Digication and ePortfolio Resources

Troubleshooting Resources

For help figuring out how to use Digication, check out the Digication Faculty and Student Guides. These comprehensive guides contain step-by-step instructions and are the best place to start for both faculty and students. You can also submit a ticket for help with the Digication Help Desk. Additionally, there are some technical and troubleshooting articles for Digication Kora available in the IT Knowledge Base.

Frequently Asked Questions

• I am a faculty member interested in using Digication as a part of my course, but I'm not sure where to start.

  First, log in and explore Digication!

  Second, check out some resources (in addition to those listed above) that can help you understand ePortfolios and why they can be such an impactful practice.

  • AAC&U: ePortfolios
  • Digication resource: ePortfolio Pedagogy at the Course Level
  • Digication resource: How Digication is Used by Schools 
  • High-Impact Practices at DU
  • Learning Portfolios with Professor Laura Sponsler

  Finally, connect with Kellie Ferguson, the OTL’s Faculty Developer of Integrative and Experiential Learning, by scheduling a 1:1 consultation or emailing her directly at kellie.ferguson@du.edu.
• Where can I direct my students for support?

  The OTL supports faculty in using Digication. For student support, check out Digication’s Student Guide. If students are experiencing login issues, they should contact the IT Help Desk. Finally, faculty should be prepared to help students as they assign ePortfolio work. The Supporting Students with Digication resource can help faculty prepare for issues their students might encounter as they get started with Digication. 

  The OTL has sample syllabus statements for a variety of topics, including Digication. You can find language about Digication under the “Digication Access” tab. Feel free to copy and paste into your own syllabus.

• Where can I find faculty support?

  For help figuring out how to use Digication, check out the Digication Faculty. These comprehensive guides contain step-by-step instructions and are the best place to start for faculty users.  For more 1:1 support, connect with Kellie Ferguson, the OTL’s Faculty Developer of Integrative and Experiential Learning, by scheduling a 1:1 consultation or emailing her directly at kellie.ferguson@du.edu.

• Where can I find some examples of student ePortfolios?

  Here are some sample ePortfolios provided by Digication. Or, check out some examples of ePortfolios created by DU students:

  • Annie Hoogerwerf Spanish Internship ePortfolio
  • Mina Khadem Spanish Internship ePortfolio 
  • Aaron Valencia Marketing Communications ePortfolio
  • Ellen Hogan Masters of Higher Education ePortfolio
  • Aubrey Naker FSEM ePortfolio Project 
• What is Digication Kora?

  Digication Kora is the updated version of Digication that is currently integrated with Canvas. Digication Kora has some different features that Digication Classic, which was the first version of Digication available to DU users. Notably, Digication Kora contains an Assignments feature that allows faculty to assign and grade sections of the ePortolio based on prompts and templates designed for the course. Numerical scores given to assignments in Digication are then able to sync with the Canvas grade book.

  If you were an early adopter of Digication and know you used Digication Classic to create any ePortfolios or templates, you are still able to access this content from the Dashboard widget titled “Digication Classic”. If you began using Digication after Kora was enabled, you will not experience any changes. 

  If you are experiencing issues with students unable to find your course in Digication, grade book sync, or accessing feedback, please review the following notes:

  • Students must enter Digication Kora from your Canvas course to link their Canvas course with Digication.
  • The grade book sync occurs from Digication to Canvas, not from Canvas to Digication.
  • Written feedback can be given within Digication, but only the numerical score will sync with the Canvas grade book. Students must access written feedback through Digication.
• Is Digication acccessible?

  Digication contains some accessibility features and are currently working on updating accessibility within the platform. To stay up to date with recent accessibility updates, check out the following links:

  Administrator Guide: Accessibility

  Digication VPAT

  For more information on how to create accessible content in Digication, check out our Accessibility Tips for ePortfolios page. 

• What happened to DU Portfolio?

  Digication has replaced DU Portfolio as the University of Denver’s ePortfolio platform.

  • DU Portfolio was a homegrown system that was built by the Office of Teaching and Learning around 2003. The original developers are no longer affiliated with the university and the system is currently in a support only phase. This means that we are unable to provide significant updates to the system, limiting user experience and necessary maintenance.
  • DU Portfolio will be fully decommissioned by June 30, 2024. The ability to create new ePortfolios or update existing ePortfolios in DU Portfolio was disabled starting July 1, 2023. 
• Can I get a Digication training for my department?

  To request a specific training, please contact Kellie Ferguson, the OTL’s Faculty Developer of Integrative and Experiential Learning at kellie.ferguson@du.edu, or book an appointment here.

