Reading Program Portfolio Directions

It is a requirement of the State of Illinois and of our accrediting agency NCATE, that all students present evidence that they meet the International Reading Association Standards for Reading Professionals. Your portfolio is the place where you will file artifacts of your work, reflections upon the ways in which this work shows your growth in the program and evidence in which you meet the standards. In addition, your portfolio is a place to demonstrate the dispositions required of reading professionals, which include collegiality and collaboration in interactions and communication, professionalism, and respect for diversity. It is you responsibility to archive your work. Students cannot be recommended for licensure without a complete portfolio.

 What Does the Process Require?

1. Registering for LiveText: Please go to: https://college.livetext.com/purchasing/ You need the Standard Student Membership ($98 as of spring 2012). (For your sign in, please use your first initial or first name and last name.)
2. After you join LiveText or sign in, complete the following steps to start your portfolio:
   1. Look for "Dashboard" tab and click on "Documents" to the right of the Dashboard tab.
   2. A page with "My Work" will appear. Look under the words "My Work" for box with "new" and click.
   3. "Create a Document" should appear.
      • For "Folder" choose National-Louis Portfolios.
      • For "template" choose "Reading Program Portfolio Template."
      • For "title" enter YOUR LAST NAME, FIRST NAME's READING PORTFOLIO e.g. If your name is Mary Smith, you save as Smith, Mary's Reading Portfolio. This is so we can find you easily.
      • Click "Save as new document" (in green letters, bottom right-hand side of screen).
   4. "Directions and Portfolio Checklist" will appear. Look in the box on the right and click on "Artifacts" OR, if there is no box on the right, click on "Manage Pages."
   5. "Artifacts" will appear. Look for the class or section of the portfolio you are posting artifacts for and click the "Edit" box.
   6. "Section Editor" will appear. Under "File Attachments" click on "Edit" next to "Inserted Files."
   7. You will be asked to browse and locate the file. Click on "Browse" and locate the document you are trying to upload. It must either be accessible on a memory key or downloaded on the desktop in order for you to upload it to LiveText.
   8. Once you locate the document, click on "open" and then "upload."
   9. BEFORE you sign out of LiveText, remember to SAVE your work (there's another button for this). If you have any questions about LiveText, please consult the NLU LiveText Support Page or call the Portfolio Support Team at 312-261-3343.
3. Each time you take a reading/literacy class, you must attach all of your course assignments relevant to demonstrating that you met the IRA Standards and any other documents required by the course instructor. All core course and elective classes should be stored in designated folders.
4. Evaluation We will check on your progress three (reading teacher) or four times (reading specialist):
   • At Midpoint (Pre-Practicum): After you have completed RLR 501, RLR 502, RLW 541, RLL 520/528 and RLR 510, your instructor for RLR 511 will give you a monitoring sheet and we will look at your portfolio. You cannot enter Practicum (RLR592A and RLR592B) until you have completed all requirements and prerequisites. As noted in the NLU catalog, to continue in the Reading Program, students must maintain a 3.0 or higher grade point average and may not have more than one "C" or lower grade in Reading Program courses (any RL prefix course), elective or courses submitted for transfer. No grade of "D" or lower will fulfill requirements.
   • Post-Practicum: We will look at your progress in RLR 511 and RLR 592 A,B to see if you are on track. For those of you in the Reading Specialist Program, we will check to see that you are admissible to RLR 518 or 593. You must have ESR505 to take RLR593. You cannot enter 518 or 593 until you have completed all requirements and prerequisites. You may not have a grade lower than a "C" in any NCE core course, nor more than one "C" in a Reading Program course or elective (an RL course).
   • End-Point: After you finish your last required Reading class - 592A,B for Reading Teacher and 518 or 593 for Reading Specialist and any electives, we will review your portfolio again. Again, students must maintain a 3.0 or higher grade point average and may not have more than one "C" or lower in Reading Program courses (any RL prefix course), elective or course submitted for transfer. No grade of "D" or lower will fulfill requirements for the program. Please be sure to apply for graduation.

Accreditation. ONLY FOR READING SPECIALIST CANDIDATES WHO HAVE GRADUATED AND ARE APPLYING FOR LICENSURE. If you are applying for licensure, you will submit your credential file as described on the Reading and Language Department Web site and will complete your final program reflection. You will then submit your LiveText portfolio to readingprogram (all one word) and send a note to Dr. Sophie Degener at sophie.degener@nl.edu notifying her that your portfolio is ready for final review.

BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR PORTFOLIO, PLEASE make sure that you have also attached artifacts for the following:

• artifacts attached in the core course(s) and elective courses area;
• your technology area displaying that you know how to use technology for the role of the reading professional (may include a reference to artifacts attached for other courses);
• your professional activity area. (In this last area, you will need to attach a scanned copy of your membership documentation from a professional literacy organization (i.e., local reading council such as SCIRA, WSRA; state IRA; or national IRA, NCTE, etc.) and at least one 1-page write-up of presenting at or attending a professional meeting of one of the above containing the date, the location and organization and a brief summary and personal reflection of your most important learning.)
• and your final program reflection.

Who Reads and Evaluates These?

Your course artifact template is read by your course instructor as a requirement for completion of the course. Your Midpoint, Post-Practicum and End-Point reflections are read by the program director and one other faculty member. All portfolios are presented for review to readers from the Illinois State Board of Education and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) review team.

Submission When You Finish Your Program

When you are ready to graduate and have finished all your courses, submit your final portfolio for review. Share with readingprogram (one word) as a REVIEWER and send an e-mail to Dr. Sophie Degener, sophie.degener@nl.edu indicating that you have shared this with them. In order for us to recommend you for licensure, you must have a complete final portfolio.

Helpful Information

• Remember to backup all of your work in each class on your own flash drive or computer.
• Your word-processed files submitted to LiveText must either be Microsoft Word or Rich Text Files. All other files will not come up appropriately. Your file names must have extensions on their names. The two extensions that will work for word processing are .doc/docx (for Microsoft Word) or .rtf (for Rich Text Files). You can also save Excel files (.xls/xlsx), PowerPoint files (.ppt/pptx/pps), pictures (.jpg) and movie clips (.mpg).

If students need further assistance with LiveText, they should contact Anthony Boen aboen@nl.edu.