Title

Digital Portfolios: Demonstrating Standards without Standardization

Description

I really appreciated the discussion we had, or more the opportunity the presenter gave us, to ask questions. It helped the attendees feel engaged.

Two of the questions put forward by the presenter that every person considering implementing digital portfolios should ask were:

• What are you doing with the portfolio that you couldn't do better in another way?
• Are you doing the digital portfolio because it is linked to technology, or because it is a great way to accomplish your goals?

They talked about the Rhode Island state graduation policy, mainly as follows:

• Carnegie units are no longer enought for graduation
• student must also demonstrate proficiency in
  • ability to perform
  • ability to create
  • competency
• Portfolio should contain
  • samples of student work
  • information to put the work in context
  • Reflection on the work
• Portfolio process
  • collect, select, reflect
  • Reflection is often the most difficult part of the process to get students to complete well

So, the portfolio is not specific to any one course in the school or the district. The students are collecting work that they completed through their entire high school experience to show competency in a pre-defined set of skills.

What does it mean "without standardization"?

• How do students show who they are as individual learners?

Portfolios can be a great way to prove competency in those standards that cannot be assessed using a standardized test: i.e., Presentation skills, Technical Skills, Physical Fitness, and other things.

Reccomendations for Implementation

• Put in place a portfolio coordinator
• Find some way to organize the portfolios
  • An online organizer (moodle has one)
  • There are others
• Establish a schoolwide rubric
  • This facilitates cross curricular consensus
  • Done before hand avoids conflict

Technorati Tags: necc2007 , n07s867

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