2.8 Portfolios Tool Help

Portfolios - Overview
An electronic portfolio is a collection of one or more web pages that presents information of your choosing and allows you to share it with others. Portfolios serve real-world purposes, such as career development and the job search, documentation of and reflection on experience and learning, professional development, and collaboration. For example, you might create a portfolio for your resume or curriculum vitae. You might create a portfolio to demonstrate your proficiency in relation to programmatic or institutional learning outcomes or in relation to a set of professional development goals. You might also make a portfolio to showcase art, writing, or other talents and skills you have developed. Other uses of portfolios include collaboratively reporting on group projects and presenting learning you have demonstrated in matrices or wizards. These are just a few of the many ways people have used online portfolios.

To create and work with a portfolio in Sakai, you will use both the Resources tool and the Portfolios tool. First, collect the material you want to present in your My Workspace Resources folder. Then use the Portfolios tool to present the information.

The Portfolios tool allows you to do all of the following:

Choose material for your portfolio by selecting forms, matrices, wizards, uploaded files, and URLs from Resources.
Design your own portfolio by:
- Using a portfolio template made available by your institution. (Templates are especially helpful for more elaborate portfolios or for portfolios that fulfill course, program, or institutional requirements.)
- Selecting from portfolio layouts and styles containing fonts, colors, and graphics made available by your institution.
  [Note: Some styles, portfolio layouts, and templates may be available only to a specific site, while others are available to all sites. Therefore, users working in different sites may have access to different portfolio templates and/or styles and portfolio layouts to design your own portfolio.]
Publish portfolios for audiences of your choosing. Your audience may include both site participants and people who are not members of the site.
Notify others that a portfolio has been shared with them.
Change, comment on, and delete your portfolios.
Invite comments on your portfolios and view and manage comments you receive.
View and comment on the portfolios that have been shared with you by others. View comments you have made about these portfolios.
View statistics on who has accessed your portfolios.
Download a copy of a portfolio to your desktop.

Plan a Portfolio
Before creating a portfolio, we recommend that you carefully consider the following questions and take appropriate action.

What is the objective of this portfolio? In other words, what is the story you are trying to tell with your portfolio?
To achieve this objective, what content do you need to include? What specific word-processing, spreadsheet, image, and other files do you need? After answering these questions, store the files you plan to use in your My Workspace Resources folder.
What additional information (context, explanation, and so forth) do you need to provide?
In what order do you want to present the material?
How much creative control do you want to have over the appearance of the portfolio? You can select:
- A portfolio template that guides you in selecting content and controls the style and layout of the portfolio, or
- A design-your-own approach by choosing from a set of predefined portfolio layouts and styles.
  In order to answer these questions, we recommend that you review all appropriate portfolio templates, layouts, and styles that your institution has made available for your use.
If you plan to design your own portfolio:
- Will the portfolio be more effective if you use the same portfolio layout on each web page or if the layout changes from page to page? You may choose a different layout for each page or use the same layout for all pages in your portfolio.
- Based on the layout(s) you have chosen, how many web pages will be required?
- Will the portfolio be more effective if you use the same style (containing a set of fonts, text colors and sizes, spacing, and background colors) for all pages? Or should the style change from page to page? Your institution has a default "style" that includes a standard set of fonts, colors, and so forth. If your institution has created other styles as well, you may choose between them for each page or you may choose to use a single style for the entire portfolio.
  Note: Designing your own portfolio requires the use of rich text editors. Some portfolio templates also use forms with rich text editors. If you will be using rich text editors to select and share resources in a portfolio, you will need to place the resources in a folder marked as "publicly viewable" (via Edit Details in the Actions drop-down menu to the right of the folder) in order for them to appear to portfolio viewers.

Access the Portfolios Tool
The Portfolios tool is listed on the left menubar of any site (including My Workspace) in which the tool has been added. To access the tool, click the Portfolios link. Sakai displays the Portfolios home page.

