast of Saint Francis Week! - September 29th 2014
● #neverforget - September 11, 2014:
● Dr. Allan Weatherwax Northern Lights - January 9, 2014
● Blessing of the Brains: December 11, 2013
● Academic Celebration May 3, 2011