Why digital portfolios?

Good morning colleagues!

I totally had another blog post planned and written, when I had an interesting conversation with a colleague over e-mail on Friday. It was apparent, through the e-mail, that the teacher was incredibly stressed about helping their students with digital portfolios. Our district decided to implement digital portfolios, this year, using Google Sites. My principal started with a rotation where all teachers ended up in a lab, or with a Chromebook cart, to help their students create the skeleton of their digital portfolio.

I had a meeting with my principal a couple of weeks ago where another colleague and I insisted that yes, the staff could quickly get one item on all of their students' portfolios before STUDENT-LED parent-teacher conferences on February 15th and 16th. That's still four weeks away... that is entirely possible. I will admit that I told my principal to mandate it. I did. I'll own the teachers' frustration, but it's because I believe in digital portfolios.

Now some colleagues may be reading this post, gritting their teeth, thinking, "Rachel. Stay in your lane. Stick to what you know -  technology." I don't believe in digital portfolios just because the students are using Google Sites. I support creating digital portfolios because it gives students a straightforward way to demonstrate voice and choice!

I believe in student choice and voice, and I back growth (versus fixed) mindset. It can be incredibly challenging to give up control of your classroom, give students options, and try to get them to change how they see school. I honestly feel like digital portfolios is a great start to all three! Students get to design their portfolio how they see fit, and they get to add what THEY want to their portfolio. They can choose to showcase a test, a project, or an essay. It's whatever they think best demonstrates their growth for the year.

What's been troublesome for our staff is that the "buy-in" part did not go over well. Teachers didn't see the point of doing digital portfolios. Based on what I heard, people thought it was one more thing, and it would just go away. It seemed as though they couldn't fathom portfolios becoming seamless with their curriculum. Does it take time away from class to have students put work on their portfolio? Of course. Does their work become meaningful when you not only give them time to place work on their portfolio but also thought-provoking questions to reflect upon their work? YES. I could continue to blog on and on about why digital portfolios are essential, but I'm going to let Global Digital Citizen Foundation do the work for me.

What has also been problematic for the staff is the lack of training. I've realized, over the last six months, why I was so good for the job I currently have: I'm not afraid to push a button to see what happens, I'm not worried that I'll mess up the technology, and I'm quite good at using Google. Apparently, this is not normal! Who knew?! So in this meeting with my principal, where I somehow managed to throw my colleagues under the bus, I also offered to provide training needed for the staff. I created a Google Form that asked what my colleagues needed and even asked when they wanted to meet. Seems good in theory right? Only 14 teachers filled it out. So this afternoon I'm going to make my training materials for those fourteen teachers. I have a starting place :)

Digital portfolios are nothing but good for students. I even did a little research on pros and cons, and this is the best I could find. I think digital portfolios are useful for teachers as well. I started a digital portfolio this past summer and have been continuously updating it. As an introvert, I don't share a lot about myself verbally. I've realized that I share a lot more about myself online. It's pretty humorous that I see less risk in sharing who I am with strangers than with the people I see every day at work. It's because I'm not "putting myself out there"... I'm not having to open my heart and be vulnerable. My digital portfolio is a window into who I am, what I like, what I'm reading, and what my students are doing.

The end game, in our district, is that students will start their portfolios in kindergarten which will follow them through twelfth grade. That is a lofty goal but is one that I think is possible. Seriously think about it. How cool when they graduate that they have this thing that demonstrates their growth and learning over thirteen years. And this thing can help them get into vocational training, college, or get a job. It may be nerdy, but I just think that's neat! Purposeful learning.

Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Getting the most from Chromebooks

Good morning on a FINALLY sunny day in Colorado Springs! There are good vibes around me because our school received two new Chromebook carts this week. It's always a good day when new technology shows up in the building!

Half of my job is teaching students about broadcasting, but the other half of my job, being a "technology specialist" is supporting teachers in the use of educational technology. My technology specialist position has been pretty quiet... teachers may be using technology, but they are not asking for support. I keep telling myself that it is the first quarter and this year the teachers are completely inundated and overwhelmed.

I am not the type of teacher who sits idly by and doesn't cherish and use the gift of time that I'm given. So I've been trying to think of new ways to get teachers to use Chromebooks, iPads, and desktop PCs. In my last five years as a 1:1 teacher, I've had many conversations about the use of technology in the classroom. Many teachers shy away from because of a few reasons:

1) They do not know how to use an application and want to learn before the students in order to model while also keeping control of the class. Because they don't have time to learn the technology, they do not use it. I've realized that part of my job is supporting teachers in the use of the application. This can be done through a screencast or YouTube tutorial. 

2)  They do not know how to use an application, and even if it looks cool, they do not know how to apply it to their content. This prevents them from creative insight which helps think outside the box. I started putting together a spreadsheet of ways to use various web applications with the four core contents to help promote innovative thinking. 

This document is still a work in progress (it is woefully incomplete).

Until teachers start using me as a resource, I will use my time to create documents like this to get teachers to use my time! :) I hope that more teachers will come to me to think through their unit and use technology applications. I said this before, but my principal's goal was to have every student access technology once a week. This can happen as long as teachers are bringing Chromebooks and iPads into the classroom (or are going to the lab).

Thanks for reading. We go on FALL BREAK next weekend, so I'll see you in three weeks!

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website