[Note: If the Portfolios tool is not located on your My Workspace menubar, you can add it by going to Worksite Setup, opening My Workspace and clicking Edit at the top of that page. In Worksite Setup, click on the Edit Tools link at the top. Select the Portfolios tool and click Continue at the bottom of the page. Then select Finish and the tool will be added to your My Worksapce menubar. If this option is not available, contact your system administrator.]

Portfolio Home Page
This page defaults to a list of all portfolios you have permission to view. By selecting one of the additional tabs at the top, you can view just your own portfolios or portfolios that have been shared with you. Under the tabs you can select the appropriate link to show portfolios that are not hidden, hidden, or both. If any list is longer than one page, use the buttons on the right side above the list to display other pages.

To display the first page of the list, click First.
To display the previous page of the list, click Previous.
To display the next page of the list, click Next.
To display the last page of the list, click Last.

At the top of this page are two links.

Create New Portfolio (Click here every time you want to create a new portfolio.)
Permissions (Click here to change the default permissions for the portfolio tool.)

The following information is provided for each portfolio listed on this page:

The portfolio name.
The owner.
The date it was last updated.
A check if it is active, or viewable by those with whom it has been shared. (An inactive portfolio's name is faded to help identify those portfolios that are inactive.)
A check if it has been shared.
A tally of comments which you are allowed to view. Click the tallied number to view the comments. Space will be blank if comments were not allowed.

In addition there are different "Actions" that can be taken on any portfolio based on the permissions you have for that portfolio. These may include:

Share
Edit
Statistics
Download
Delete
Hide or Show

Create a new portfolio
The process of creating a portfolio involves selecting new content for the portfolio or modifying what is already there. In addition, decisions have to be made about:

Setting the status. (The default is inactive - no one else can view the portfolio.)
Choosing to use a template-based portfolio or one you design yourself.
Deciding whether or not to allow comments.
Determining which site participants or users outside the site will have access to the portfolio.
Optionally notifying others that a portfolio has been shared with them.

To begin, click the Create New Portfolio link at the top of the Portfolio home page. If the Portfolios home page is not displayed, click the Reset button.

Decide what type of portfolio you are going to create. Do you want to create a portfolio from scratch or base it on a template?

The portfolio templates available for your use will be listed first along with their descriptions. If you are going to use a portfolio template, select the appropriate radio button for the template you wish to use.
If you plan to design your own portfolio, which includes choosing a layout, style, and content to include, select the Design your own portfolio radio button.
Click Create. You will be taken to the portfolio Summary page.

Summary Page
The Summary page consists of three primary sections: Status, Quick Start Links and Comments. In addition users can:

Change the title by selecting the Edit link next to the title of the portfolio at the top of the page. Modify the title in the box provided and select Save Changes. If you are not changing the title, select Undo to get out of this mode.
Enter the portfolio description. Under Portfolio Details, click the Edit link next to Description. A box appears to type in your description. Click Save Changes. If you decide not to change the description, select Undo to get out of this mode.
Return to the list of all portfolios, by clicking the Return to List link in the upper right hand corner of the page.
See your portfolio by clicking the Preview the Portfolio link in the upper right hand corner of the page. [Note: This option is not available until you have selected your Required Settings.]
Click on either of the two tabs located at the top of this page: Add/Edit Content or Share With Others. [Note: These tabs take you to the same page as the links in the Quick Start Links section.]

Status
To set the status for a portfolio:

Access the Portfolios tool. If the Portfolios home page is not displayed, click the Reset button.
Click Actions. Edit next to the portfolio you want to modify. The Portfolio Summary page appears.
Under status, select the appropriate radio button for Active or Inactive.
Regardless of your choice, the "sharing" link under the Active button will take you to the Share With Others page.

To see the change, return to the list of all portfolios by clicking the Return to List link in the upper right hand corner of the page.
Notice that the portfolio name appears in bold in the list, that the name is not grayed out, and that there is a check in the Active column.

