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Requirements
Proposal
Portfolios

Simulation & Gaming:
An Interdisciplinary Journal

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Portfolios

NB:  If your project contains elements or aspects that do not fit exactly with the instructions below, pls use your head, common sense and responsibility, and adapt your project or the instructions or both so that your project makes sense and is easily comprehensible.  A professional approach to your project and to your portfolio will serve you for this course and for the long-term.  Professionalism will be a criterion used to grade the project and the portfolio.  Making excuses, such as "I did not know", is totally unprofessional!

Distinguish between (a) proposal, (b) portfolio and (c) project:

Proposal:  A very short document that outlines your intended project.  Normally you will already have shown this to me before or in December and January, and obtained approval.  I will probably have indicated some changes that you needed to have made.

Project:  This is the document that you made during your autonomy course.  The document may be a blog, a web site, a reading programme, a block of conventional exercises, a magazine, etc.  Usually, it will be consultable on the web.

Portfolio:  A short document that accounts for the work that you did to produce your project (such as a web site or a blog).  Your portfolio tells the story of your work and includes the final project, usually in the form of a URL.

To complete your proposal, use the following guide:

Steps:  You must have followed or follow these steps:

Project proposal approval:  You will already have done this in December / January.  If you did not, then you need to do it in a project proposal session in early May.  See the dates and times here.

Draft portfolio:  After you have shown your proposal to me and obtained approval, and after you have completed your project, you should write your draft portfolio.  See instructions below.

Portfolio check:  After you have written your draft portfolio (see instructions below), then you need to bring a paper version of your draft to the portfolio checking session in May - see timetable here..  This is a walk-in session.  It cannot be done by email.  Do not even think about sending a draft by email.  Your full draft must be shown on paper - more instructions here.

Final portfolio:  After you have had your draft portfolio checked and approved in a walk-in session in May (see above), then you should send your final portfolio to me by email, as indicated below.  Email your portfolio only if you have shown it to me beforehand in a draft portfolio checking session.  See timetables here.

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Portfolio instructions

Instructions for doing your portfolio are below.

Make sure that you follow all instructions precisely, especially filename format and email subject format, and all elements in the cover sheet. If they are not done exactly, your file will be ignored or lost, and you will get zero.  You have been warned!

For your portfolio, indicate the titles and URLs of any external documents.  However, do not copy web pages without citing your source, and marking the quotes appropriately.  Plagiarism makes you look silly, and it is severely punished.  Be smart and cite your sources.  Inserting relevant quotes is also smart - and in the scientific spirit.  All quotes from web-based documents must be referenced, using the URL.

Keep the length of your portfolio to a minimum (do not write a book!), but make sure that it contains all the items in sufficient, but only necessary, detail.  Say the least possible.  Quality is more important than quantity.  If you have photos and diagrams, you should include them too.

Use short, simple sentences, in either French or in English.  Use plenty of paragraphs, headings, etc.  Use bullets for lists.

Organise your portfolio in 5 or 6 parts as indicated below:

1. Cover sheet

Put all these items on one single page or two pages - no more.  If necessary use single spacing.  Please use lower case, not all capîtals.

A.  IDs:

• Place of study (SciCom IUP M2 SEDI).  Year of study.
• Portfolio title.
• Date of portfolio.
• List of group members, with passport photos, student IDs and email addresses.
   
• Project URL:  Insert the complete URL of your project here in active / clickable form.
  Check that the link works from the pdf file; if it does not work, you will get zero for the project.

B.  Summary of relative work done

Indicate the relative levels of work done by each person in alpha order by surname.  This is expressed as a %age of the group's work.  You must have at least 2 points difference between all group members.  Italics below indicate where you must write.  Totals = 100.

C.  Plan of portfolio.

Use page numbers (and refer to them inside the report, e.g., "see page 5").  Place the page number in the document header, top RH corner. 

For the tables below, make sure that each table includes all rows and columns.  If a table is missing or incomplete, your portfolio will not be valid.

D.  Summary of attendance.

Absence / presence in class.  Indicate the number of sessions present in class, and indicate the total of sessions at which you were present.  Adapt the headings according to your particular circumstances.  Dates for proposal approval and draft portfolio checking are mandatory.

• If you, individually, were absent for one of the sessions, pls say why - very briefly.
• Also explain briefly what you did as an individual to make up for the absence, for example, extra reading, watching films (give refs).  Provide a short paragraph summary of the docs that you read or the films that you watched.
• Replace italics with your content.

E.  Project contribution.

Names of each member of the group (alpha order), with the contribution for each member.  The score represents the relative contribution made by each member of the group to the development of the project and its implementation (usually in the form of a web site or blog).  Italics below are examples; replace with your own content.

Columns

• D:  The various tasks done in order to write the portfolio.
• E:  Amount of work accomplished in writing this report
  You must have at least one point difference between all group members.
  All whole numbers (no halves).
  The spread of points must reflect the real difference in your work on the report.
• G:  Mean score for group.  Total of column, E divided by number in group, column A.  Round to nearest  whole number.
• H:  Difference between points in E and mean of points (bottom of G).
• Total number of people in your group, even if some were absent for some activities or meetings.

F.  Portfolio contribution.

Names of each member of the group (alpha order), with the contribution for each member.  The score represents the relative contribution made by each member of the group to the writing of the final portfolio.  Italics below are examples; replace with your own content.

