Digital Portfolios

1. Digital Portfolios And Portfolio Assessment

2. Defined A portfolio, electronic or paper, is simply an organized collection of completed work. A portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that exhibits the student's efforts, progress and achievements in one or more areas. The collection must include student participation in selecting contents, the criteria for selection, the criteria for judging merit, and evidence of student self-reflection.

3. WHY Portfolio Assessment? Portfolios can enhance the assessment process by: • encouraging student, teacher, and institutional reflection • emphasizing performanceoutcomes and project based classes • providing for continuity in education from one year to the next. • encouraging self-directed learning. • creating an intersection for instruction and assessment. • offering opportunities for peer-supported growth (collaboration).

4. WHY Digital? Of all the information that we generate this year (2004), only 0.01% of that information will ever be printed.* *Lyman, Peter & Varian, Hal R. "Executive Summary." 27 Oct 2003. How Much Information? 2003. Regents of the University of California. 23 May 2004 http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how-much-info-2003/execsum.htm.

5. WHY Digital? • minimal storage space • easy to share • easy to create back-up files • portability • long shelf life • learner-centered • increases technology skills • through hypertext links it is easier to make argument that certain standards are met • accessibility (especially web portfolios)

6. What ePortfolios Do Provide faculty with evidence of teaching excellence in the form of actual student work specifically related to learning goals in an outcomes-based syllabus • Encourage reflective practices • Support rubrics-based outcomes assessment for • accountability • Provide a rich student-development and advising • environment • Include co- and non-curricular student work in students‘ • records

7. Three Major Types of Assessment Structures • Class Based • Department Based • Institution Based What is measured depends on what type of Portfolio is used.

8. Characteristics performance assessments require students to generate rather than choose a response • CHARACTERISTICS of Portfolio Assessment • student is involved in meaningful performance tasks • clear standards and criteria for excellence • emphasis on reflection, metacognition and self-evaluation • the student produces quality products and performances • a positive interaction between assessor and assessee

9. Cons include: • High maintenance costs--somebody, even if it's each student, has to collect and organize the portfolio contents • Seen by some as less reliable or fair than more quantitative or standardized evaluations such as test scores. • Can be time consuming for teachers and staff, especially if portfolios are done in addition to traditional testing and grading. • Teachers must develop their own individualized criteria, which can be initially difficult or unfamiliar. • Data from portfolio assessments can be difficult to analyze or aggregate, particularly over long periods of time. • Often difficult to integrate meaningfully into school cultures where high stakes are placed on comparative student ranking and standardized tests.

10. Pros include: • Academic richness--portfolios reveal academic breadth and depth, student reflection and development • Personal contact--students tend to consult frequently with faculty members when constructing portfolio contents. • Students reflect upon their growth and performance as learners. • Help teachers standardize and evaluate the skills and knowledge • Help students be more accountable for the work they do in class • Aid in the diversification of approaches to teaching and learning, thus increasing the connections with a wider range of learners and learning styles. • Involve students in the assessment process, thus giving them a more meaningful role in improving achievement.

11. CAUTIONS • Technology evolution/development is unpredictable • Although dozens of ePortfolios systems are available; most do not interoperate, and thus ePortfolios, ironically, are not portable to another system. • ePorfolio large-scale implementation is curricular as well as technological; thus implementation may be a two-four year process. • Whatever ePortfolio system we acquire probably won't be the system we will be using in three years.

12. So….. • Start anyway…..Begin with PowerPoint • Set up Templates for Individual Classes • Structured around Syllabus Objectives • Set up Templates for Departments • Structured around Discipline Specific Performance Standards • Have Students burn on CDs • Investigate Portfolio Assessment Programs at other Colleges • Investigate Web-Based database Portfolio Systems

13. READINGS / REFERENCES • The LDP ePortfolio Report • http://bearlink.berkeley.edu/ePortfolio/page2.html • The Electronic Portfolio Boom: What’s it All About • http://www.syllabus.com/article.asp?id=6984 • Student Portfolios and Authentic Learning Outcomes Assessment (.doc) http://web.bryant.edu/~assess/Student_Portfolios_and_Authentic_Learning_Outcomes_Assessment.doc • Using Electronic Portfolios for Curriculum Assessmenthttp://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/FAMILY/ELECTRONIC_PORTFOLIOS_Proposal_Recommendation.htm

14. READINGS / REFERENCES • The Kalamazoo portfolio: reflections, connections, life • http://www.kzoo.edu/pfolio/ • A comprehensive college-wide application of portfolios. • Alverno College's Diagnostic Digital Portfolio • http://ddp.alverno.edu/ • An early pioneer in the use of portfolios in Teacher Education, here us their website on their Diagnostic Digital Portfolio which maintains key performances