New Year, New Opportunities

Happy 2018!

First, some housekeeping.  I used this online random selection tool to choose the winner for our Hour of Code.  So congratulations to Andrea Heller on being the winner of the $10 Dunkin gift card!  Next year, I'd love to see some more of you try this out, especially as our children get better and better at coding from all the fun gadgets on the market.  Also, try the random picker sites for randomly selecting volunteers in your classes.

It's that time of year when everyone is looking back on 2017 and looking forward to what's in store for 2018.  So let's do just that. 

First, I'd love to share a list (I love lists) from one of my favorite resources for educators: Common Sense Media's Best EdTech of 2017.  It's organized by subject matter and grade level and free/paid/platform, etc, so it's great for finding a new tool. 

Second, let's discuss and reflect on portfolios for students.  We could write a book on the definition and purpose of portfolios, but I want to talk specifically about portfolios for students as they move through K-12.  First let me pose some questions to you:

• If you were (or are) implementing portfolios in your class and you wanted them to continue until graduation, what tool would you use?
• What would this portfolio contain?
• How would you connect what students are learning in your class to other subject areas?
• Who would select the best elements to include in the portfolio?

As you reflect on these ideas, you may already have assignments or methods in mind.  If you work at the secondary level, your students may already be able to share some ways in which to make it work or in which they see the cross-curricular nature of their education (my words, not theirs).  As students enter high school and they start to choose career pathways, how would the elements of their portfolio reflect the skills and knowledge base of the pathway they chose?

I want to delve more into this topic for future posts, but I would love to hear and learn more from anyone in the district who is already using portfolios of any kind!  I would also love to discuss this topic if you have experiences from children in other districts.  My son is in 2nd grade and he brings home a million papers!  I feel like I'm creating a portfolio when I choose what to keep.  Does anyone else have this experience?

PETE&C Takeaways

Earlier this week, I accompanied a few colleagues to the annual Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo and Conference (PETE&C) in Hershey, PA.  This is a wonderful (but very crowded) conference organized by PAECT every year.  When thinking about what I want to share out from this opportunity, here are my top takeaways that I hope you can start conversations around:

1. Seesaw is the go-to platform for digital portfolios in the elementary school setting.  Check out the slideshow by the presenters.
2. Aurasma is changing the way we interact with our reality, allowing opportunities to scan and see augmented versions of reality.  Some schools use it to give tours of their schools or for seniors to be a visible part of their yearbook.  Matt Hill had the great idea to do this with our Hall of Fame!
3. The new ISTE standards released last summer highlight so many opportunities for student engagement and active learning.
4. Vibby allows you to take a video from the internet and crop it so you are only showing your audience the part that you want them to see.
5. PHeT contains a wide variety of online interactive science activities.
6. It’s possible for a teacher to learn alongside a student in a content area that they are interested in but not an expert.
7. It’s important to give students a voice in the changes at their school.
8. Learning is more powerful when it is directed by the students, such as the example of a session about Breakout boxes conducted by students at a professional conference!
9. You can do digital Breakout boxes (if you solve the Poe-ch the Raven one, give me and Liz the answer!).
10. Digital portfolios don’t need to be fancy.  Google sites is the perfect option for students to collect their learning for Google schools.

If you want to see our notes, they can be found here. I hope this will inspire someone to check out something new or start a conversation about innovation for your classroom.  Speaking of innovation, there’s a new WR Twitter account - @wrsdinnovate.  Give it a follow.

Thinking about Moving to a Digital Portfolio?

A teaching portfolio is an essential part of your professional development. It is a document that records your achievements, allows you to reflect on your teaching, holds evidence needed for evaluations, and supports your applications for tenure and promotion.*

An electronic portfolio (also known as an eportfolio, e-portfolio, digital portfolio, or online portfolio) is a collection of electronic evidence assembled and managed by a user, usually on the Web.**  It serves as digital version of a traditional hard-copy teaching portfolio.

How to Get Started

Choose a platform to build your portfolio.  Weebly and Google Sites are free and easy to use.  Teachers and students use these web tools regularly.  Other great options include Wix, Doodlekit, and Moonfruit.  It’s a matter of personal preference, but these tools will accomplish the same goals.  They’ll all let you customize your URL so it’s easy for you to remember and share your portfolio later.  Each tool will also allow you to choose a template to match your style; keep the design clean and simple, and make sure you have permissions to use any photos.

What to Include

Clearly labeled navigation is important.  Include a title and a menu.  You can organize the pages to suit your needs.  Since we’re evaluated in the four Danielson domains, it might make sense to include a page for each domain.  If you like, you can add an “about me” page as well.  Depending on the platform you’ve chosen, you’ll be able to upload your artifacts in various forms.  Feel free to add text, images, videos, links, PDFs, and whatever else you’re able to.

How to Maintain It

The beauty of a digital portfolio is that you can update it anytime, anywhere, with anything.  Whenever you do something that you deem “portfolio-worthy,” you can quickly log on to your portfolio to add them where you like.  

What They Look Like

You can use use a web platform to host your teaching portfolio.  You can showcase everything you need to meet evaluation criteria, and send them to administrators (and whoever else!) via a customized URL.  Take a look at some examples here:

Theresa Bartholomew

Liz Brobst

If you have any questions or would like help in person, please contact your building librarian!

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* Adelaide

** Wikipedia