Columns

• D:  The various tasks done in order to write the report.
• E:  Amount of work accomplished in writing this report
  You must have at least one point difference between all group members.
  All whole numbers (no halves).
  The spread of points must reflect the real difference in your work on the report.
• G:  Mean score for group.  Total of column, E divided by number in group, column A.  Round to nearest  whole number.
• H:  Difference between points in E and mean of points (bottom of G).
• Total number of people in your group, even if some were absent for some activities or meetings.

G.  Project URL.

• Repeat here the URL of your project, in active, clickable format.

From here on, pls use 1.3 spacing, 12pt.

Sections 2, 3 and 4 below should each start on a new page and be shorter than one full page.

Use bullets or numbers (see below) and short phrases; not long prose.

2. Concepts, difficulties, solutions

Do this in a structured way.  Below is a suggestion, but you may choose a different structure if you think that it corresponds better to your experience.

1. Summary of the whole project and events.  Keep this very short.  You should normally be able to do it in 3 or 4 lines.
    

2. Summary of the concepts that you encountered (in communication, in media, in internet technology, etc).  Probably you can do this with five to seven items, each on one or two lines.
    

3. Summary of the difficulties that you encountered and the solutions that you found.  This should be five items or less.

3. Learning

Briefly discuss the following.  You may reply collectively or individually here.

1. Summary of what you learned (4 or 5 main concepts & ideas).
    
2. In what ways are they likely to help shape your career, over, say, the next decade or two?
    
   • For example, in what ways might they influence your career choices?
      
   • In what ways might they impact the types of companies that you are likely to work for?
      
   • In what ways do you think that you can make a positive difference, for example, by encouraging your future companies to adopt sustainable policies.
      
3. Add any aspects that you would like in regard to what you feel that you have learnt.  They may be very clear, they may be blurred and undefinable (for the moment); they may simply be your wish to learn more, or not.
    
4. In what ways do you feel that your project is related to the ideas below.  Give two or three ways, each in two or three lines.  If you cannot see any connection between your project and the ideas, then say a few words about how your project might have been able to reflect some of those ideas, or how your career choice might reflect those ideas, or how those ideas might influence your professional life.

Peace and survival of life on Earth as we know it are threatened by human activities that lack a commitment to humanitarian values.  Destruction of nature and natural resources results from ignorance, greed, and a lack of respect for the Earth's living things... .  It is not difficult to forgive destruction in the past, which resulted from ignorance.  Today, however, we have access to more information, and it is essential that we re-examine ethically what we have inherited, what we are responsible for, and what we will pass on to coming generations.  Clearly this is a pivotal generation... .  Our marvels of science and technology are matched if not outweighed by many current tragedies, including human starvation in some parts of the world, and extinction of other life forms... .  We have the capability and responsibility.  We must act before it is too late.  (Words by Tenzin Gyatso.)

Remember that there are no 'right answers'.

4. Course feedback

Discuss this course, using the questionnaire below as a guide.

a.  Quels étaient les 2 ou 3 meilleurs aspects de l'atelier (cours) et pourquoi ?

            Aspect 1. __

                    Pourquoi ? __

            Aspect 2. __

                    Pourquoi ? __

            Aspect 3. __

                    Pourquoi ? __

b.  Quels étaient les 2 plus grands problèmes de l'atelier et que suggérez-vous comme solutions ?

            Problème 1 __

                    Pourquoi ? __

                         Solution __

            Problème 2 __

                    Pourquoi ? __

                         Solution __

 c.  Que ferriez-vous, vous-même, de différent si vous aviez à refaire cette atelier?

            Chose différente 1. __

            Chose différente 2. __

d.  En plus des commentaires ci-dessus, quelles suggestions faites-vous pour que, une prochaine fois, l'atelier soit plus efficace/instructif ?

            Suggestion 1. __

            Suggestion 2. __

e.  Etant donné que la substance du cours et la méthode de formation demandent, chez les apprenants, une grande maturité dans leurs attitudes et comportements, écrire quelques lignes sur:

            Votre propre attitude et comportement ds le cours ___

            L'attitude et le comportement des autres ds le cours ___

            L'action à faire concernant des attitudes et comportements immatures ___

f. D’autres commentaires ou suggestions ?

            1. __

            2. __

5. Appendix 1 - Proposal

Insert here a copy of your proposal as it was originally presented in Dec / Jan.

6. Appendix 2 - Project

If your project is not available on the internet, include here your complete project.  If necessary, make a scan of the hand-written documents.  If your project is available on the internet, indicate the URL in clickable form.

Media

• Make sure that your report is clearly presented.
  • For example, use plenty of short headings, use small characters and indenting for personal examples, use tables and graphics.  Use simple language.
• Make sure that you provide complete references for all citations, including quotes from web sites.
• Make sure that you include active links to films (such as on YouTube) and other online documents.
• As a general rule: 12pt, Ariel for headings; Times for text; 1.3 line spacing; 2cm margins.
• Do not use caps; all lower case (except, of course, for the usual things that require caps).

You must prepare an electronic version - according to the following instructions:

• One electronic copy, in pdf format - one single file for the whole document, including cover sheet, appendix.  No other format is acceptable.
   
• The filename must use the following format:
  • SciCom_XY_NN-NN_name-name-name.pdf
  • Where:
    • XY is the number of your level, such as L3 or M1,
    • NN-NN is the year (e.g., 04-05 = 2004-2005),
    • name is the family name of each person doing the report.
  • Example:  SciCom_L3_12-13_smith-dupont-jones.pdf
  • Make sure that you distinguish between hyphen - and underscore _.
     
• The subject line of the email must be the same as the filename (no extension).
   
• If the filename or subject line is incorrect, your file will get lost.
• If your file arrives late, it will be ignored.

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