This week I explored various tools in the search for a place to create my e-portfolio, I found a vast number of resources and tools available. E-portfolios offer insight to creative possibilities, like blogs they lend themselves to reflection and critical thinking.
"Folio Thinking"
Portfolios are a digital collection of artifacts, reflections, and work that are selected by students to display their explorations, learning and represent their growth. Educators can gain a better understanding of how a student is understanding a concept than that of a typical paper/pencil test. Below are a few Venn Diagrams that I created using Google Slides to show my understanding of "Folio Thinking," as well as my very own experience with these different tools.
When comparing/contrasting Portfolios and Essays/Research Papers, portfolios offer more student autonomy; they allow for critical and reflective thinking. They allow for visual representation and can be updated and edited when necessary. Essay papers usually have an outline and less student autonomy. There is little or no room for reflection, there are limited visual representations. A research paper doesn't usually offer an area for student insight and if they are written or typed on a typewriter, they cannot be easily updated. Both can offer critical thinking and can be utilized as both formative and summative assessments.
As I thought about comparing/contrasting Portfolios and Student Presentations. I found that Portfolios are usually more project-based. They are usually open-ended; thus, students can have a choice on how they want to present their work. Portfolios lend to reflections which contributes to critical thinking. You can embed pre-recorded videos or even a presentation. Portfolios are usually not as stressful as presentations are to share. They can also be a type of formative assessment. Presentations are usually stressful for the person presenting. Topics are usually teacher-selected. Presentations are only accessible for the people that are present at that specific time. Presentations usually offer no or little room for reflection.
When comparing/contrasting Portfolios and Homework. Again, portfolios offer more student autonomy, you can pose students with an opened ended question that they can reflect on and answer in a way in which they can show understanding. Portfolios allow for critical and reflective thinking. They can be utilized as a tool for formative assessment. Homework is teacher-issued, usually to practice some type of skill. Homework is usually rote. There is very little reflection when it comes to homework.
Portfolios and Quizzes/ Tests vary greatly. Portfolios can be a project-based summative assessment; questions are usually open-ended. They offer more student choice/ autonomy, they allow for critical and reflective thinking. They can be presented at the student's level of learning and understanding, they can be used as a formative assessment. Quizzes/Tests are usually given at the end of a unit, questions are usually multiple-choice so students cannot offer any input as far as their understanding goes. Questions can be recalled and rote-type questions. The rigor of a test can vary greatly based on the creator of the test.
As I reflect on all the tools together, portfolios offer more flexibility and creativity. Students are can show growth over time. They can reflect on their explorations and share their thinking. They can be utilized as both a summative and formative assessment.
Relevant to My Academic and Professional Career Goals
As I analyze the question carefully, it does not directly state that I should choose one, thus leaving it open for interpretation (at least to my understanding). I can say that as a learner pursuing a graduate degree and certification, I think that both are equally relevant and meaningful to my academic and professional career goals. I think that through our reflection discussions we are meeting the criteria in both statements. If not, there wouldn't be a rubric and a grade assigned for the course. They are both equally relevant because both coincide together and both forms of assessment are necessary for learning and to show
evaluation/appraisal at the end of term.
Reflecting on which I would prefer, I prefer both. I like having autonomy in my learning and enjoy being creative. But also need to know how I am progressing in the course and if my understanding is accurate.
Now, If I had to choose only one if grades didn't matter then I would choose option b because as an educator I am aware that students learn differently and would want all my students to have the opportunity to share their experiences and understanding using their own learning style so they can be successful. I would want the same thing for my own learning, my learning style is different than other people and would want my learning to be assessed holistically.