• When Should You Use Digication vs. Canvas?

  When to use Canvas

  Canvas is designed to function as a course’s designated website, so the short answer to this question is that Canvas still can, and should, be used for the majority of your course content.  Instructors are expected to upload the course syllabus to Canvas and use its Gradebook for assignments. Beyond these core functions, Canvas also works best for a number of other classroom practices.  

  • Exams: Whether you elect to use Classic Quizzes or New Quizzes (and whether or not you decide to use LockDown Browser), exams, especially mid-terms and finals, should be facilitated through Canvas.  
  • Assignment submission and instructor feedback: Courses with an emphasis on written work can use the Assignments feature to provide feedback on and grade student work. The recent OneDrive integration also allows for easy file-sharing.  
  • Formative assessment and peer feedback: For courses that practice formative assessment, or in which larger projects are scaffolded into a series of steps that includes peer and/or instructor feedback, Canvas allows for the dissemination of feedback via Groups, Peer Review, and SpeedGrader. 
    • In Digication’s latest update, known as Digication Kora, ePortfolio assignments can be scaffolded into individual assignments and graded within Digication based on point values that will then sync with the Canvas gradebook. However, this option only makes sense if students are using these assignments to build out a larger ePortfolio project, as assignments are added to a template or to the student’s existing ePortfolio. Additionally, Digication does not have the capabilities to sync written feedback with Canvas just yet. 
  • Readings and Instructional Materials: Uploading readings and other instructional materials to Canvas not only makes it easy for students to access those materials at any point in the term, but also allows (and, in a way, encourages) supplementing readings with other types of content and media, which supports the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework of providing multiple means of engagement for students. 
  • Discussion boards: Canvas’s Discussion boards are great for getting students to interact with each other and the instructor, engage with course materials, and demonstrate knowledge of the course subject matter beyond simply participating in face-to-face discussions.  
  • Scheduling Zoom: Courses that utilize Zoom can use Canvas to schedule meetings for the whole class, group work, or office hours. 
  • Kaltura videos: The Kaltura Mediaspace integration allows you and your students to easily create and share videos, including Interactive Video Quizzes (which offer useful analytics on the back-end for instructors).  
    • This is also a great option to use if students are recording and adding videos to an ePortfolio—videos and audio can be recorded directly within Digication, but Kaltura has a more robust set of accessibility features, like the ability to create captions and transcripts for recorded videos, that, once recorded, can easily be embedded in an ePortfolio page. 
  • Modules: Using Modules to organize course content by day or week creates an ease of navigation that allows students to access all the relevant content in one place. If you’re tired of students asking or messaging you with questions about where they can find something, using Modules thoughtfully is your best bet. 

  All of which may now have you asking, “So if Canvas does all that, what are we supposed to use Digication for?” 

  When to use Digication

  Fundamentally, Canvas is the ideal system for creating and managing student work within the classroom. Digication, on the other hand, is the ideal system for “any assignment that wants to reach an audience beyond the classroom,” in the words of Madison Sussman, an Exhibits Librarian and Assistant Professor at DU. Sussman, who was part of a working group that tested out Digication’s capabilities this past spring, believes the program is especially good for facilitating exhibit/showcase-style assignments.  

  These types of assignments include: 

  • Museum-style digital exhibits that synthesize multiple media modalities, such as text, video, audio, images, graphics, and more.  
  • Capstone projects that collect student artifacts from a class, or even across a whole program, and offer a space for students to make connections and reflect on their growth and future goals. 
  • Community-engaged works, such as oral histories, or reflective assignments in which students document and reflect on experiences, such as internships or volunteer work, outside of the classroom. 
  • Research projects, especially those that benefit from, or even require, data visualization.  
  • Digital resumes or CV’s, especially when you would like to document and demonstrate your work via images, videos, hyperlinks, and other media, rather than simply referencing a project as a line in your resumé 

  In short, Digication is best used as a supplement, not a replacement, to Canvas. Think of Canvas as the place to conduct and enhance the day-to-day business of your class. Think of Digication as the place to get students doing the kind of work that encourages them to think about, create for, reflect on, and engage with the world outside the classroom. 

  Still not sure which to choose? 

  Of course, the wide array of programs and courses (not to mention students and instructors) at DU means that there are exceptions, nuances, and even ambiguities to the guidelines in this blog. If you find yourself still unsure which program to use – or how best to use each program, contact Kellie Ferguson, the OTL’s Faculty Developer of Integrative and Experiential Learning.