ePortfolios

=ePortfolios=

Modeling good (ePortfolio) behavior
Our district is moving towards Google Apps (it is currently fully integrated at the high school level). As such, I would encourage my teachers to build their ePortfolio using a Google Site unless they have another platform that they are more familiar with. I am becoming somewhat of a broken record, but it think the best way to get teachers to try something new is to approach them with a highly specific and well-developed example. //**Katherine**//

Careful tool selections facilitates success
Find a really easy tool for creating and hosting ePortfolios. We’ve explored Google Sites in this class, and I have personal experience with Wordpress as a really simple tool, but I’m going to suggest something a little more radical for iPortfolio novices. How about Tumblr? Tumblr is like blogging for dummies (in the best possible way). Its clean, clear dashboard with point and click icons for adding quotes, photos, videos, etc. might be just the thing to hook a first time ePortfolio generator. Since we really want the emphasis to be on the content of the ePortfolio itself, and not on how to create a website, why not start with a really basic tool like Tumblr? Once teachers become facile with Tumblr, and begin to yearn for a little more feature flexibility, they may be more willing to tackle Google Sites or Wordpress. **//Jennifer//**

Very ISTE compliant
//Creativity and innovation// -- faculty can use the eportfolio to highlight their best practice lessons to share with other members of their department. Too many times great lessons are being taught in the classroom other teachers could gleam some ideas from these great lessons to maybe put a spark into lessons they felt needed some tweaking. //Technology Operations and Concepts// -- the eportfolio allows faculty the means by which they can highlight the various ways they are incorporating technology in their classrooms. They can share this information with the administration, or other's in the learning community the faculty member can receive feedback and input. //**Joan**//

Great motivator--tying in to professional goals
A second thing I might do is to propose that teachers who in an evaluation year consider making one of their SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) have to do with technology learning and teaching. If I created that sandbox environment where teachers could pick and choose a technology to start with (or two), they could comfortably choose a technology to work with that year. An eportfolio would be a great place to post student work that was the result of that goal, and would be evidence/artifacts of the teaching goal. Teachers could also post a video of themselves teaching a lesson in connection with the technology and post it on the eportfolio. I submitted a video to my assistant principal this year, and he was thrilled, because he hadn't gotten to do my third observation... an eportfolio used in this way would be a great benefit to adminstrators too. **//Michelle//**

Professional development time
I would. . . lobby for some professional development time. We spent a great deal of time last year on writing a unit with a common assessment. This year we need to make sure that we teach the unit and provide some sort of data. The ePortfolio would be a great place to reflect on the unit, and showcase the successful pieces of it. By incorporating the ePortfolio into Professional Development, I could easily provide a seminar on developing an ePortfolio - probably using Google sites as we are Google-ized. **//Tiffany//**

Mega multimedia
You can incorporate multimedia projects and not just print materials. One of the hardest parts of the practicum at Simmons for me was that we made all kinds of technology projects, but couldn't fully show them in our portfolios. With an portfolio you can show all the work you've done. You can upload PDFs, scan pictures, link to websites and other projects. **//Emily//**

Or we can //make// you volunteer
Certainly the easiest way to "encourage" development of a portfolio is to wait for the mandate to come from up top. I've pushed a lot of great new tools and often get lots of smiling faces looking back at me but no action. In a case like this, it is probably best for the administration to break the news of a new requirement, adding in, "and here to support you is...". //**Stephen**//

Put one foot in front of the other
Instead of pushing them to begin with a whole class, encourage teachers to start off by creating a personal eportfolio. This could serve not only as an online resume, but also a documentation of professional development for licensure renewal. A teacher can choose to make it available to faculty and admin when and if he or she is ready. For the teacher this is no risk and all gain. By doing this for a couple of months, a teacher can see 1-the value to the students, 2-simplicity of implementation, 3-the nature of eportfolio as student-centered learning. Nothing like learning by doing. **//Carrie//**

**Teacher Buy-in for taking the time to create an e portfolio - prior to integrating into the curriculum**
1) Offer a product oriented (traditional distant learning) training for credit. The product is an e-portfolio and the training format is balanced between traditional and non-traditional formats focusing on methods to assist the teachers (students) participating. Offer support forum for questions, problems, sharing such as, Wiki,Sandbox, VLE chat or traditional face-to-face time. Have appropriate samples and/or models that are created or selected by the teacher that meet and do not meet rubric objectives. Set high expectations for students to reach or exceed benchmarks and allow for individual time schedules for completed work. 2) Provide an easy format and set up a template to start them off with including a model of your own to show. 3) Market/advertise the advantages for having the ability to develop an e-portfolio such as: Organized space which you will learn to use and update for a variety of purposes Can integrate for student use in the classroom Uses beyond their school job
 * //Liz Lamoreaux//**