Electronic Portfolios What are they and why are they becoming so prevalent in K-12 Education?

Electronic PortfoliosWhat are they and why are they becoming

so prevalent in K-12 Education?

What is an Electronic Portfolio?

• An electronic portfolio is a meaningful collection of work, experiences, and thoughts that has been created in an electronic format, and can published online.

Electronic Portfolios can have multiple purposes:

• as assessment tools to document the attainment of standards (a positivist model--the assessment portfolio )

• as digital stories of deep learning (a constructivist model--the learning portfolio)

• as digital resumes to highlight competence (a showcase model-- the marketing/employment portfolio)

What do types of information do Electronic Portfolios typically contain?• Artifacts – graphics, photos, writing samples, audio,

and/or video, of the student's choosing, that represent student learning experiences and/or assignments

• Learning – a brief written summary of information learned during a particular unit of instruction

• Reflection – a more detailed statement explaining how the student personally grew and developed through the learning process

Why incorporate electronic portfolios into the learning process?1) An electronic portfolio meets the needs of visual learners.

Ramlee Mustapha, relates in his online piece, Diverse Learners in Vocational and Technical Education: Strategies for Success, that close to eight out of every ten students today are primarily visual learners. Electronic portfolios are extremely visual in nature, incorporating graphics, color, animation, and video.  We cannot afford to neglect the learning strengths of 8 out of every ten of the students in our classrooms!

2) The development of electronic portfolios encourages students to take a more active role in their own learning. An electronic portfolio focuses an individual student’s interests, and goals. Educators who have implemented electronic portfolios into their curriculum have found that student motivation tends to increase. In fact, studies have demonstrated that students are motivated by activities that they consider “interactive, personally meaningful, and fun.” meaningful (McCombs, 1991, 117-127; 1993, 287-313; 1994, 49-69).

3) Electronic portfolios address the needs of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners, through the use of images, video, sound, music, and the manipulation of graphics.

Why incorporate electronic portfolios into the learning process? (cont.)4) Electronic portfolios allow educators to easily assess the

level to which learning outcomes and national/state/district standards have been achieved.

5) The examination of student electronic portfolios provides educators with a valuable opportunity for self-reflection.

6) Electronic portfolios are accessible. Parents, students, educators, and administrators can easily access an electronic portfolio, that has been uploaded to a Web server, from any computer that has an Internet connection. We as educators understand how crucial parental involvement is to education. An electronic portfolio serves to further engage parents in the learning process by acting as a point of discussion concerning student progress.

Why incorporate electronic portfolios into the learning process? (cont.)

7) Electronic portfolios are easy for students to maintain and update. As a student learns and processes new information throughout the school year, he may wish to include additional showcase items, or “artifacts” (i.e. test scores, essays, digital photos of projects, etc.). An electronic portfolio is a work in progress that changes as a student learns and grows.

8) Electronic portfolios are very easy to store. They can be stored on a CD, DVD, computer hard drive, or a Web server, avoiding the need to take up valuable classroom space with traditional paper portfolios.

NCLB Mandates Loom

On January 8, 2002, President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. This law officially reauthorizes the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education (ESEA) Act. One of the programs within the ESEA, known as Enhancing Education Through Technology (Ed Tech), has the primary goal of improving student academic performance through the use of technology in school.  According to the U.S. Department of Education’s piece, Guidance on the Enhancing Education Through Technology (Ed Tech) Program, the goal of this program is “to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary and secondary schools.  This law is also designed to promote technology literacy among all students by the end of eighth grade – regardless of race, ethnicity, income, geographical location, or disability, and to encourage the effective integration of technology resources and systems with professional development and curriculum development to promote research-based instructional methods that can be widely replicated."

How can electronic portfolios help our district meet NCLB mandates?

1) improving student academic achievement through the use of technology,

2) assisting students in becoming technologically literate by the time they finish eighth grade, and

3) ensuring that teachers can integrate technology into the curriculum.

Samples of Digital Student Portfolios

• Bath CSD Sample – Student Student1– Public View

• Username: pstudent1 • Password: ps1beta

– Student View• Username: sstudent1 • Password: ss1beta

– Teacher View

Additional Resources

• http://www.electronicportfolios.org – Developed by Dr. Helen Barrett

• http://www.ideasconsulting.com/ - Dr. David Niguidila

Questions, Comments?