Digital Portfolio Content
Using technology to aid teaching and learning is not a new concept. Interactive whiteboards, the Internet, and wireless access are commonplace in schools. Recent technology, such as learning management systems like Edmodo and Schoology, has provided teachers with the ability to facilitate some classroom activities online. What is new is how technology can and should be leveraged to transform teaching and learning—instead of just enhancing it. This requires a shift in practice.
Digital portfolio assessment is one such approach that could build a learning partnership. David Niguidula (2010) coined the term digital student portfolios, defined as “a multimedia collection of student work that provides evidence of a student’s skills and knowledge” (p. 154). I’ve expanded on this definition and consider digital student portfolios to be dynamic, digital collections of information from many sources, in many forms, and with many purposes that better represent a student’s understanding and learning experiences.
Three Types of Portfolios
Let’s take a deeper look at the purposes of portfolios and the different types of portfolios that have been used in schools (Figure 1.1). Literacy professors Richard Allington and Patricia Cunningham (2006) offer clear definitions for this assessment tool and process (p. 179):
Figure 1.1. Different Types of Portfolios
Performance portfolios are collections of a student’s best work, with the student taking the lead in the selection of the work and providing an explanation as to why they should be included.
Process portfolios contain several versions of a selected work. Such a portfolio might hold early drafts of a paper or poem to show how the piece developed over time.
Progress portfolios are often managed by teachers. They hold collections of work intended to illustrate children’s development over time.Digital Portfolio Content
Using technology to aid teaching and learning is not a new concept. Interactive whiteboards, the Internet, and wireless access are commonplace in schools. Recent technology, such as learning management systems like Edmodo and Schoology, has provided teachers with the ability to facilitate some classroom activities online. What is new is how technology can and should be leveraged to transform teaching and learning—instead of just enhancing it. This requires a shift in practice.
Digital portfolio assessment is one such approach that could build a learning partnership. David Niguidula (2010) coined the term digital student portfolios, defined as “a multimedia collection of student work that provides evidence of a student’s skills and knowledge” (p. 154). I’ve expanded on this definition and consider digital student portfolios to be dynamic, digital collections of information from many sources, in many forms, and with many purposes that better represent a student’s understanding and learning experiences.
Three Types of Portfolios
Let’s take a deeper look at the purposes of portfolios and the different types of portfolios that have been used in schools (Figure 1.1). Literacy professors Richard Allington and Patricia Cunningham (2006) offer clear definitions for this assessment tool and process (p. 179):
Figure 1.1. Different Types of Portfolios
Performance portfolios are collections of a student’s best work, with the student taking the lead in the selection of the work and providing an explanation as to why they should be included.
Process portfolios contain several versions of a selected work. Such a portfolio might hold early drafts of a paper or poem to show how the piece developed over time.
Progress portfolios are often managed by teachers. They hold collections of work intended to illustrate children’s development over time.Digital Portfolio Content
Using technology to aid teaching and learning is not a new concept. Interactive whiteboards, the Internet, and wireless access are commonplace in schools. Recent technology, such as learning management systems like Edmodo and Schoology, has provided teachers with the ability to facilitate some classroom activities online. What is new is how technology can and should be leveraged to transform teaching and learning—instead of just enhancing it. This requires a shift in practice.
Digital portfolio assessment is one such approach that could build a learning partnership. David Niguidula (2010) coined the term digital student portfolios, defined as “a multimedia collection of student work that provides evidence of a student’s skills and knowledge” (p. 154). I’ve expanded on this definition and consider digital student portfolios to be dynamic, digital collections of information from many sources, in many forms, and with many purposes that better represent a student’s understanding and learning experiences.
Three Types of Portfolios
Let’s take a deeper look at the purposes of portfolios and the different types of portfolios that have been used in schools (Figure 1.1). Literacy professors Richard Allington and Patricia Cunningham (2006) offer clear definitions for this assessment tool and process (p. 179):
Figure 1.1. Different Types of Portfolios
Performance portfolios are collections of a student’s best work, with the student taking the lead in the selection of the work and providing an explanation as to why they should be included.
Process portfolios contain several versions of a selected work. Such a portfolio might hold early drafts of a paper or poem to show how the piece developed over time.
Progress portfolios are often managed by teachers. They hold collections of work intended to illustrate children’s development over time.
