Institution Created Showcases and Assessment

Note: Institution-created Showcases and assessments are only available to licensed institutions. 

1. CN Channel admin creates an institution Showcase

In order to use ePortfolio to conduct assessments, an institution admin needs to first create a new Showcase on Channel members’ ePortfolios. To do so, the institution admin needs to log into their CN Channel, go to the “ePortfolio Assessment” page, at the bottom of the page, click “Add New Showcase”.

Fill out the Showcase creation form. Only two fields are required: Showcase Title, which can be the competency or project that will be assessed; Default Visibility, which sets the original visibility of the Showcase. 

Hint:

• You can assign this Showcase to all ACTIVE members of your Channel, users with specific labels, or students from selected courses. You may assign user labels to add the Showcase to selected members' ePortfolios, for instance, students who majored in Informatics. Please read user labels related articles for instructions.
• Users may change the default visibility setting when they edit their Showcase. Assessors can always view this Showcase regardless of its visibility setting.
• Institutions may choose to limit some functionality on the Showcase. You can disable endorsements on this Showcase, and you can also hide the Showcase for a chosen timeframe (in this case, only the ePortfolio owner and assessors can view this Showcase). 
• You don't have to use the assessment features provided here to assess this Showcase. If your institution has an LMS (such as Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, etc), the assessment can be done using the LMS' assignment and grading features: instructors may create an assignment in the LMS; students complete the Showcase and submit the URL of the Showcase through the LMS assignment. Please read Design ePortfolio-related Course Assignments for instructions. However, once you check "Use the CN for Showcase Assessment", at least one assessor must be added and a grade scale must be selected. Some additional logic to keep in mind:
  • Once the Showcase has been populated by Channel members, you will not be able to edit the following settings: Grade Scale, Total Points, Recorded Score. 
  • One or multiple assessors can be assigned to a Showcase. They do not have to be your Channel admins but must be a member of your Channel. 
  • Three types of Grade Scales are available at this time: Pass/Fail, Green/Yellow/Red Flag, and Points. Only the Points grade scale supports assessment rubrics and Recorded Score settings (record average, last, highest score). Whereas Pass/Fail and Green/Yellow/Red Frag always record the last score when there are multiple assessments. 
  • You have the option to award a badge based on the results of the assessment. Please read the "Award Institution Badges for ePortfolio Assessment" section of this support article for details. 
  • You may "Enable self-assessment". Students can assess their Showcases multiple times but their self-assessment does not change the results of the assessor's assessment. 

Below is the original institution Showcase creation form:

Below is an example of the filled form. Please note that both the Completion Instructions and Assessment Guidelines can be more detailed. If a CN rubric is set up, the Assessment Guidelines could be: Please view the assessment rubric below. 

When you choose to assess the Showcase in CN and select Points as the grade scale, you will have the option to add a rubric. Here you may import an existing rubric to use (you can still make changes), create a new rubric on your own, or create a new rubric with AI. 

If you choose to create a new rubric, you must give it a name and define each criterion with rating scores and points. Editing the total points of each criterion will automatically distribute an appropriate amount of points in each scoring box. Once a rubric is set up, the assigned assessor(s) will be prompted to grade using the rubric. Students will be able to view the rubric when creating their Showcase and view the assessment in the rubric as well.

2. Channel members (students) complete the Showcase 

After the predefined Showcase is created by a Channel admin, students will see this Showcase on their ePortfolio. By clicking the blue tab, they will be taken to the detailed Showcase section. 

Students follow complete instructions and assessment guidelines to complete their Showcase. If the Showcase has a rubric, it will be displayed for the student here as well. 

Note, the instructions and rubric can be given through LMS assignment(s).

Students may fold the instructions and rubric and switch to the Rich Text Editor when composing the detailed Showcase section. 

Here is a completed Showcase:

Note: Students may change the Showcase visibility setting based on their preference. However, regardless of the visibility setting, assessors can always view the Showcase content.

3. Assessor makes assessment

If a Channel member is delegated to assess a Showcase, they can access the assessment dashboard from the account settings gear icon, which is located in the upper right corner of full CN. Then, select ePortfolio Assessment. 

On the ePortfolio Assessment dashboard, select the name of the Showcase from the dropdown to begin the assessment.

Directly below the dropdown is Assessment Data, such as the Showcase creation date, completion instructions, assessment analytics, and a link to export assessment data into CSV (in the upper-right corner).

Below Assessment Data table listing the users who have made edits to this Showcase. The assessor can view the date and time the user last edited their Showcase and recorded scores. They can also search for a member or sort the list. 

To begin assessing a user, click on the "Give Assessment" button.

Below is the grading interface -- the student's Showcase is displayed on the left, and the assessment controls are on the right. The assessor clicks the blue button, "Give Assessment", to begin the assessment.

Note, if Self-Assessment has been enabled and received student input, the assessor may switch to the "Self-Assessment" tab to reference the data there. 

Below is the assessment form. The assessor can leave an assessment comment with multimedia. 

If the Showcase has "Points" as its grade scale and has an associated rubric, it will open up for the assessor to use. They can click on the relevant scores to grade and leave comments for each criterion.

The assessor may re-assess by either editing an existing assessment or giving a new assessment. When a Showcase has received multiple assessments (from one or multiple assessors), the Recorded Score will be displayed on the top. 

4. Students view assessment results

Once their Showcase is assessed or has been re-assessed, students receive a notification like this:

By clicking this notification, they will be directly taken to the corresponding Showcase section on their ePortfolio. An "Assessment" link appears in the upper-right corner. 

From this “Assessment” link, they can open a pop-up that has all the assessments they have received with the Recorded Score on top, followed by the latest assessment. 

If the Showcase has Self-Assessment enabled, students can switch to the "Self-Assessment" tab and click the blue "Self Assess" button to assess themselves. Their existing self-assessments are displayed under the button. 

Note: If students give themselves multiple assessments, the last score is recorded. 

Please note that all assessments are only visible to the ePortfolio owner and the assigned assessor(s) regardless of the visibility setting of the Showcase. 

If you have any questions about the institution-created Showcases and assessments, please contact help@thecn.com.