First, remember to check out the 2012 new portfolio guideline!
Q: How to change fonts, font colors and the background color of the portolio?A: The short answer is not on Blackboard. You need to do that in Word. Once you upload your files to Blackboard, you cannot do any editing. Well, the good news is that editing in Word is much easier than in Blackboard anyways. Do not need to worry too much about the design, as long as your materials are well organized and you properly use headers and sub-headers, you will be fine. Plain layout is not always a bad thing, especially when it comes to big chucks of text.
Q: Are there length requirements?
A: Yes (see the guideline). For example, your learning outcomes essay should be "10-12 double spaces pages". In this case, do not go over 12 pages cause your portfolio readers will not like that!
Q: What's the writing requirement? How much weight does writing carry in final grade?
A: We are not looking for fancy writing here, just effective writing. So make sure you've organized your thoughts carefully and expressed them clearly. Edit all your documents several times (if necessary, a professional editor is preferred. E.g., someone from the UK writing center.)! Poor writing will definitely affect your overall grade, A LOT. If the readers assigned to your portfolio get physical headache from all the typos, grammar errors, and/or poorly organized sections, it is not surprised that he/she won't be able to make a 'fair' judgement on other components of your portfolio.
Q: When and How to share your portfolio with your adviser before your final submission?
A:
Once you have everything in place and have edited all your writings.
Sent your portfolio my way. Depending on my schedule, it may take 1-2
weeks to get you the complete feedback. Note that "the
advisor is
not serving as your editor and will not do line-by-line corrections and
style suggestions", so it is better to have your materials edited to
avoid ineffective communication or miscommunication.
The
best way to share your portfolio with me is to send me a zip file with
all your documents (preferred being placed in proper folders). If you
share it on Blackboard as instructed in the portfolio instruction, every
faculty will be able to view it, which is probably not something you
want to do while you are still working on your portfolio.
Q: Who will review/grade my portfolio?
A: There will be two readers (SLIS faculty) assigned to your portfolio, in addition to your adviser. If one fails you, the exam committee (3 faculty members are assigned to this committee each semester) will further investigate your portfolio and make a final decision.
