In 2006, the Michigan Department of Education created guidelines for what online learning and teaching looks like. In addition to these guidelines, they created a Companion Document that helps teachers figure out how to meet these guidelines.
I started college in 2006, and in all my education classes, I never heard about these guidelines. Now seeing how helpful the companion document is, I feel it would be really helpful for students to see and use as a resource. The document does a great job of identifying online learning tools and evaluates them for how they can help your online learning experience.
One of the technologies that document presents is the online portfolio. Now, I have my own teaching online portfolio, but I never thought of using it in the classroom. I love this idea because I see it as a great way for students to evaluate their growth throughout the year and throughout their K - 12 education. My students loved showing off their work and I feel this is a great way for them to do so (and it may save paper).
The portfolio could be modified to fit all subjects. I can see the argument that this would not be effective for elementary students. However, I think the portfolio will be a great way for students to learn about technology. For example, start with a simple layout that students can follow easily and scaffold and evolve the process throughout the year.
Scaffolding will be key to having portfolios work. Students need to see how to upload documents, how to pick what they want to show and how to evaluate their work. However, if done right, this process will become second nature by the end of the year. Modifications may be made for students as well. Some students may depend on the teacher or another student to upload documents.
While I see the online portfolios as a great tool, I also see they could be a challenge. For one, it will take effort from the teacher to get students started, especially if they start at a young age. Another drawback would be getting other teachers on board. This could be a great tool is students used it throughout their school experience but it takes all teachers to be on board.
Kelly, the Companion Document is certainly a good resource! Your reflections on the portfolio are excellent. Getting other teachers to buy in can be important, but you can do this independent from other teachers as well. When I taught 7th grade Science, students created a "Science Portfolio," which my students used for their science artifact collection and reflection.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, it is more important to get parents onboard...especially if their children's portfolio is available for the world to see. Getting parent permission is crucial for the success of a portfolio implementation.
Great post!