Content Selection - Resources
Just as WebCT has a “Content Manager” section, Sakai has a folder like view of content called “Resources”. The current resources tool allows students to browse their files and classify and move them about in a hierarchical file structure. Other tools often make use of the resources tool, but few activities start there. The cognitive activity of classifying and selecting resources that they would like to showcase or discuss in their portfolio is different in that it makes most sense to start from the unordered pile of resources to classify, group and explain the connections between them. These reflective acts are at the heart of portfolio development.
Switching the resource view from a strict hierarchy to a view that supports a “free tagging” metaphor would allow students to see how faculty have classified their content in relation to institutional and class outcomes. From this same interface, they should be able to create new “outcome” tags and apply them to their content. This would allow students to create multiple views of their content based on various emerging themes.