The Mesquite Online News - Texas A&M University-San Antonio

E-portfolio tool receives mixed reactions from students

Texas A&M University-San Antonio signed a three-year subscription agreement June 1 spending a total of $122,718.75 to incorporate Digication, a digital portfolio resource designed to better prepare students for jobs following college.

Digication, a learning community software tool for students and faculty, allows users to create e-portfolios that showcase and share their work with family, friends, and potential employers.

Implementation of the digital portfolios on this campus began last year when President Cynthia Teniente-Matson encouraged faculty and students to use e-portfolios. A technology committee formed to look at software packages and subscription costs.   

Digication was chosen based on the ease of use provided to faculty and students, said Sherita Love, academic technology manager. Users can upload written works, photos, projects, collaborative assignments, reflective pieces, select social media feeds, and videos.

“From a student’s perspective, we really want to keep it as simple as possible,” Love said.

Instead of losing important projects, essays, or video presentations and forgetting about them, students can select their best work and upload it to the e-portfolio.

“When you go in for an interview you can talk about the things that you have done, or you can use an e-portfolio and show what you have done,” Love said.

This allows them to grow academically and show future employers the quality of their work.  

“Having an online representation of the work that a student has done invites students to engage with their learning in a way that is deeper than students who are not putting e-portfolios together,” said Scott Gage, assistant professor of English.

Since the use of e-portfolios in classrooms is new, faculty and students continue working together to understand how the technology can be used for mutual benefit.

Faculty and students can view examples put together by Information Technology Services to help them adapt Digication in their own classes.

“One of the biggest pushes, since we are a university that focuses a lot on preparing job-ready students, is that the e-portfolio can then be used like a resume,” said Matt Briggs, innovative solutions administrator for A&M-San Antonio.

Introductory classes including Jaguar Tracks and Composition I are implementing the tool in their class rooms.

Jaguar Tracks is a course for incoming students to learn about the services and resources the university offers, develop self-awareness, personal responsibility, and become active members of the campus community.

As with any new technology, challenges may arise. Dr. Love and her ITS team help students and professors better understand how to use e-portfolios.

“Dr. Love did a class on it (Digication), she taught us how to work it, so that was pretty cool because now I know how to use it,” said Paige Taylor, first year kinesiology major.

Not all students find it useful and some students are confronting confusion with the program.

“I don’t really like it, it’s really confusing,” said Jessica Maldonado, first-year criminology major.  

Students like Maldonado encounter the assignment upload process confusing.

However, students interviewed say they are willing to continue using Digication in the future if they have additional training.

“I think with any technology, there is a learning curve. We have gone into the classrooms and worked with the students,” Love said.

Subscription to Digication includes unlimited step by step assistance accessed through the university’s website under Information Technology Services or the Jaguar Help e-Portfolio webpage.

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Faculty who need instructional resources can contact ITS support at Helpdesk@tamusa.edu or contact Information Technologists Cecilia Rangel and Evelyn Villarreal at cgrangel@tamusa.edu or evillarr@tamusa.edu, respectively.

Additional support is offered through the Digication help desk line.

The newsroom contacted the help line through the Delaware-based company, which also maintains a customer support office in Providence, Rhode Island to test the reliability of the support service. Both times, a representative for A&M-San Antonio’s account was unavailable to answer questions, but called back within an hour.
“I can see Digication growing in multiple ways once everyone gets used to the system,” Love said.

About the Author

Norma Gonzalez
Norma Gonzalez is a native of Monterrey, Mexico. At the age of one, her parents immigrated to San Antonio to offer her a better future. Norma’s main priority is to complete a Bachelor’s degree in communications from Texas A&M University-San Antonio. Norma previously worked at LOCAL Community News as an intern. Norma works for Nielsen as a research interviewer, conducting media surveys around the nation. After graduating, Norma aspires to become a bilingual News Reporter.

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