In 2010 I walked into my very first teaching interview. I was nervous but felt confident about what I brought to the table. I was leaving corporate America and joining the educational world as a bilingual educator no less. I had high scores from my teacher prep and certification tests. I sat in a room with other interviewees. I was competing with recent college graduates and they held in their hands: binders. Physical portfolios of their teaching projects and experiences. I held nothing in mine. In my interview, I answered questions about my capabilities as an educator and I was judged on how I answered those questions. I tried to tell them what I knew from my teacher prep classes and my Army experiences but I just didn't have the evidence of that learning with any type of artifacts.
A Portfolio: More Relevant and Meaningful to my Professional Goals
I would have preferred in 2010 having a physical portfolio, as it would have shown the process I had gone through to get to that interview. "Lifewide" experiences that encompassed several countries, languages, and passion for education.
Fast forward to present day as a learner pursuing a graduate degree.
I would hands-down select an electronic portfolio.
The digital portfolio that I have selected to use is created in Weebly.
Here is my link: America Rainey's Digital Portfolio
I found Weebly to have a large variety of themes and templates that were very easy to use. I quickly created a portfolio skeleton that I will continue to update. It was easy to maneuver and even used the uploaded picture to select a color palette that was coordinated. It had several images included in the theme selected without any effort expended on my part to put it all together. The tabs included will make it easy to set up for my journey through the masters program. I playtested a Wiki at PBworks.com. It was difficult to establish for a portfolio but I think I found a great way for our 5th-grade team to keep team agendas. A couple of websites I tried were Google Sites and Wix. I am still on the fence about Wix since it seems to also be very easy to use. I will continue to play with it, but for now, my decision is Weebly for my eportfolio.
The best tool for my students
I also played with Google Sites. It was also, very easy to use. However, I prefer it for my students. The main reason for this is it has fewer bells and whistles! Have you ever seen a 5th grader try to commit to a color or background? I have and for this main reason, Google Sites is a better technology affordance for them. I love google sites for the minimal technical knowledge needed to set up and update. It affords students complete control over their learning. They will choose artifacts and reflect upon them. This pedagogical approach is in line with constructivism. I can see them doing a peer review with each other and collaborating. 5th graders tend to be hard on themselves when finding ways they have grown but very optimistic when it comes to their BFF's.
Support Learning
Students who have created a google sites portfolio (Technology) may choose a Science artifact (Content)from each of the four reporting categories: Matter, Force and Motion, Earth Science, or Ecosystems to upload and reflect on their learning. Peers can additionally review each other's uploaded artifacts and reflect on the one that impacts their learning the most. This is the constructivist approach to learning. In this way learning is social and they are making meaning out of their peer's artifact. In this (pedagogical approach) to learning they are taking their prior knowledge (knowledge of their own artifact) and experience in creating it and reflecting on what more they have learned on the topic.
With digital portfolios, my students and I will never be left just answering someone's questions about our learning, but instead be in charge of what WE want them to know about our journey, our passion, and experiences.
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