E-portfolios :: Making Things E-asy(6)

E-portfolios :: Making Things E-asy
by John K. Waters
“Most people think of electronic portfolios logistically, as just a better way to collect and organize student work. And they are that, for sure. They provide good storage, they can be used for grading purposes, and they can be used to demonstrate profi- ciency. But I’m using the technology now as both a resource for student and teacher collaboration, and as a powerful motivator for the students, who get to do something amazing.” She pauses for emphasis. “Publish their work.”
Defining E-portfolios
E-portfolios differ from other similar digital systems. They are not merely an account of one’s own history, like an electronic scrapbook, or a personal space for expression, like a blog. E-portfolios are designed specifically to highlight skills, represent work, and organize information. Teachers and students use them to collect audio, video, graphics, and textual “artifacts,” such as work samples, assessments, resumes, lesson plans, and personal reflections. According to the definition created by Educause’sNational Learning Infrastructure Initiative, these collections are “designed for presentation to one or more audiences for a particular rhetorical purpose.” E-portfolios have been divided into three main types:
Developmental, which provide a record of things that an individual has done over a period of time, and may be directly tied to learner outcomes. Reflective, which include personal reflections on the content and what it means for the individual’s development. Representational, which show an individual’s achievements in relation to particular work or developmental goals.
The three types may be blended to achieve different learning, personal, or work-related outcomes.
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Weigand says Hope High’s digital makeover still has far to go. “There are schools in this state that are light-years beyond us. When the [NCLB requirements] were passed in 2003, some people got right on it; others who didn’t are just now starting to stress. Eventually, I think all three learning communities will move to digital portfolios. It won’t just be artwork, but samples of things from all the subject areas: a paper, a test, a science project, a lab report. When we have e-portfolios for every student, that will significantly change things. We’re not there yet, but we’ll get there.”
links
DigicationHope ArtsRhode Island School of Design
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John K. Waters is a freelance writer based in Palo Alto, CA.
Cite this Site
John K. Waters, "E-portfolios :: Making Things E-asy," T.H.E. Journal, 4/1/2007, http://www.thejournal.com/articles/20464
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