As someone who has created both a digital and physical portfolio in the past, I can say that both the electronic and digital portfolios are better than the physical portfolios. After researching and comparing some of the affordances, I found that E-portfolios were more convenient to use than physical portfolios. As my Venn diagram shows, when using an e-portfolio, you can archive/ store artifacts on your web page, you can easily go in and make edits, you can adjust your pages and content as you go, anyone that has access to your web link can go in and take a look at it, You can embed links to separate sites, and it will save you money on ink and paper. As for physical portfolios, they can be misplaced, they are difficult to edit (especially if paper-based) You will have to retype information and reprint, only those that you provide a physical copy will have access to it, you cannot embed audio and video, it will be costly because you will need to have access to a printer, ink, and paper. They both offer student choice, reflection, encourage critical thinking, and can be utilized as both formative and summative assessments. Of the five different tools that I explored for ease of use, which one would better serve my purpose to showcase my learning. I decided to use google sites. I have experience with google and felt more comfortable using it. It was user-friendly.
As for the personal experience, well, let's just say that a few years ago, my paper-based portfolio got wet, was dried, and then misplaced. It is most likely somewhere in a landfill as we speak. Earlier today, I was looking for my digital portfolio, and while I searched, I remembered that I had backed up my old files into my new laptop, unfortunately, the digital portfolio was gone. Luckily, I still had my old flash drive. When I tried to retrieve the file, I found that the flash drive was corrupt. I still didn't stress about it though because I make a copy of everything! Thus, bringing me to the hard drive I purchased and downloaded that digital portfolio into. Well... like the paper portfolio, it's nowhere to be found. So, as I reflected on the affordances of digital or electronic portfolios to that of physical portfolios it is safe to say that an e-portfolio, is the best choice and the way to go unless something happens to the web server being utilized. Below are a few sites that I played with and considered for my e-portfolio.
Last week I explored Wix.com in search of a blog, my account was already established, so I created a new webpage for an e-portfolio. I added a few pages, inserted a few pictures, but I did not feel comfortable while creating the design page. I felt like I needed more experience. I did not publish the webpage and am not certain If I will be publishing it. As a webpage, it is also geared towards business use to bring in revenue.
Weebly.com
This was also a site that I explored last week for a blog. Such as the one above, this time I created a webpage for an e-portfolio. I am not too tech-savvy, and this would take quite a bit of playtime. I like the basic apps, but for an additional fee, I could have access to more. As before, I feel that Weebly.com is geared more toward businesses. If I decided to sell the math products, I created last year on Teachers Pay Teachers, this is a website that I would consider, payments can be accepted for services or materials on this webpage.
googlesites.com
I am familiar with google products, even though it is my first time working with google sites, it feels familiar, and I found it to be user-friendly. This links directly to the My Leo portal. Making it very convenient and accessible, As I become more confident in my web skills, I'll most likely venture out.
Upon my research, I went to Wiki.com and found that Wiki itself cannot be used as a personal webpage, I was forwarded to Wiki space, but found that it had been discontinued in 2017. I kept researching and found Wiki.edu. It is geared more toward higher education grades 10+. I explored some of the pages listed and found research groups from various universities. I created an account but did not go forward with creating a course. To my understanding, the course is terminated after the term expires.
Hostinger.com I found Hostinger.com while conducting a general search for e-portfolio sites. It looked like a very interesting place to create an e-portfolio, however there is a fee to set up a webpage. I don't want to spend any more money at this time, even though I created an account. I opted to not purchase and create a webpage on Hostinger.com.
Shift context / Perspective
If I were asking my students to create an e-portfolio knowing they did not have any prior experience, I would not use a different tool. In 5th grade, students have not had any experience with exploring or building e-portfolios. I would utilize google sites to introduce them to e-portfolios. Most students have used google apps like slides, but not many have had experience creating artifacts using them. There are many different options and layouts that students can choose from while using google sites. Students would need to know the basic foundations. I would have to provide structure, establish rules and expectations. I would walk my students through the step-by-step process until they became comfortable with exploring on their own. I would also have to provide my students a list of questions so that they could become fluent with the experience of reflecting. The pedagogical approach would begin as teacher centered but using the Gradual Release of Responsibility it would later encompass both reflective and the inquiry-based approach. The pedagogical and content standards would both align with the tool used with both the students and me.