Quick Start Links

Add/Edit Content - same as the Add/Edit Content tab located at the top of the Summary page.
Required Settings- listed only if using a portfolio template made available in the site.
Share With Others - same as the Share with Others tab located at the top of the Summary page.

Add/Edit Content
Adding content will be different depending on whether you are creating a template based portfolio or designing your own.

For a Template-Based Portfolio
Because each portfolio template may be slightly different, enter information and attach files and other materials as instructed on the page. Options to select available items from a drop-down list, create new items, or edit existing items may be provided.

If a Required Settings button appears on the page for creating for the portfolio, there are additional settings, such as your name, the title of the portfolio, and a possible choice of theme that you must complete. To complete these settings, click the Required Settings link provided on the Summary page. When you have completed your choice of required settings, click Save Changes, or to return to the Summary page without completing the settings, click Cancel.

You may view your portfolio at any time by clicking the Preview the Portfolio link in the upper right hand corner of the page. [Note: If there are Required Settings for your portfolio, you must complete these settings first. Otherwise you will not be able to see the basic styling of the portfolio including the theme, your name, and title of the portfolio.]

To return to the list of all portfolios, click the Return to List link in the upper right hand corner of the page. Your portfolio will appear in the list with any other portfolios that you have created or ones that have been shared with you.

Design Your Own Portfolio
A portfolio designed from scratch may contain one or more linked pages. These pages once created will be graphically represented in the main body of the Add/Edit Content page. This page allows the owner to:

Add a new page to the portfolio by clicking the Add Page icon or link.
Reorganize the order of the pages in the portfolio by clicking the arrows above each represented page to move that page to the right or left.
Edit a created page by clicking the page graphic or edit icon just below it.
Remove a page by clicking the remove icon below the page graphic for the page you want deleted from this portfolio.
Select a layout that automatically becomes the default layout unless unselected for a specific page where a different layout is used.
Select a style that is automatically applied to all pages in the portfolio unless unselected for a specific page where a different style is used.
Select the Page Navigation option if you want the system to display links in your portfolio that allow viewers to navigate between pages. This navigation is limited to the pages that are previous or next to the current page.

To create a page in the portfolio click the Add Page icon or link. Sakai displays an Edit Page that has two sections: Page Information and Page Content.

A right-facing arrow in the header for either section indicates that the section is closed. To open it so you can see the boxes in that section, click the arrow.
A down-facing arrow in the header for either section indicates that the section is open (that is, its boxes are displayed.) To close it, click the arrow.

Complete the Page Information for Designing Your Own Portfolio.

Enter a title for the portfolio page in the box provided. The title is a required field.
If desired, enter a description of the page in the Description box and enter keywords in the Keywords box.
Select a layout. This is a required field which indicates how your content will be displayed. If a layout was selected on the Add/Edit main page, then this layout is already pre-selected for this page. Use the Select Layout link to see a list of available layouts to choose from if you want a different layout. In this instance, first Unselect the default layout, then Select the layout for this page.
If you prefer to add a new layout not in the list, click the Add link at the top of the Manage Layouts page. After you have selected a layout, the name of the layout is displayed in the Layout box.
To use your institution's default style for fonts, colors, and graphics, leave the Style box blank. If you selected a Style on the Add/Edit main page, then this style is already pre-selected for this page. To select another style for this portfolio, click the Select Style link. Sakai displays a list of styles for you to choose from on the Manage Styles page.
Next to the name of the Style you want for your portfolio page, click the Select link. If you want to add a style that is not listed, click the Add link at the top of the page. If you are changing styles, click Unselect next to the style you are removing and select the style you want to use. After you have selected a style, the name of the style is displayed in the Style box.[Note: If you need assistance adding a new layout or style not listed in the site, use the help for either the Portfolio Layouts tool or the Styles tool.]

