My WHY for keeping an e-portfolio

  At the beginning of this school year, I decided that I would go 100% digital, and my students would keep a digital notebook--an e-portfolio. I took every online professional development course that the digital learning department in our district had to offer and became a Level 2 certified Google educator. I could not wait to impart my newfound wisdom to my students! I even created a Google resources and tricks site as one of my PD projects, so I could share it with my students and colleagues. My goal was to help my students become experts in the Google world, and help them create a digital presence that they could be proud of, and that my principal would be proud of as well.  I worked diligently to design a couple of different formats for my students to use, thinking they could simply duplicate one  and make it their own.  They added their own classes, but I told them how they needed to set it up. I told them what they needed to add to each page. I treated it like a traditional three-ring binder, which is totally the wrong thing to do.  In other words, I did not REALLY give them ownership of their portfolios. In fact, most of them are just regurgitated versions of the original portfolio template. As we are nearing the end of the semester, it is no small wonder that my students see their e-portfolios as just another assignment they have to keep up with.

       Now that I have had the opportunity to begin building my own e-portfolio through the Ed. Tech Leadership program, I have finally realized that I have done a great injustice to my students. I have taken AWAY their agency and creativity instead of facilitating it.  I have essentially taken the fun out of building their own portfolios, because I have not  allowed them to use their own voices.  As I was preparing to write this post, I was drawn to this quote: "An eportolio helps teachers see learning through the eyes of students and through effective feedback helps learners become their own teachers." (Harapnuik, 2019). By this time of the year, I should be seeing more of my students in their portfolios, and, although I have been giving my students a grade for doing what I have asked of them, I have not been interacting with them the way I should have. More importantly, my students are not interacting with each other's portfolios at all! I have become painfully aware that I have completely missed the mark on teaching my students the why behind the e-portfolio. 

        I tell this story as a part of my own reflective process, because "part of the reflective process is to have students tell stories about their experiences which brain research shows can help students embed these experiences into their long term memory. " (Barrett, n.d.) I have discovered the joy of blogging--of telling my story of growth and self-discovery.  It is through this candid reflection that I have realized the gross error in my initial approach with my students. Furthermore, realizing that I have taught something incorrectly to my students is perhaps more valuable to me than always reflecting on the stellar lessons. 

 

        NOW, as Paul Harvey would say, is "the rest of the story..." I have now decided that it is time for my students to scrap their e-portfolios and start at the beginning. I must teach my students the WHY behind keeping an e-portfolio, and WHY they should care about continuing to keep one long after they leave middle school. Although there are many great benefits to maintaining an e-portfolio, the one major idea I want to convey is "they will learn and begin to practice a process that will be used in life long and life wide learning pursuits." (Barnstable, 2010).  Beyond that, it is imperative that my students discover their own "why" behind creating an e-portfolio that they are proud to share with the world.  For me, I intend to use my e-portfolio for many years to come. I have already added it to my curriculum vitae so that those who are reviewing my doctoral application can  get a sense of what I have learned, who I have become, and what I have to offer. I have also added the link to my resume, so that potential employers can get a better picture of who I am and what I can bring to a campus as an assistant principal. I also designed my e-portfolio so that I can use it to collaborate with my colleagues. I have also created space where colleagues can go back and review professional learning that I intend to share in PLCs.  

        Ultimately, the time has come for me to share my e-portfolio with the scariest audience of all-- my own students-- and allow them to provide feedback, to create a dialog for learning, and to set them on the path to discovering their own "why" for building an e-porfolio one piece at a time. 

Why keep an eportfolio?

