Digital Blog Post #E
Digital Portfolios
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Elements of Teacher Portfolios
A teacher's portfolio can include many things, but most will have these elements: Resume, Philosophy of Education and References, Lesson or Unit Plans and Reflections, Academic Courses and Research Experiences, Teaching Experience. In years past, teacher portfolios were documented on paper in a folder. Now, teachers can create digital portfolios, which open up new opportunities. Standards-based digital portfolios connect teaching skills to standards as a way of showing competency and qualifications of teachers. This is also a helpful way to organize portfolio material. What I think is great about digital portfolios for teachers is that it creates a way for teachers to reflect on their growth as an educator. I can imagine that in the past it would be much more difficult to do this with paper records. With digital portfolios, teachers can review, edit, and reflect on their teaching as they progress to become better educators in a more organized fashion than paper portfolios. Also, since the portfolio will be digitalized, there is no need to carry around a paper version. Anytime the teacher wants access to it, he or she just needs the internet access.
Digital Portfolios for Students
A digital portfolio is not just for teachers, but it can also be for students. This is a great way for students to look back and see their improvement in their learning. This can become both a personal and public form of writing. Students used to only be able to share their information with small amounts of people, but with the digital portfolios they are much more accessible to larger crowds. This is a great way for students to find their voice, and to receive feedback for their writing. This is a way for students to find enjoyment in writing. This connects something they enjoy (technology) to learning. Not only does it benefit the students, but parents and teachers can track a students progress.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Digital Portfolios
While their are many advantages to digital portfolios, such as accessibility, portability, creativity, community, and technological self-confidence, there are also some disadvantages that need to be acknowledged. For students to be able to create their own portfolios they will need extensive knowledge on modern day technology, which can take up great amounts of class time. Some students may spend more time making it look pretty than on the actually learning part of it. Also, some students may be disappointed when they do receive feedback from readers. These are all some negatives of digital portfolios, but nothing is perfect in education, and in this case I believe the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. I think that this is a great tool that both students and educators can use to track progress and organize ideas, and most of the disadvantages are manageable or preventable.
Resources:
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
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