Complete the Page Content for Designing Your Own Portfolio

Click the Select Items button to retrieve items from your resources. The items you select will be available to insert into the page content using the drop-down menu in the editor labeled Select Attachments.
Caution: When adding resources to pages, remember to use the Edit Details function from the Actions drop-down menu in Resources to make them publicly viewable.
Enter text for each part of the layout via the rich text editor. Use the icons and pull-down lists to format the text as appropriate. To add a block of text in sequence, click the Add Row button. Sakai displays a box. Choose among these options:
1. To add a chunk of text, enter it in the box. You may copy and paste text from another source or key it directly into the box. Although each box appears small, you may enter as much text as you need there. [Note: When pasting from MS Word, use the Paste from Word button to filter the text.]
2. To remove a text box, click the Remove Row button.
3. To add the next chunk of text, click Add Row again.
To save your work click Save Changes.
To exit without saving your work click Cancel.
Once you have returned to the main Add/Edit Content page, click Save Changes again to save your work.

You may view your portfolio at any time by clicking the Preview the Portfolio link in the upper right hand corner of the page.

To return to the list of all portfolios, click the Return to List link in the upper right hand corner of the page. Your portfolio will appear in the list with any other portfolios that you have created or ones that have been shared with you.

Required Settings
Required Settings may be used by a portfolio template made available by your institution. If Required Settings appears on the Summary page, then certain portfolio options must be decided prior to viewing a portfolio. These settings will vary according to the specific portfolio template. You may be asked to enter or select any or all of the following:

Display Name - Serves as the name of your portfolio within the system. A default name is provided, change this default to a meaningful name. The display name is not displayed in your portfolio.
Your Name in the Portfolio - Your name as you would like it displayed in the portfolio website.
Portfolio Title - The title of your portfolio as you would like it displayed in the portfolio website.
Theme - Your choice of a theme for your portfolio. (Additional portfolios can be created with different themes at any time.)
Save all changes by selecting the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page.

After selecting the required settings it is possible to view your portfolio by clicking the Preview the Portfolio link on the Summary page. If no content has been added, all you will see displayed are the required settings you have selected.

Share a Portfolio
After you have created a portfolio, you may share it with others. You have the option of sharing it with individuals or to groups of people on your site, to individuals outside your site or outside the Sakai environment, or to a URL that can be accessed by anyone via a web browser.

To share a portfolio, access the Portfolio tool and follow these steps:

If the Portfolios home page is not displayed, click the Reset button.
Next to the portfolio you are interested in sharing, click Share from the Actions drop-down menu. Sakai displays the Share With Others page for that portfolio. Anyone the portfolio has been shared with will be listed.

Share With Others
On this page, you will decide the specific people or roles you wish to view your portfolio and whether you want to share your portfolio with the public. [Note: Before a portfolio can be viewed by others, you must make sure that it is Active. See Status for instructions. Also, if you are using a template-based portfolio with Required Settings, these settings must be completed. See Required Settings for instructions.]

