Learning Portfolio: The Lifestyle Project

Worth: Total: 10% of your final grade

Date Assigned: Week of September 2, 2024

Date Due: October 31, 11:30 p.m. EDT

You are responsible for submitting the deliverable(s) in the appropriate folder on
Avenue to Learn. No accommodation will be made for having submitted a
deliverable in the wrong folder.

Introduction

Our lifestyle choices have a daily impact on the environment, and

directly/indirectly on how much energy we consume individually.

The Lifestyle Project is a way for you to learn about environmental alternatives
by modifying your own lifestyle. It is an exercise carried out over several weeks,
giving you the opportunity to explore how you can reduce your impact on the
environment by changing the way in which you live from day to day. The project
has suggested parameters, allowing you to achieve a gradual but definitive
change in your everyday habits.

Each of you will choose two different ways in which you are interested in
changing your habits. The possible categories are:

• Use of electricity
• Use of water
• Automobile usage
• Food consumption
• Waste production
• Heating/cooling

For each challenge, the rules are clearly defined, such as not producing waste at
all or eliminating the use of the car. From week to week, you should aim to make
the project more rigorous.

You will use a Learning Portfolio do document your project, by providing details
about each aspect of the project you have attempted, provide evidence of your
accomplishments (e.g.: photos), and reflect on your experience (successes and
failures).

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 The Rules

1. The idea of this project is to make changes in your lifestyle that will have a
beneficial effect on the environment. The changes are not difficult, but they
are significant. Mostly they will require planning and thinking about your
actions.

2. You will slowly increase the degree or frequency of the changes, week by
week, until your Learning Portfolio is due. You can pick which days will count
as your “project days.” You can spread out your project days any way it
works best for you. For example, the days you opt out of driving your car
do not have to be the same days when you eat a local, unprocessed diet.

3. You will use the Learning Portfolio to keep a journal with dated entries to
document your efforts your efforts for meeting the project requirements.

4. For whatever reason, you can bail out partway through and discuss in your
learning portfolio what prompted you to abandon the project.

Choose any two categories from the six choices below. Do not pick something that
you already normally do, as the idea of this project is to make changes. Some
changes will not be possible in your living situation, so obviously you cannot pick
those.

The Challenges

1. GARBAGE

You should spend each project day producing no waste at all. You should aim to
increase the number of waste-free days, as the project unfolds. For example: one
waste-free day for the first two weeks, two waste-free days the next two weeks,
then three days and then even four days for the subsequent weeks.

The idea of reducing your input to landfills follows a certain hierarchy. The best
thing is to reduce the amount of garbage you make by simply using less, buying
less, and wasting less. The second option is to reuse whatever you can to avoid
buying new things that will eventually end up as garbage. Recycling is the last
option, to be used only when the first two options fail. So, on your waste-free
days you must live by these rules, and not contribute anything to the landfill on
those days. Even if something is theoretically recyclable, if you are not able to
recycle a particular type of waste in your area, it counts as garbage. It is
considered cheating to just hang on to something until you are given waste-free
days pass, and then throw it out. Toilet paper does not count as garbage; it goes
to the wastewater treatment plant or your septic system, not the landfill. Cigarette

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butts are exempt from this category as well because quitting smoking is beyond
the scope of this project. However, all butts must be put in the garbage can, not
on the ground or out your car window.

2. ELECTRICITY

Trim the fat off your excess energy consumption by reducing your electricity needs
by at least 50%. To do this, you can do the following things: turn the lights off
when you're not around; turn on only one light instead of two; replace
incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs; read next to a window; leave the
TV and the stereo off; don’t leave your computer and all its accessories on when
you are not using them (use the hibernate mode); cook meals that don't require
lots of burners at once or long cooking times; use the microwave instead of the
stove or oven; take a shower at half the usual duration; turn the water down in
the shower so it's not full blast; take a cooler shower; skip the blow dryer and
electric razor; don't use any unnecessary appliances; run the washing machine
and dishwasher only when totally full; and hang laundry to dry instead of using
the dryer.

If you do all these things, it is possible to cut your consumption by 50% or more.
You should aim to add more days each week, until you have four days for the last
week.

3. LEAVE THE CAR AT HOME*

Experience the thrill of the outdoors by riding your bike, walking, or taking the
bus in your daily travels. Hitching a ride with your friends or roommates does
reduce the amount of driving, but is also just too easy, so avoid that option unless
there are no other alternatives. Aim to increase the number of car-free days per
week by one, until you have four days of bike riding (or whatever) during the last
week.

4. EAT EFFICIENTLY

The food production and distribution systems require a large amount of water and
energy and produce considerable waste. You can approach this category from two
angles.

One is to produce your own food by the end of your project. You can grow sprouts,
herbs, leaf lettuce or any edible plant of your choice. There are seeds and supplies
available at most nurseries; seeds are also available at some grocery stores. You
may want to supplement your entries with photos of your food growing.

