Using Online Portfolios

Well, here we are at the end. It's the end of the class, but also the end of my Masters program. Hooray! I made it!

As such, it feels like a highly appropriate time to think about portfolios and ways of demonstrating my growth and development over the last several years. I spent some time checking out the resources on the wiki. I really enjoyed the site that discussed the different purposes for creating a portfolio. I think that's a very important piece to consider. I actually chatted with my building tech person about it, and he agreed that the tool you used would definitely be determined by your purpose. I think a blog would be a great tool for showing growth--if a person started at the beginning of a process,  he or she could post all of his or her products and reflect on each of the products using the comments section. I think wikis would be better suited for showcasing a body of work. As my tech guy said, a wiki feels more like a product. I know it can be used as more than that, but I see his point. I also find wikis a little bit easier to organize, particularly the pages and the ease with which one can link to other pages.

In looking at my own blog as a portfolio, I think someone could definitely see growth from me as an educator. Some of my earliest posts are from my Tech for Educators class that I took in 2008. It was the first time I had ever worked with many of these tools, like blogs or wikis, and I was a little overwhelmed and frustrated with the learning curve. Fast forward 2 years, and I'm embedding videos, creating podcasts, and writing digital poetry! I still get a little overwhelmed, but I'm more used to that feeling now, and I have adopted a "this too shall pass" attitude toward my frustration. It's actually a good reminder that everyone gets frustrated when trying new things--it helps me remember what it's like to be one of my students, trying things for the first time. :) I also think that I'm getting better at using digital tools for specific purposes, rather than just to use them. One big change I see in myself is my willingness to try new digital ideas. I used to be a little nervous about trying different tools, but now I know that I just have to jump in and try. If it bombs, it bombs--back to the drawing board to figure out what went wrong and how to make it better for next time. Moving forward, I think the biggest thing I need to do is not stop trying. Even though I won't be in Masters classes where tech is required, I still need to keep trying new things. Everything is changing SO quickly that to stop, even for a moment, puts you miles behind the pack. I plan to keep working with my building tech guy and taking classes when I can. Continuous, lifelong learning is the goal. :)

I'm very likely going to use portfolios for my Theater classes next semester. Since the class is quite literally a performance class, much of their work is going to be performance-based. E-Portfolios will work perfectly. Not only will kids be able to share journals, sketches, designs, and other written work, they'll also be able to share their performance work as well by recording and posting their performances. Students will have projects or performances for each of the units in the class, so a portfolio for the theater class would feature their final/best work for each unit, plus self-reflections on their work. I really liked this rubric that you linked to on the wiki as a basis for evaluating the portfolio. I would change some of the language since this rubric seems to address portfolios created by teachers, but other than that, I think it covers everything quite well. 

Lastly, I have learned so much this semester that it's difficult to pick out just a few things--I want to do it all! :) However, as the saying goes, slow and steady wins the race. The two things I can see myself using the most are the podcasts and the vlogs. I've detailed in previous posts how I'd like to use the podcasting and vlogging tools to help both my 9th graders with their public speaking and my theater kids with their performances. As I mentioned in the last paragraph, I can also see myself using digital writing tools to help students create portfolios of their work.

I'll post again soon with my fial project information... using Moodle to help manage two classes meeting simultaneously in the same space. Second semester is going to be interesting.... :)