New Dimensions of Value in Management E-media:
Questions and Issues

Presented by Patrick J. Lyons, St. John's University
at the Academy of Management Meeting
Sunday, Aug 10 2008 7:00AM - 9:00AM at Anaheim Convention Center in 303D
Program Session #: 268 | Submission: 10369 | Sponsors: (MED, HCM, NDSC, CMS)
http://program.aomonline.org/2008/submission.asp?mode=ShowSession&SessionID=409
 

This page uses a collapsible outline.
With MS Internet Explorer, you can show or hide a sublevel by clicking the next higher level.  Does not work with Firefox.

1. Description of Session

   1. This roundtable format session is structured as an opportunity for the people who run the e-media in the scholarly discipline of management, including newsletter editors, website people, list discussion forum people, Academy of Management headquarters' leaders, e-journal editors, and users and other interested people, to share and consider new ways of providing value to management academicians and practitioners through management e-media.

   2. Search Terms: e-media, virtual communities, internet

2. The Student Portfolio Website - A New Dimension of Value - Abstract

   1. A student portfolio website can be valuable communication aid when seeking employment.

   2. This presentation discuses a straightforward approach to develop student portfolio websites by modifying a prototype website using only Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer.

   3. The procedure is for the student to:

      1. Copy prototype website to student's PC

      2. Modify template webpages to include personal information

      3. Add copies of digital works

      4. Copy result to an Internet server.

   4. Details are given at http://www.patlyons.com/m4322/hw/PortWebsite.htm.

   5. Eighteen student portfolio websites were created and may be viewed in their entirety from http://www.patlyons.com/m4322/hw/StudentWebs.htm.

3. Introduction

   1. Student portfolio website is a website that contains:

      1. Samples of student's work - wordprocessed documents, workbooks, presentations, ... 

      2. Summarizing webpages that provide easy navigation to the various works and concise descriptions of those works.  See Lyons (2008).

   2. Student portfolio website can be valuable communication aid to potential employers.

      1. Consider situation where student receives phone call about employment after submitting resume.

      2. During conversation, interviewer may inquire about writing skills.  Student asks interviewer to view student's portfolio website.

      3. Student leads interviewer directly to summary of appropriate document, and then document itself.  They have meaningful discussion, because interviewer reads summary and looks at document.

      4. Conversation can lead to additional workbooks, presentations, ... 

      5. Portfolio website increases student’s ability to communicate value of student's works.

   3. When student invited for onsite interview, portfolio website facilitates 1-on-1 interviews and presentations to larger groups.

4. Generic Types of Portfolios

   1. Greenberg (2004) proposed classifying portfolios by when work is organized relative to when work is created. Results in three portfolio types.

   2. Showcase Portfolio - contains work already created.

   3. Structured Portfolio - has predefined organization in anticipation of future work.

      1. Common goal is to demonstrate accomplishments for certification.

      2. Predefined organization allows easier systematic review, evaluation, and comparison of work.

      3. Some professions (elementary, secondary teaching) have formal standards and certification requirements.

   4. Learning Portfolio - evolves over time as tasks are identified, worked on, and completed in response to student’s changing interests, requirements, and understanding.

      1. Learning portfolios encourage ongoing reflection that help students understand their learning processes.

5. Use of Generic Portfolios in Design of Prototype Portfolio Website

   1. The Prototype Portfolio Website contains elements from all three generic portfolios.

   2. Showcase Portfolio: prototype contains Showcase webpage.

      1. Student lists best wordprocessed documents, workbooks, presentations and/or other digital works.

   3. Structured Portfolio: although no formal certification required of business students, there is informal understanding by most employers that students have appropriate writing and worksheet skills.

      1. Prototype contains two webpages for best wordprocessed documents and best workbooks, where students explain their skills.

   4. Learning Portfolio: since learning portfolios encourage ongoing reflection to help students understand their learning processes, the works to be included were not limited in any way.

      1. Students reflect on all their work, including other courses, high school and nonacademic work.

      2. Prototype contains two webpages for most creative works and best courses.  (These were not required for the MIS course, but were included for students to develop their future learning portfolios.)

6. Prototype Portfolio Website

   1. Prototype Portfolio Website was developed by the author using Microsoft FrontPage.  See www.patlyons.com/StuPortfolio.

   2. Homepage (to view, click link to left) contains introduction about student and links to additional pages describing student’s:

   3. Showcase - best of the best - list of best wordprocessed documents, workbooks, presentations and/or other digital works.
      Each has link to the work and concise evocative description between 25 to 100 words.

   4. Best wordprocessed documents - list of best wordprocessed documents.
      Each has link to the document and concise evocative description, explaining how document demonstrates student’s writing skills.

   5. Best workbooks - list of best workbooks.
      Each has link to the workbook and concise description, explaining how workbook demonstrates student’s workbook skills.

   6. Best presentations - list of best presentations.
      Each has link to the presentation and concise description, explaining how presentation demonstrates student’s presentation skills.

   7. Most creative - list of what student considers student's most creative works.
      They may duplicate some of the above.
      Each has link to the work and description of how it demonstrates student’s creativity.

   8. Best courses - list of what student considers most important courses taken at St. John’s.
      Each has short explanation, and may have links to above works.

   9. Other works - list of other works, databases, computer programs, websites, graphics, or other digital works.
      Each has link to the work and concise description, explaining how the work demonstrates student’s skills.