Create Something
Using E-Portfolios to Enhance Instruction
Substitution Lesson Example: ELAR 5.10B.C ELAR: 5.9(iii) Author's Craft Text Structure/ Text Features. Students will identify and circle the different text features of a Non-fiction text using different colored pencils. Instead of a paper/colored pencil activity, students would go into their google classroom to drag and drop different colored highlighted transparent strips on as assignment to identify the different types of text features that were indicated. For this lesson to move into Augmentation, I would embed videos into our class e-portfolio located under ELAR, the week and Text Structure so that students could watch to gain more experience and exposure to identify different types of text features within a non-fiction text and google form quiz that had the same work page uploaded. They would fill out the google form questions and submit to me. They would receive their grade as soon as they submit their assignment. I usually allow the students to see the correct responses for the questions that they missed so that they can communicate their misconceptions. Students can take screen shots of questions they missed then go into their e-portfolios to create a post under the tab labeled ELAR, then create a sub folder labeled Text Features. since they have Google chrome books, they can upload an image of the questions they missed and include a reflection which addresses their original thinking prior to watching the video and then address how their misconception(s) have changed after reviewing the video and thinking about their answers. The Augmentation lesson falls under Kolb's Experiential Learning (The learner must be able to reflect on their experiences, use analytical skills to conceptualize the experience) and Bloom's Revised Taxonomy under the (Evaluating Category.) Using the TPACK Model to identify each aspect of the work, (C) The learning objectives would be the TEKs, along with students knowing how text features contribute to the author's purpose and being able to analyze them (P) In planning, I would be using Blooms Taxonomy and Kolb's Experiential Learning to help guide, create and reflect on the lesson. I would also use teaching strategies, to help students learn and review different types of text structures and how to use them based on specific genres. I would also have to consider classroom management, quick checks, comprehension checks of both material and assignment expectation and checking their product to see if they successfully know the success criteria after it has already been communicated. (T) Students would be using Google Forms to take their quiz. They would receive automatic grades once they are submitted. The affordances of e-portfolios would support communication, differentiation, and reflection of the misconception for students.
Example 2:
Modification Lesson Example: Math: 5.4F, H The objective would consist of having students write an essay about how to use The Order of Operations Strategy to solve numerical expressions by communicating their process steps. Instead of a paper pencil activity, Students would fill in an essay template on Google Slides located in their Google Classrooms. They would later create share the video lesson on their e-portfolios where feedback can be received and incorporated to help improve their process thinking and quality of writing.
For this lesson to move into the Redefinition level, I would have the students work collaboratively in groups. answering essential questions that pertained to the process of solving numerical expressions using the order of operations strategy. The groups could pick different stages pertaining to the order of operations strategy and come up with a song indicating the different components of the strategy and the importance of using the strategy correctly versus not following the process accurately. I would provide students with a recording device, or they could use their chrome books. They could record a music video with designated prompts to stay on task. Students can upload the videos in their group e-portfolios where students could watch at their own time and pace. Comments can be enabled, and other students can watch each other's videos and provide positive feedback. This lesson falls under Bloom's Revised Taxonomy of Objectives under the category of (Creating) and Piaget's Constructivism (Knowledge is constructed). Using the TPACK Model to identify each aspect of the work, (C) The learning objectives would be the Math TEKs, along with students knowing on how to analyze and apply the process for solving problems that contain order of operations. GEMDAS strategy (P) In planning, I would be using Blooms Taxonomy and Kolb's Experiential Learning to help guide, create and reflect the video on the lesson. I would also use teaching strategies, to help students learn and review Order of Operations. I would also have to consider classroom management, quick checks, comprehension checks of both material and assignment expectation and checking their product to see if they successfully know the success criteria after it has already been communicated. (T) Students would be using cameras to create a music video, the affordances of e-portfolios would support communication, differentiation, and encourage reflection for students. It supports the communication of reading, writing, and critical thinking standards.
This week was an experience, I really enjoyed building my e-portfolio, and am looking forward to seeing what the final product looks like. Below you will find the link to my e-portfolio.
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