2004 Entries and Abstracts: Resource Development

Matthew Campbell
Mechanical Engineering
Polaris: The Online Portfolio Center

During an undergraduate education, engineering students produce a variety of materials that are indicative of their knowledge and skills. Current digital technologies enable the storage and presentation of such materials in an easy to create and easy to access format. In the College of Engineering, we developed a web-based tool for undergraduate engineering students that provides an environment to display and reflect on their accomplishments. The portfolio, called Polaris, is now available to all students in the College as a result of three years of iterative development. With Polaris students can document their educational progress and share accomplishments with an audience. By using Polaris, students have a tool to record their course work, present projects, and evaluate their educational progress.

Polaris benefits students by giving them a personalized yet professional looking website. Also, the system provides students with a forum to reflect on the “whys” of their course work and their development as engineers, thus giving them a better sense of how they fit within the larger realm of engineering. Through this reflection, students are better able to present their interests and skills. Furthermore, the portfolio system can benefit an academic institution by facilitating student advising and collecting accreditation materials.