Smart, Maya. “Digital Portfolios Pull Double Duty.” www.Edutopia.org. 20, May 2009.
Many schools are now requiring students to generate and use ePortfolios. ePortfolios may be used to demonstrate and showcase competencies outside the academic curriculum, for example, the competencies required for active citizenship. In other cases, students may create ePortfolios of their learning in academic programs to show progress and achievement in a course or program. In many schools, students comment on each others work using social networking ePortfolio tools.
"You are only as strong as the weakest piece in your portfolio," a quote by Doug Martin, a teacher who believes one hundred percent in ePortfolios. Martin feels that there is a lot of competition for today’s teenagers and that they need to understand that the schoolwork they complete will help define their prospects tomorrow. The goal of the class is for each student to create a professional portfolio for employment or college. Digital portfolios allow students to have more opportunities to receive constructive criticism, scholarships and job offers.
There are a growing number of educators who see value in having students build digital portfolios. Students’ fascination with social networking sites has helped with the introduction of ePortfolios in the classroom. Students want collaboration and instant feedback.
The author of this article, Maya Smart, is an education writer and is very knowledgeable in her field. This article has help enforce to me the value of using ePortfolios in the classroom and even if the teacher is not comfortable with the technology, there are sites and other sources to rely on and learn and it is easy to learn as they go.
The article was written in 2009 and is very current now that more and more schools are requiring students to create ePortfolios. I think that the information is definitely accurate with today’s expectations of students and is very helpful in giving a way for students to have an edge over other students when applying for college and jobs and allows the admission officers something else to assess a student on rather than just their scores.
My opinion on the topic of ePortfolios used in the classroom is that they represent opportunities and challenges for students and teachers. ePortfolios provide new ways of teaching, assessing and managing student learning. They allow new ways of recording experiences and managing one’s career. I think that ePortfolios are a good thing and will be required in most schools very soon.
I found the above website to be very useful in researching eportfolios. The material on the site is clearly identified. There is information about the author. There is contact information available if you should have questions. The website is up to date and updated frequently. All the links on the site are in working order. The purpose of the site is clear and the content achieves the purpose. The website is complete and well organized and easy to navigate. All the information appears to be accurate and free of bias. The links are related to my needs and overall were worthwhile to check out. I feel this site is very valuable for the information needed and I would bookmark it for future use.
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