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.
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