Share the portfolio with designated people or role:
- If you have not yet shared your portfolio with anyone, select Click here to share with others. A list of all users in the site is provided. Place a check in the box next to the name of each person you want to share your portfolio. Click Add Selected Users to add these users and continue to add other users. Click Add and Return to add these users and go back to the list of users you have selected to view your portfolio, or click Return if no one has been selected.
- If you want to give more people or designated roles access to view the portfolio, click Add more people/roles. There are five ways to select additional people. Using the Select by drop-down menu, choose one of the following:
  - browsing for people: This function provides a list of all roles and all users that have access to the site. Click the box next to each person from the site with whom you want to share your portfolio. Click Add Selected Users to add these users. You may continue to select other users using other methods via the Select by drop-down menu. When you are done selecting users, click Add and Return to add these users and go back to the list of users you have selected to view your portfolio, or click Return if no one has been selected.
  - entering a user id: Enter the User ID of the person you want to see your portfolio. To add additional User IDs click the Add User link to the right and enter another valid User ID. To continue to add additional viewers, click the "Select by" drop-down and choose another option. Click Add and Return to add these viewers or Return if no one has been selected.
  - entering an e-mail address: Enter a valid email address for the person you wish to share this portfolio. To add additional email addresses click the Add User link to the right and enter another valid email address. To continue to add additional viewers, use the Select by drop-down to choose another option. Click Add and Return to add these users and go back to the list of users you have selected to view your portfolio, or click Return if no one has been selected. [Note: At this time, a local account will be made for any email address added to the system.]
  - picking roles related to the site: Select the role(s) of the people you want to view your portfolio (e.g. Reviewer). Anyone in the site with the selected role(s) will be able to view the portfolio. Click Add Selected Roles to add these viewers and continue adding additional users via the Select by drop-down menu options. Click Add and Return to add these users and go back to the list of users you have selected to view your portfolio, or click Return if no one has been selected.
  - picking roles related to all sites: Select the role(s) of the people you want to view your portfolio (e.g. Reviewer) from the list of all sites you are an active member. Anyone in those sites with the selected role(s) would be able to view your portfolio. Click Add Selected Roles to add these viewers and continue adding additional users via the Select by drop-down menu options. Click Add and Return to add these users and go back to the list of users you have selected to view your portfolio, or click Return if no one has been selected.
- If you want to remove someone from the list, place a check in the box next to either the person's name or the role you want removed. Click Remove selected people/roles.
- If you want to notify the people you have shared your portfolio with, click the Send Notification E-mail(s) link. Shared users will be notified via email that you have shared your portfolio with them.
Share the portfolio with the public:
- If you want to share a portfolio via a public URL that anyone on the internet can see, check the box under the section titled Optionally share this portfolio with the public. Click the Show public URL link. Sakai displays the default URL for this portfolio. This URL can be given to anyone you wish to share your portfolio with via email or another method of communication. To remove the URL from being displayed, click Hide public URL.

At any time, if you need to return to the list of all portfolios, click the Return to List link in the upper right hand corner of the page.

If you wish to see the portfolio you are sharing with others, click the Preview the Portfolio link in the upper right hand corner of the page.

Edit a Portfolio
You may change any portfolio you have created. To change a portfolio, access the Portfolios tool and follow these steps:

If the Portfolios home page is not displayed, click the Reset button.
Next to the portfolio you are interested in, from the Actions menu, click Edit. Sakai displays the Summary page for that portfolio.
Follow the instructions found on the Summary Page to make any changes needed.

See Who Has Viewed Your Portfolio (Statistics)
To see a list of users who have looked at a portfolio you created, access the Portfolios tool and follow these steps:

If the Portfolios home page is not displayed, click the Reset button.
Next to the portfolio you are interested in, from the Actions drop-down menu, click Statistics. Sakai displays the Portfolio Statistics screen. The screen contains a list that includes the name of each person who has looked at your portfolio and the date and time the user accessed it.
To return to the Portfolios home page, click the Back button.

Download (Export) a Portfolio
You may download (i.e., export) to your desktop any portfolio you have created. The portfolio will be exported as a compressed (zipped) file made up of numerous HTML files. To download a portfolio, access the Portfolios tool and follow these steps:

If the Portfolios home page is not displayed, click the Reset button.
Next to the portfolio you are interested in, from the Actions menu, click Download.
Proceed as instructed.

Delete a Portfolio
You may delete any portfolio you have created. To delete a portfolio, access the Portfolios tool and follow these steps:

If the Portfolios home page is not displayed, click the Reset button.
Next to the portfolio you are interested in, from the Actions menu, click Delete. You will be asked to confirm this action.
To delete this portfolio, click Continue. Sakai deletes the portfolio and displays the Portfolios home page. Or, to return to that page without deleting the portfolio, click Cancel.

Hide or Show a Portfolio
You may hide any portfolio you have created or show one that has been hidden. To hide or show a portfolio, access the Portfolios tool and follow these steps:

If the Portfolios home page is not displayed, click the Reset button.
Next to the portfolio you are interested in, from the Actions drop-down menu, click Hide or Show.

