Set up ePortfolio assignment submissions

ePortfolios can be submitted via the Assignment activity in Moodle. This allows you to use marking guides and rubrics to grade ePortfolio submissions.

  1. In the top right hand corner of the page, set Edit mode to ON(Blue).

  2. In the section where you would like to add the ePortfolio assignment, click +Add an activity or resource.
  3. From the add an activity or resource window, select Assignment. 
  4. In Activity name, give your activity a title. Set up your Moodle assignment activity as needed. For more information on all Moodle assignment activity settings, see Create a Moodle assignment activity.
  5. In the Submission types, select Monash ePortfolio. When submitting to the assignment, students will be required to select a standalone page or collection to submit. Individual pages that are part of collections cannot be submitted, the entire collection must be submitted instead.

  6. For Archive when graded, you can choose whether a copy of the ePortfolio is made and stored in Mahara. An administrator can access, download and restore the ePortfolio at a later date, it will not be affected if a student later makes changes to their ePortfolio after grading. This is recommended for accreditation purposes.
  7. In Feedback types, uncheck Annotate PDF and keep Comment inline set to No.

  8. In Group submission settings, if you would to set up your portfolio assessment as a group assignment, ensure you set Require all group members submit to No. Once a portfolio has been submitted it will become locked, and become unavailable for submission for other students in the group.

    Note: If you would like each student in the group to submit individually, in Submission types you can select Online text as the submission type. Student within the group can paste the portfolios secret URL into the Online text box for submission. This prevents the portfolio from being locked and unavailable for submission for other group members.

  9. In Turnitin similarity report settings, set Enable Turnitin to No. Monash ePortfolio currently does not integrate with Turnitin and has a separate similarity checker.
  10. Once you have finished setting up your Moodle assignment, click Save and display.
  11. Once students have submitted their portfolio, you will see a link that will allow you to view the submitted ePortfolio pages or collections in the Assignment grade overview.

Note

When a student submits a Monash ePortfolio via the Moodle Assignment module, a copy of that portfolio is submitted and immediately locked and cannot be edited until grading is completed. However students can continue to make changes to their original version.

By default at Monash:

  • The portfolio remains locked until grading is complete.
  • Once grading is finalised, the copy of their portfolio is automatically unlocked, allowing students to continue editing.

However, if the student has made progress on their original version, it is recommended that they continue to work on that version.

More information about locked submissions

  • Pages and collections that are part of a draft submission will not be locked until the draft is submitted.
  • Pages and collections that are already locked due to being submitted to an ePortfolio group or another Moodle assignment, are also not available.
  • The Mahara page will be locked if the submission is submitted OR the submission is "locked" via the Moodle Gradebook.
  • If a submission is "reopened" via the Moodle Gradebook, the page will become unlocked.
  • If the locking setting permits unlock after grading:
    • If grading workflow is disabled, then grading the work will result in page unlocking.
    • If grading workflow is enabled, then page unlocking will happen at the point when workflow state changes to "Released", whether the submission has been graded or not prior to that.

Draw inspiration

Mahara podcasts

Host Kristina Hoeppner talks with portfolio practitioners, researchers, learning designers, students, and others about their portfolio story.

Eportfolio Based Assessment - Inspiring Exploration and Supporting Evaluation for Practitioners (eBook)

A collection of case studies of ePortfolios within a diverse range of disciplines from educators in Ireland and the UK. Funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. Edited by Lisa Donaldson, Dublin City University.

Field guide to ePortfolios

Assembled by the Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence- Based Learning (AAEEBL), the 'Field Guide to ePortfolios', provides an authoritative guide for how to understand ePortfolio in the context of higher education.

Exemplars of DCU Best Practice with ePortfolio based assessment

Case studies from Dublin City University that demonstrate the different ways ePortfolios can be adopted for summative and formative learning in a range of disciplines. Edited by Lisa Donaldson.

Digital Ethics Principles in ePortfolios

Developed by the Digital Ethics Task Force, this resource is designed to support a variety of stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, and platform developers in implementing ePortfolios with digital ethics at the centre of their design.

Learning Portfolios in Higher Education (2018)

Created by Darina Scully, Michael O'Leary and Mark Brown, this report synthesizes and critically reviews the literature pertaining to its use in universities and higher education institutions.