Reflection-- Electronic Portfolios as Digital Stories of Deep Learning

I relate to the tenant that states “AFL should be regarded as a key professional skill for teachers”.

The following points were interesting to me.

*Artifacts selected by learner to tell the story of their learning.

By having a public portfolio, teachers would be able to showcase technology projects. This would be useful for teachers when seeking other job opportunities. It could also be used by principals when completing teacher evaluations.

*Portfolio maintained on an ongoing basis throughout the class, term or program - time flexible.

I believe this is an important point for teachers. We recently had all Vision 2020 teachers complete a technology project and burn it to a CD as proof of their abilities. As you can imagine, this was a “BIG DEAL” for the teachers and for our tech integration specialist who’s job it was to make sure it was accomplished. An electronic portfolio would put more power and responsibility in the hands of the teachers. An electronic portfolio would be a more “fluid” form of proof than a “static” CD.

*Audience: learner, family, friends - learner can choose.

For educators, I think this is an important component. By having your electronic portfolio “public”, it makes one more accountable for a higher standard of performance.

If teachers are called upon to complete an electronic portfolio, I believe it will drive home the point that these vehicles can be an integral part of student assessment.

The Barrett writing states that an electronic portfolio is “usually detailed, specific and descriptive feedback in words (instead of numbers, scores and grades)". If one agrees with that statement, then it is clear that a paradigm shift must occur in education before portfolios can be a uniform part of assessment. Perhaps a compromise could be reached that combines portfolios (20%) and some type of standardized testing (80%). The next issue is how to assess the items in a child’s portfolio. The task will be time consuming and quite subjective. I think the challenges of assessing portfolios will provide “evidence” for they nay-sayers (at least for a while) against their inclusion in the assessment process.

Through the creation and development of my own portfolio, I able to explore its potential use in an educational setting. Another "plus"--An electronic portfolio can also be considered as an organization tool. Instead of having all my Masters projects scattered about in numerous folder, my portfolio can be serve as a “home”. If I choose, I can easily share these projects with friends, colleagues, and superiors for a variety of purposes.