View a Portfolio
To view a portfolio access the Portfolios tool and follow these steps:

If the Portfolios home page is not displayed, click the Reset button.
Find the portfolio you want to view, and click its name. Sakai opens a new window and displays the portfolio. This page has two parts:
1. The top portion of this page contains the actual portfolio.
2. Below the portfolio is a comment area, if the owner has allowed for comments.
  - Displayed first are comments that have been made by individuals who have viewed the work.
  - Next is an area in which you may add comments of your own.
If the portfolio has multiple pages, use the links to view other pages.
To exit, close the window.

Comments
This section of the Summary page is for enabling comments on your portfolio. If you want to allow people you have shared your portfolio with to add a comment, select Allow. Select Disable when you do not want comments or when you want no additional comments to be accepted.

If comments were allowed, then a link is provided directly to the comments with a count of how many were posted. When you click on the link you will be able to view all comments. You may also choose to click on the link See presentation and comments, which takes you to your portfolio and comments. Click the Back to Portfolio link or the Back button to go back to the portfolio Summary page.

Leave a Comment
To leave comments on a portfolio you are viewing, follow these steps:

Scroll to the Add comment section near the bottom of the screen.
Enter a title and a comment of any length in the Title and Comment boxes, respectively. Both of these entries are required.
Under the subheading for Make this comment visible to, choose one of the following options:
- Make the comment visible only to yourself by clicking the Only Me radio button.
- Make the comment visible only to yourself and the person who created the portfolio by clicking the The Owner and I radio button.
- Make the comment visible to the general public by clicking the Everyone radio button. This is the default option.
To submit your comment, click Submit.
To exit, close the window.

View Comments on a Portfolio
There are two ways to view comments on a portfolio:

On the portfolio homepage, click the name of the portfolio. Scroll down past the portfolio content to the comments section.
On the portfolio homepage, locate the row for the portfolio you are interested in viewing comments. Click the number listed in the Comments column to the far right of that row. (The number indicates how many comments are viewable by you.) A comments page appears. At any time you may view this portfolio by clicking the See presentation and comment link at the top of the page, or click Back to list to return to the portfolio homepage. [Note: You cannot see comments left by someone else that were marked as private.]

Comments look something like this:

Each comment has a header in boldface type. The header includes the following:
- The title.
- The name of the person who left this comment.
- The date and time the comment was left.
- Depending on which method was selected to view the comments:
  1. One or more links may be present in each comment header. Use these links to manage the comment.
  2. One of these words: public, shared, or private, will be visible indicating whether everyone, you and the person who left the comment, or only you can view the comment.
- The next line or lines contain the comment itself.

Manage Comments on Your Portfolio
To manage a comment, you must be viewing the portfolio. Scroll down to the comments section and take any of these steps:

Delete it by clicking the Delete link in the header. Sakai deletes the comment immediately. Caution: Be sure you want to delete a comment before clicking Delete. Sakai does not display a delete verification window before deleting the comment.
Change the audience to include only yourself and the person who left the comment by clicking the make shared link.
Change the audience to include everyone by clicking the make public link.
For a comment you have left, change the audience to private by clicking the make private link.

Change Permissions
To change the default permissions for the Portfolios tool, access the tool and follow these steps:

If the Portfolios menu bar is not displayed, click the Reset button.
Click the Permissions button on the menu bar. Sakai displays the Permissions screen.

Referring to the table below, check boxes to select the appropriate permissions for users in each role.

Permission	Description
Delete	Users in this role may delete any portfolio that has been shared with them. (Delete permission does not apply to deleting one's own portfolio. Users may always delete their own portfolios, regardless of this permission setting.)
Comment	Users in this role may comment on portfolios.
Create	Users in this role may create their own portfolios.

To save the permissions settings, click Save. Sakai saves the settings and displays the Portfolios home page. Or, to return to that screen without saving your changes, click Cancel.