The second requirement is to reduce the environmental impact of your diet by

including local, unprocessed ingredients in your diet, and reach four project days

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by the time your Portfolio is due. The unprocessed ingredients should make up at
least 50% of what you eat on project days. For the purposes of this project, we’ll
call Ontario “local”. You should also be very vigilant about not wasting food during
the project. Think of all the resources that go into the production of the food that
are wasted if food is thrown out.

You should consult a physician or nutritionist before making changes to your diet
if you have any questions about your ability to complete this aspect of the project.

5. WATER CONSUMPTION

Canadians use more water per person than any other country in the world (the
U.S. comes in a close second). Water requires energy to pump and treat before
use as well as energy used in treating wastewater. Most domestic wastewater
(60%) is produced in the bathroom from toilets and showers.

Here are ways to reduce your water use: place a “space holder” (fill a clean
margarine container, clean plastic drink bottle or use a brick) in the tank of your
toilet to reduce the amount of water used for each flush; don’t use the toilet as a
garbage can – dispose of used tissues etc. in the green bin or garbage can; don't
leave the water running while washing, shaving, brushing your teeth, or washing
dishes; take a shower at half the usual duration; turn the water down in the
shower so it's not full blast; run the washing machine and dishwasher only when
totally full; If you do all of these things it is possible to cut your consumption by
25% or more. Aim to increase gradually the number of days, until you have four
days for the last week.

6. HEATING/COOLING

If the temperature is cool, expand your comfort zone by gradually turning your
heat down from its normal setting. Continue lowering the heat every week until
you have reduced it by 3 degrees Celsius at the end of the project. The heat
reduction applies for the entire week, not just for your project days.

In the summer, you would instead normally cool your living space. Continue
adjusting the thermostat so that the air conditioning does not turn on. This
adjustment also applies for the entire week, not just your project days. It is
important to note that in the eventuality a heatwave occurs, you can opt out and
then explain why you had to

This option is limited to those who have control over their own thermostats, have
housemates who are cooperative, and healthy enough that temperature
fluctuations will not affect adversely their health.

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You should discuss how you implemented this challenge in practical terms (e.g.:
what strategies did you use to remain comfortable?), and report on it as frequently
as possible. Also, you should discuss the energy savings you achieved, if any.

If you have already completed some of these challenges as part of

another course (ENV SOCTY 3EE3), you will need to select new ones.

Overview of the Evaluation Scheme

You must create a reflection piece, describing your experience in attempting this
project and selecting 2 challenges, using (or by creating) a Learning Portfolio
(see guidelines below).

You will keep track of your activities in the Lifestyle Project by recording
everything in the Learning Portfolio, which will be a journal of your experience.
Your mark will depend on the quality of the discussion for each of the categories
of the project you will have chosen, the supporting evidence for each, and the
creativity of your portfolio.

You should report as often as possible (i.e.: more than just once a week)
your progress attaining your goals, and to be creative in the process (e.g.: using
a mix of pictures and videos to document your successes and challenges). The
more thorough you are, the more creative you are, the better your portfolio will
be. And the sooner you start working on it, the better.

Learning Portfolio

According to the Student Guide to Using the Learning Portfolio (McMaster

University, 2013), the Learning Portofolio is “a powerful student-centered
application for storing, organizing, reflecting on and sharing items that represent
you. Within the Learning Portfolio you may include documents, graphics, audio
files, presentations and any other digital files that reflect your own experiences
inside and outside McMaster. You can also set your own learning goals; then
follow and track your progress towards achieving those goals. You can then
easily share your achievements, your knowledge and your reflections with
faculty, advisors, potential employers or peers in the form of a presentation –
which looks and acts like a website. You have full control over the content of
your Learning Portfolio presentations and can customize and create as many
presentations as you like.”

You can use the ePortfolio tool in Avenue to Learn to create a presentation
that will assemble and document your efforts. This tool is located under the
Resources tab on the Avenue to Learn navbar. You can find more here about it

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here:

ePortfolio - Navigate Brightspace ePortfolio - Learners

You can find more about how to create an ePortfolio presentation here:

ePortfolio - Create a Presentation - Learner

eLearn @ UCalgary has also excellent resources what an ePortfolio is and its use
in a learning context:

https://elearn.ucalgary.ca/eportfolio/

McMaster’s Macpherson Institute created a tutorial on the Learning Portfolio,

featuring an older version of Avenue to Learn:

An Introduction to the Learning Portfolio

The Brightspace ePortfolio Learner Guide and other tools will be posted on
Avenue to Learn, as additional sources of information.

Creating your Learning Portfolio

As part of your ePortfolio presentation, you will need to detail your experience
and reflect on it. This should include a description of the steps and progress (or
lack thereof) in attaining your goals. You will need to comment on the insights
you have gained from this experience on your environmental impact, and what
aspects of your daily life were the most transformed.

