Dr. Cheryl E. Ball's Digital Media Scholarship

Dr. Cheryl E. Ball, Associate Professor of New Media Studies

I am grateful to one my classmates (you know who you are) for bringing this portfolio to my attention because it serves as a wonderful example of both layout and process when it comes to electronic portfolios and digital media scholarship.

I. The Layout

I like the way the portfolio is organized.  Although it encompasses a large and potentially unwieldy collection of artifacts, it doesn't seem overwhelming. Specifically:

1.       The main section of the home page offers a brief introduction and photo. A sidebar on the right, titled "My Academic Life," provides an "About this Portfolio" link at the very top. When I follow the link, I find a detailed, work-in-progress description of the purpose of the portfolio. Immediately, I have an answer to the question, "So what?" and I'm encouraged to read on. Other links from the home page sidebar summarize Dr. Ball's credentials: her curriculum vitae, her teaching philosophy, a link to another page detailing her teaching experience (with links to a variety of artifacts), and a letter she wrote for her tenure application, which gives an overview of what she is doing. I don't have to waste time guessing who this person is, because she lets me know right up front.

2.       Next on the sidebar, under the heading "Portfolio Entries," is a list of the portfolio contents, organized by type (grants, honors, presentations, publications, service, and teaching experience). A number in parentheses after each item tells me how many artifacts I can expect to find in each category. A quick scan tells me the bulk of her publications have been research designs and non-refereed articles. Most of the artifacts seem to be listed as blog entries, complete with tags and comments.

3.       At the bottom of the sidebar, in a section title "Links," there are links to Dr. Ball's class websites and two other portfolios.

II. Process

I was fascinated to learn that Dr. Ball is using digital media scholarship to satisfy her tenure requirements. Her work seems to be a case study advocating the use of digital media, instead of paper, as an acceptable format (apparently, most colleges and universities have tenure guidelines that still require paper applications). I'm very interested in the process she is going through, because I think a similar process might be used to make a case for accepting digital portfolios as evidence of learning in other situations (such as high school equivalency or college credit). As Dr. Ball notes, however, any change to policies and procedures comes slowly: "Creating and getting approval for using a digital portfolio for my tenure case was 6 years in the making."