June 24th Readings

Electronic Portfolios: Students, Teachers, and Life Long Learners
This article provides many examples of the basics on how to create an ePortfolio and even suggests software to use in order to store your data. This is the first article to mention the storage issue. I had to deal with the storage issue myself yesterday, when I went to copy my file onto my flash drive...it was not able to hold all of my data! What a dilemma! Luckily 8MB were on sale at Office Max!! I never would have thought to have had to purchase such a large drive!!

Dr. Helen Barrett on Electronic Portfolio Development: A Short Video
Dr. Barrett describes electronic portfolios as a "purposeful collection of work". The reason the works are considered purposeful, because the learner takes charge in what is going to be placed inside the portfolio to demonstrate understanding on a concept. The main piece of material that I seem to leave out of each section of my own student's portfolios is the reflection piece. It is important for students to reflect on their learning because it can then be used as an authentic form of assessment. I enjoyed the short ePortfolio clips of the little girl, Victoria, and her grandmother, the teacher, displaying her portfolio. She took ownership of her work and was proud to present it to others because it captured her learning and she was able to display it in a unique manner.

Researching Electronic Portfolios and Learned Engagement
by Helen C. Barrett, PhD.
According to Barrett, portfolios "contain work that a learner has collected, reflected (key point), selected, and presented to show growth and change over time". Portfolios, either student or professional, demonstrate to others the person's knowledge level. When students are allowed to select what items will be used in their portfolio, they take charge of their learning and will take pride in their achievements. Understanding what goes on behind the scenes of assessment will hopefully also make them more aware of what is expected of them to demonstrate their knowledge. The article suggests that electronic portfolios should have two sides...a teacher side (to show and highlight formative assessments) and also a student side (what they have chosen to demonstrate understanding). Portfolios should be used as an "assessment tool for learning". Teachers can analyze a student's portfolio and grasp whether a student understood a concept or needs to be pulled into a small group. It is an authentic tool to use to get to know the needs of your students in a variety of learning areas.

eLearnSpace: ePortfolios
by: George Siemens (2004)
This article reminds me of my own teaching philosophy of incorporating constructivist teaching practices into my classroom. Siemens states that "learning through life experiences creates artifacts instead". Isn't that our ultimate goal as teachers? I don't want my students to simply memorize their multiplication facts, but instead I want them to understand why multiplication works and be able to describe how it can be used outside of the classroom. Bring the learning to their level so they are able to make sense of what is being taught and apply it to their own lives.