 Since I started this program a little out of order (EDLD 5389 and THEN 5302), I was a little confused and intimidted about the idea of creating an eportfolio for all the world to see. I then realized that this was exactly what I was asking my students to do. This brought me to the thought, "If I expect my students to maintain an e-portfolio, why not me as well?" This thought has really opened my mind to not only keeping my portfolio updated, but also sharing it with my students so they can see that I am sharing this journey with them.  As I read through the material for this week's discussion post, this quote  really jumped out at me: "A purposefully designed learning portfolio, ideally in the form of an electronic portfolio or eportfolio, would give students a platform that they could show future employers what they have done, what they are capable of doing and perhaps most importantly how they learned how to learn" (Harapnuik, 2015).  Because one of my main passions is figuring out ways to connect my virtual learners with my face-to-face learners, I designed my eportfolio to be a working portfolio that teachers can use to revisit learning modules that have been presented in PLCs. My hope is that my portfolio will become a place where teachers can come to glean ideas and plans, as well as share their own thoughts and ideas. I even have a page that is labeled Share Central for just that purpose. I wonder, however, if I am on the right track, or if I need to take my portfolio in a different direction. I guess that is the beauty of this course... we get to experiment with it and get some great feedback! 

Harapnuik, D. (2015, May 26). Making meaningful connections in an ePortfolio. It's About Learning. Retrieved November 19, 2020 from http://www.harapnuik.org/?p=5790

Lessons learned about COVA, growth mindset, and the importance of keeping an e-portfolio

 I have gained  a lot from my learning in Ed Tech Leadership program so far. I have been able to use the lessons, projects and assignments to facilitate conversations with my students as well as colleagues on my campus and within my my district. We have been learning about growth mindset in my classes, and the fact that I can share my own educational journey with my students has been both powerful and empowering. I have actually incorporated some of the assignments I have created in this program into my own lesson plans, and my students have responded very positively to the fact that we are all learning together! In fact, I cannot wait to write this next week's blog post, since I will be including some great insights from my very own students, and some seem to be SUPER impressed that I am an actual blogger! 

   

 

   

             Furthermore, because I have gone completely digital this year, I have asked my students to create their own e portfolios, in lieu of the traditional binder. Being able to show my students the practicality, functionality and--quite frankly-- the necessity of building an e portfolio has inspired me to continually update my own. I have found that when students can wrap their heads around the "why" of keeping their  e-portfolio, and experience the freedom of customizing it to fit their own needs and personalities, that they, too have begun to invest more time into creating something they can not only look back on and see their own progress, but also something they can truly be proud of. 

            Another reason for keeping up with my e-portfolio, is that I can include it on my resume as I apply for administrative positions, and on my curriculum vitae as I prepare my application for admission into the Educational Leadership doctoral program. I have found that an increasing number of employers are asking for e-portfolios either in addition to or in lieu of a traditional resume; therefore keeping my e-portfolio current is imperative as I look to move into other leadership positions.

         Utilizing the COVA model in my own personal learning has been both empowering and terrifying at the same time. I love the fact that I have the freedom to create an e portfolio that reflects not only who I am as an educator and professional, but also as a person. The fact that I am not merely creating a portfolio and checking items off of a list to receive a good grade is the part that has me feeling a little uncomfortable (one of my fixed mindset triggers). However, as I have become more comfortable with being uncomfortable, I have begun to invest more time into the "personality" of my e portfolio, so that it accurately reflects who I am and what I believe.

          Finally, one of the most important lessons I have learned thus far, is that I can give myself permission to allow students to exercise their own creative license as they complete assignments for me. Just today, one of my students asked me if she could use a different format to complete an assignment. I said yes, and I could just feel the confidence rise within her!  I have also learned that it is okay for me to share my failures with my students, which teaches them to embrace the process and discover the lessons in the mistakes they make as they travel along their educational path. It is exciting to hear them ask, in my opinion, one of THE most important questions--- what can I LEARN from this mistake, and HOW can I do better next time? The second most important lesson I have learned so far, is that, by helping them develop a growth mindsets as well as my own, I have been completely blown away by how quickly some of them have embraced it. Moreover, when I ask them to show me how brilliant they are, they DO just that! 

   If you are interested in experiencing  the  brilliance of  my students, be sure to read my blog post in Adventures of a Classeteria Teacher this Sunday, as I will be sharing some of their responses to this week's growth mindset question!