   10. Resume - a standard resume format, with hyperlinks to achievements, education, interests, work experience.

   11. Achievements - list of achievements, but with more detail than standard resume.

   12. Education - list of schools attended, but with more detail than standard resume.

   13. Interests - list of interests, but with more detail than standard resume.

   14. Work Experience - list of employment, but with more detail than standard resume.

   15. Career Resources - list of links that student finds helpful when researching career options.

   16. Career Plans

   17. Unofficial transcript - contains grades and professors.

7. Student Exercises to Create Portfolio Website

   1. The student portfolio website is created through a series of five exercises.

   2. Portfolio Exercise I - Establish Stupub Website (click link to left to see actual exercise)

   3. Portfolio Exercise II - Add Wordprocessed Documents

   4. Portfolio Exercise III - Add Workbooks

   5. Portfolio Exercise IV - Add Showcase and Homepage Text

   6. Portfolio Exercise V - Review by SJU Writing Center

      1. After performing first four exercises, student has working portfolio website.

      2. Purpose: reflect on website information and modify it to be compelling to future employers.
         Barrett (2007) noted that a critical component of a student’s portfolio is the student's reflection on the individual pieces of work as well as an overall reflection on the story that the portfolio tells.

      3. Specifically, student designs homepage to entice viewer to ask leading questions about student's passion.

         1. Navigation pages are revised to support several convincing replies.

      4. Procedure.  Student:

         1. Reviews student's website with St. John’s Writing Center tutor

         2. Reflects on discussion with Writing Center tutor

         3. Revises website accordingly.

8. Resulting Student Portfolio Websites

   1. Eighteen student portfolio websites were created in an undergraduate MIS course.

      1. MIS course outline - www.patlyons.com/m4322

      2. Student Stupub Websites webpage

         1. Located at www.patlyons.com/m4322/hw/StudentWebs.htm

         2. Contains table with each student name and link to student's homepage.

      3. To view a student’s homepage, click on homepage link.
         To view more of student’s website, follow corresponding link from student’s homepage.

   2. Diana Lounsbury

      1. Homepage demonstrates appropriate statements for passion, short term career tactic, and long term career strategy.

      2. Diana is actively updating her portfolio website.

         1. She has updated webpages for presentations, most creative works, resume, unofficial transcript.

      3. She has applied to four graduate schools, some of which require writing samples in digital form. Diana feels that referring the schools to her website is easier and more effective than CDs.

   3. Danielle Adler

      1. Showcase webpage has PowerPoint presentation, Word document, and Excel workbook.

      2. Since Danielle is a finance major, these choices, with their appropriate descriptions, demonstrate her well-rounded skills to become a successful financial analyst.

   4. Kanieza Juman

      1. Word Processed Documents webpage has three different types of documents.

         1. RFIDs Influence at IBM - a technical study

         2. Punishments and Rewards - an essay about ethics

         3. Hybrid Car - a strategic analysis.

      2. Since Kanieza is a finance major, these choices, with their appropriate descriptions, demonstrate her breadth of writing skills to become a successful financial analyst.

9. The Student Portfolio Website - Additional New Dimensions of Value

   1. Life-long website fosters life-long learning

      1. Since, for the above student portfolio website, there are no restrictions on when or where the student created a work to be included in the website, the student begins to take a long-term view of the website.

      2. The website is not limited to short-term works.  It can grow as the student attends graduate school and/or begins a career.

      3. Updating the website becomes a valuable process (new dimension) in career planning.

   2. Life-wide website fosters life-wide learning

      1. Since the above student portfolio website has pages devoted to achievements, interests, and most creative works, the student begins to take a life-wide view of the website, looking not just at scholastic items, but also professional, community, and family accomplishments.

      2. Updating the website becomes a valuable process (new dimension) in overall life planning.

   3. Cognitive Surplus - Clay Shirky - presentation at Web 2.0 conference, April 23, 2008

      1. In the U.S., 200 billion hours are spent watching TV every year.  This is part of the cognitive surplus.

      2. Wikipedia took 100 million hours of human thought.  With just 1% of the cognitive surplus, 20 Wikipedia projects could be created each year.

      3. Before the Internet, people were forced to consume (watch TV).  Now, they have the tools to produce and share e-media.

         1. Example - Professor Vasco Furtado in Brazil created www.wikicrimes.org.  People report crimes voluntarily.  Results appear on a Google map.

         2. Professor Furtado has a reasonable hope of carving out enough of the cognitive surplus, the desire to participate, and the collective goodwill of the citizens, to create a resource you couldn't have imagined existing even five years ago.

      4. Questions: How will the people who are growing up with social computing (MySpace, Facebook) now, apply their cognitive surplus to produce and share portfolios?

         1. Will they be more career and life focused because of the individual portfolios they will develop?

         2. Will their family ties be strengthened because of the family portfolios they will develop?

         3. Will their ties to local and/or online communities be strengthened because of the portfolios they will develop?

10. References

    1. Barrett, H.C. 2007. White paper: “Researching Electronic Portfolios and Learner Engagement,” http://www.electronicportfolios.org/reflect/whitepaper.pdf, retrieved July 8, 2008.

    2. Greenberg, G. 2004. “The Digital Convergence: Extending the Portfolio Model,” EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 39, no. 4 (July/August 2004), pp 28-36, http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0441.pdf, retrieved July 10, 2008.

    3. Lyons, P.J. 2008. “Student Portfolio Websites: Valuable Communication Aids to Future Employers,” to appear in the St. John’s University, Review of Business.

    4. Shirky, C. 2008. “Gin, Television, and Social Surplus,” http://www.shirky.com/herecomeseverybody/2008/04/looking-for-the-mouse.html, retrieved August 5, 2008.

                       (This page was last edited on August 06, 2008 .)