For each challenge of the project, you will have selected (remember, you need
to pick 2 of them), you need to discuss the Goals and strategies you plan to
implement to achieve them (i.e., how you are going to reach your goals.
Regular reporting and Reflection, where you will discuss as often as possible
your progress, your successes, and failures at meeting your goals. You should
provide for each Evidence of Accomplishment (i.e., how you are going to show
what you did).

Your portfolio must also be clear, easy to navigate, visually creative, and well
supported by evidence/artefacts, each of which will be discussed.

Refer to the marking scheme as you are creating your ePortfolio presentation.

Deliverables to Submit

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You will need to submit two items.

1. All the text of your ePortfolio presentation. You can do so by copying

and pasting all the text in a document which is in file format readable by
Avenue to Learn (e.g.: Word). There is no specific format (font type or size,
line spacing, margins) to follow.

2. A link to the ePortfolio presentation you created.

The text of the presentation will be evaluated for plagiarism using Turnitin.com.
A Similarity Report will be generated, and any Similarity Report above 10%
will be investigated. Any excess above the maximum allowed will be deducted
from the final mark for the portfolio. You will be able to repeatedly check the
similarity of your text before the final submission by submitting it in the dropbox
for the Learning Portfolio.

Submitting your ePortfolio Presentation

Here are the steps you will need to follow, to submit your ePortfolio presentation.

1. On the Avenue navbar, click Resources and then ePortfolio.

2. Find the presentation that you created and want to share.
3. On the scroll down menu, select Share.
4. The popup window Sharing Settings should appear.
5. Make sure that the option Allow anyone with the Share URL to view
the presentation is selected.
6. Copy the link for the Share URL just underneath.
7. Close the popup window.
8. On the Avenue navbar, click Assessment and then Assignments.
9. Select the Learning Portfolio folder to make a submission
10. In the Submit Assignment area, click Add a File.
11. Select the file that contains the text from your ePortfolio presentation
12. Post the URL of your presentation in the Comments section.
13. Click Submit > Done.

Your ePortfolio presentation and the accompanying text file will be due on
October 31, 11:30 p.m. EDT on Avenue to Learn.

Please note: if your submission lacks a link to the ePortfolio presentation or leads
to a Collection of artefacts rather than an ePortfolio presentation, a mark of zero
will be given. If your submission lacks the accompanying text file, a penalty
worth 25% will be applied.

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 Submitting a Portfolio created on Another Platform

While Brightspace ePortfolio is the platform supported at McMaster, it is possible

to submit a digital portfolio in the form of a presentation (not a collection of
artefacts) created on another online platform, such as Wix, PebblePad, etc.

You are still responsible for meeting the same expectations and criteria for the
portfolio you will submit, and submission of the text in a separate file will still be
required.

When submitting the link to a portfolio created on another platform, you will follow
the same steps as above, but instead submit a link (URL) to your portfolio in
the Comments section.

You are however responsible of making sure the link is functional and does not
require special permission. If not, a mark of zero will be given.

Please note: If you use a platform other than the Brightspace ePortfolio, it is
your responsibility to set up and manage your own account and passwords. As
these are external websites to McMaster, we cannot assist with any issues related
to lost account access, passwords, or issues with the individual websites. If you
are having trouble with a particular platform, please try another platform.

Please note: Portfolios in the form of presentation files (e.g.: PowerPoint), or

any other file format, will not be accepted.

Marking Scheme for Evaluation of Learning Portfolio

Total: 55 marks

Introduction
1. Identify: Which challenges you have selected for this project,
and the reason motivating your choices. Discuss what are your /5
typical habits for each challenge

Challenge 1 (selected from list)

2. Goals & Strategies: Discuss what you aim to have achieved
/5
by the end of the project for this challenge.
3. Regular reporting and Reflection: Discuss as often as
possible your progress, your successes, and failures at meeting /5
your goals
4. Evidence of Completion: Present evidence of your attempts
/5
at meeting your goals

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 Challenge 2 (selected from list)
5. Goals & Strategies: Discuss what you aim to have achieved
/5
by the end of the project for this challenge.
6. Regular reporting and Reflection: Discuss as often as
possible your progress, your successes, and failures at meeting /5
your goals
7. Evidence of Completion: Present evidence of your attempts
/5
at meeting your goals

Quality of Portfolio
8. Clarity: The portfolio is organized in a logical manner, and the
information is presented clearly, without grammar/spelling /5
mistakes
9. Ease of navigation: The flow of information is seamless, and
/5
the portfolio is easy to read/navigate
10. Visual Creativity: Visually pleasing, excellent use of a mix
/5
of media; effort clearly put into creation

Conclusion
11. Summarize: Your experience, successes, and failures. What
/5
you will retain from the experience.

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COPYRIGHT NOTICE

© Luc Bernier [2024]

This work the intellectual property of the instructor (unless otherwise noted), and are protected
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