As the University moves into the new millennium, its principles of self-governance and honor are not quite enough to keep it running.
The Integrated Electronic Course Portfolio, better known as E-folio, was created by the Instructional Technology Group in the fall of 1998 to improve communication between students and instructors. E-folio is a Web-based collaborative tool that helps to advance writing skills and critical review. Rather than ending up crumpled in the trashcan, E-folio provides an interactive home where student work can grow.
Students generate a multi-dimensional record of their work, which then encourages self-reflection and constructive evaluation by the instructor. With E-folio, not only is the student able to interact with the instructor, but with other peers and users as well.
Picture this: It's 2 a.m. You've just finished your Ritual and Demonology paper, and you're ready to print it out. Alas, your toner is low. You realize you can't print out the paper. Then a flash of brilliance hits you.
Using E-folio, you can e-mail your work directly to a secure Web site your professor has enrolled in and submit your paper without it ever appearing in hard copy form. After the course is over, potential employers can look at the Web site to review your papers, creative writing and portfolio.
Yitna Firdywek, faculty development coordinator and one of the leading founders of the E-folio project, said that E-folio was designed for efficiency so instructors would not have to waste time explaining how to use the tool.
"It's really impractical to expect the topic of technology to dominate in the classroom," Firdywek said. "Our goal was to remove that."
Slavic language and literature Prof. Natasha Kononenko used her Teaching and Technology Initiative grant last semester to pioneer the E-folio project and was pleased with the results. Students "didn't start thinking about the material when they came to class. Instead they got more out of the discussion and it progressed faster," she said.
The other purpose behind the E-folio project is to put the power back in the hands of instructors and students. E-folio is customizable for different classes, offering a wide-range of satisfaction for those courses that wish to use E-folio regularly or close to never.
Additionally, the newest version of E-folio, E-folio2, offers even more individualized features, such as allowing instructors to construct labels specific to their course or create their own help file.
"The program emphasizes a grass-roots approach," Firdywek said. "The collaboration between students and teachers dictates how the tools are used."
E-folio2 has the internal capability to provide syllabi, class materials and assignments much like Toolkit, another University-developed program. But the ever-popular Toolkit will not be replaced by E-Folio.
Firdywek explains that Toolkit is more used for administration than anything else. "Though students and teachers can't communicate with each other, it's much more secure. The two [tools] are complimentary - like apples and oranges."
In the future, E-folio may integrate with Toolkit, providing a series of links to the Toolkit page.
But the beneficial E-folio has remained largely unknown throughout the University because under 30 courses actually use the program. ITG has a staff of about four administrators monitoring the program but offering the tool on a wider-scale would take much more funding and man-power in programming, design and human resource support.
"The creation of the tool is cheap, but running it with the kind of service we give is expensive," Firdywek said.
Still, current users are loyal fans of the tool.
"I have used E-folio with two courses at the University, and I think it is great," third-year College student Lindsay Barna said. "It's very easy and convenient - plus, there's no chance of assignments getting lost or forgotten on days that they're due."
Education School students also are enthusiastic about the program. Carl Young, an Education graduate student, wrote his dissertation on the E-folio project stressing its value in amassing information from different sources.
"E-folio is a good tool for facilitating a virtual community of researchers," Young said. "It allows you to communicate within it."
Additionally, future English teachers that have worked with E-folio have a tool to introduce to their students when they go out to teach. This model may even be implemented in primary and secondary schools for the next Web-savvy generation.
In theory, E-folio use could operate on a much larger scale and be very extensive throughout the University. This Web-based collaborative approach to learning steadily is becoming more popular across the nation as well. But the question of whether the program will grow is debatable as ITG waits for word on further funding.
"We're just trying to work with the faculty and students now," Firdywek said. "We're not aiming to conquer the world"
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