Tutors beware: facts to know before using MyPortfolio for assessment

Owned by Karen Shackleford-Cesare (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Aug 05, 2019
5 min read

Users often assume that MyPortfolio works like Moodle in relation to assessment. In that:

  • After the deadline, submissions in a Moodle or Turnitin assignment inbox cannot be removed or changed by a student unless a tutor changes certain assignment settings to allow it.
  • Anyone with tutor level permissions on a course in Moodle can access all the submissions made to any of its Moodle or Turnitin assignment inboxes.

However, MyPortfolio needs be used in a particular way in order for these assumptions to be true.

Individual assessment - creating personal e-portfolios

How MyPortfolio works in this context

Where students are to be individually assessed and use MyPortfolio to create a personal e-portfolio, it is important to know that MyPortfolio has the following characteristics that both allow students to continue working on their personal portfolios after a deadline, and prevent staff from accessing students' work. Namely:

  1. The only personal items that can be seen by anyone other than the creator/owner, are Pages and Collections (of Pages). But a Page or a Collection can only be seen by others if the creator or owner shares it with them in one or more of the ways that MyPortfolio facilitates.
  2. However, when a user simply shares their Page or Collection (of Pages) with another user or Group the Page/Collection author/owner can continue to edit it.
  3. Those with whom a Page or Collection is shared cannot edit them although they may be allowed to comment on them and/or on individual component parts or blocks.
  4. Pages or Collections shared with a Group can be seen by all the Group members.

How to ensure MyPortfolio works like a Moodle assignment

In order for MyPortfolio to function more like a Moodle or Turnitin assignment inbox for the submission of personal portfolios, then it has to be used as follows:

  1. Students need to be made members of a MyPortfolio Group for your course.
  2. When a user is a member of a Group and the Group is configured to allow submissions, then the user can be asked to submit their Page or Collection to this Group. Submissions are time stamped and a submission deadline can be set.
  3. If group members (i.e. students) fail to either submit their personal portfolios to their Group, or share them with staff, then staff CANNOT see the Pages or Collections that their students have created in MyPortfolio for this assignment.
  4. When a user submits their Page or Collection to a Group (as opposed to sharing it with the Group) then s/he is unable to edit it further.
  5. Pages or Collections submitted to a Group, can only be seen by the Group Admins (NOT all members of the Group).
  6. Staff aren't automatically given the role of Group Admin in a Group unless they created the Group. If they need to be a Group Admin, a Group Admin on the same Group can change their role, or contact Digital Education.
  7. If an Admin on a Group opts to Release a Page or Collection that was submitted to the Group, then the student author/owner of the Page or Collection will be able to edit it once again.

If your students use the Journal tool in MyPortfolio you should also be aware that:

  1. When an Entry is made to a Journal in MyPortfolio it is time stamped when it is first saved. 
  2. When an existing Journal Entry is edited the creation date and time remains unchanged but now in the current version of MyPortfolio, a Last updated date is added.
  3. Any Journal entry that is displayed on a Page/Collection that has been submitted to a Group cannot be edited until the Page/Collection is Released by an Admin on the Group.

Hence, if a student shares his Page with his tutors instead of submitting it to his class Group, he will able to continue editing it for as long as he can login to MyPortfolio. Specifically, he is able to continue editing his past Journal entries and he can create and add new ones to his Page as well. When he edits past Journal entries the date of the modification will be added/updated but there will be no indication of the changes made.

Practices to adopt if submissions must remain unchanged overtime

Going forward, insist that students share their Page(s) with tutors, (i.e. if tutors need to see student's work as it progresses). But, most importantly require them to submit their personal portfolio to their class Group by the final deadline set by the Tutor. Then tutors must NOT Release submitted work even after they have assessed it. This will prevent students from being able to change their work at any time, even after it has been graded.

Also, if students want to continue to work on their portfolio after the assessment deadline, then they are able to make copies of Pages and Collections at any time. Users may continue to edit these duplicate Pages/Collections although they won't be able to edit the Journal entries on the copies because they remain locked on the original Pages and Collections that have been submitted. 

This information should clarify the difference between managing assessments in MyPortfolio vs Moodle and guide you on how to instruct your students to use MyPortfolio.

Group assessment - creating a group e-portfolio

How MyPortfolio works in this context

Where students are to undertake group projects and use MyPortfolio to create a group e-portfolio, it is important to know that MyPortfolio has the following characteristics that both allow students to continue working on their group portfolios after a deadline, and prevent staff from seeing students' work. Namely:

  1. A Group has to be created in MyPortfolio for each group of students working together on a Group assignment.
  2. It is NOT possible to submit Pages or Collections created using the facility for creating group Pages or Collections in MyPortfolio. Such Pages/Collections can only be shared.
  3. The only group items that can be seen by anyone other Group members, are Pages and Collections (of Pages). But a Page or a Collection can only be seen by others outside the Group if a members shares their group Pages/Collections with them in one or more of the ways that MyPortfolio facilitates.
  4. However, when Group Pages are shared with people external to the Group the Page/Collection the Group members can continue to edit it.
  5. Those external to the Group with whom a Page or Collection is shared cannot edit them although they may be allowed to comment on them and/or on individual component parts or blocks.
  6. Tutors should be Group Admins in each Group to ensure those responsible for marking the group portfolio always have access.
  7. The Group Admin can configure each Group so that Group pages CANNOT be edited by its non-admin members after the deadline set.