In a world where digital is all over the place it's a smart idea to keep a digital portfolio handy for any job. I went to a trade school where I learned to be a multimedia designer. One of the projects that I had to do was to make a digital portfolio. I had my actual one that showed print, but the digital portfolio showed my print, web and video making skills. This was a must in order to be hired as anything multimedia related. As a child of two teachers, I have witnessed my parents getting together portfolios so that they could show the principals what they could offer, especially my mother who is an art teacher. Teachers can benefit from having a digital portfolio, or an eportfolio, because it shows principals (or who ever hires you in that district) that you are not only creative but also adaptive of technology.
Digital portfolios for students are also a great way of keeping students in check with themselves. I cannot remember if I talked about this in this class or in my other education class I am taking this semester, but while I was teaching in the after school program at the school I worked at, I had students keep a online data notebook. This way, when the students had student-led conferences, they could show their parents and teachers their progress. It displayed their ambitions for their school year, there own personal mission statement, the progress of their grades, behavior, and goals during the year, and it gave them a chance to create it in the way that they chose. These were really great because the students who did well were excited about keeping up with their grades as did the students who were improving. It gave the students a goal to shoot from. While what we did was just a portion of a digital portfolio, it's a great idea for students to document what they do so that they can move forward in their progress.
The last thing I want to discuss is Online preassesment surveys. In the three years of tutoring and summer camp that I have done, pre and post surveys were mandatory. I personally didn't like doing them and tried to make them as easy as I could. I believed that I could teach students and that they could learn because what I was teaching was relatively interesting. I taught technology, photography, film, and photoshop. Everything they would have to learn (i.e, how to operate a camera, different acting jobs, and how to use basic tools in photoshop) would be done everyday, and that it was ridiculous to give a pen and paper to a middle school student and tell them to guess the best that they could during the summer or after they got back from a big test. As a future teacher I see a difference in having it in the classroom where as having it in extracurricular activities is just awful. If it had been online, I think my students wouldn't have minded very much but having being sat down and given a pencil the first time they saw me I think made them a little uneasy.
In conclusion, I am looking forward to sitting up a digital portfolio, I think digital portfolios are great for students and keeping up with their progress, and I think online surveys are much better than hand written surveys because they allow the students to have a change of pace.
Reference:
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Awesome - love your initiative in having students using online data notebooks. This process can be so powerful as there is not only a timeline of accomplishments but also the opportunity to be reflective in learning. I would suggest that teachers would also want to be sure to add structure for how to and whys of selecting particular accomplishments - it would still be student choice, but it would help students find purpose in their learning at a different level...and also allow teachers to better assess students in the process.
ReplyDeleteYes, online assessments in an informal manner are great tools - beats paper/pencil anyday! Consider Socrative, InfuseLearning, and Kahoot! (among others) as great ways for students to use their own devices or computers - either one! I also love Google Forms and use frequently in my own teaching.