ICT PD: Digital Portfolios

Here I am Harrisfied PS with Heather Carver again, this time learning about Digital Portfolios.

This is the wiki we’re using…and this is the site for digital portfolios.

We started off by playing with MindMeister to tease out the issues: this is probably a useful thing to do with staff so that concerns are aired and dealt with.

What’s the point of digital portfolios?  Check out the introductory video…

• to have an ongoing digital record of work that can include the student’s use of Web 2.0, graphics, video, podcasts, images etc.  They can use MovieMaker, PhotoStory, blogs, wikis etc
• depending on where it’s saved, a digital portfolio can travel from school to school when students transfer

Heather says there are  four main purposes:

• to demonstrate learning
• to assess learning
• to guide learning
• to reflect upon learning.

To demonstrate learning

• explains and displays what’s been learned in a unit
• constructed while elearning is taking place
• aligned to the criteria for the unit

Reflective portfolios

• Often done as you go along
• what was learned
• how tasks were approached
• what could be improved
• often aligned with personal learning goals
•  contains a variety of file types
• reflective commenatary over a whole year or long period of time

For guidance

• usually done by teacher or support person, gathering info about what to do for a student
• examples of failing to meeting learning or behaviour goals – articles of work, video, audio etcFor assessment

For assessment

• The ePortfolio IS the assessment,
• it proves that the stduent has achieved the goals
• often has an audience other than the student, teacher or parent.

The best vehicle?

• Sometimes an ePortfolio can simply be a folder on a server containing samples of work comprising an archive or aggregate of work done over time.
• Software solutions inlcude PowerPoint, PPT templates, Foliomaker, (school licence needed, a bit more expensive per child) edcube (school licence needed, about $900 p.a.).  Be wary of the time spent on doing these things – can over-ride learning time.
• ONline tools: LMS,(Sharepoint, Moodle – Learning Management system)  Google Apps, Mahara (Heather’s fave), Wikis, Blogs, Websites.  The advantage is that kids can work on them at home.  Beware: the school’s internet bill can be huge. 

 It’s important to secure ePortfolios so that they can’t be deleted, either accidentally or on purpose, by the student or someone else.  If using online tools, strict protocols need to be in place for cyber safety.

All schools should have a copy of Digital Portfolio Resources CD.  Also available on ePotential.

Decision: how much time should be spent on these?  Who does them? How often?  Teachers and students need a set of rules to ensure safety, security and consistency between classes.