ePortfolios in the K12 Learning Environment
EDLD 5305 Disruptive Innovation in Technology Jennifer Stanley, M.Ed.
September 13, 2020
ePortfolios are a great place for students to house their most prized and successful pieces of work. Students may not fully understand the potential in them, but if the concept is promoted and encouraged properly, these digital portfolios can be used in hopes to showcase a student’s abilities during college interviews and even when exploring different career choices down the road. These would be an impressive way to demonstrate a candidate’s ability to take ownership of their learning, to self-reflect on their work (failures and successes alike) and to prove a true adoption of a growth mindset.
In a world where accountability is paramount, students of all ages should be encouraged to claim their work, to be proud of their accomplishments and to highlight their strengths. Students can take ownership of their work by opting to share selected works in their ePortfolios.
E-portfolios can be used to do more than just demonstrate student progress toward standards. They can also allow students to show who they are as individuals, while also providing a means for tracking a student’s growth from kindergarten all the way through high school and beyond. (Sharleen Nelson, 2011)
When a student chooses to participate in ePortfolios, they are announcing - after careful reflection with perhaps some guidance - that they are proud of what they have done and want to share. Confidence in the self-created evidence of their academic achievement is key to pushing students to reach for continued academic success. It is not always easy for students to see, looking at scores in a gradebook, but having a digital, visual representation would be highly motivating. At the end of the day, it all comes down to making learning student-centered.
(Black & William, 1998)
It’s not just teachers who could see and reflect on their work, but also fellow peers. This was highlighted during an interview with teacher Jenna Zucha who stated, “All of a sudden, [students are] coming up to me saying, ‘I have to get this right. My friends are going to see this.’ That was an eye-opening experience for me” (Anderson, 2019). Instilling confidence and encouraging students to prove their growth to the adults in their lives is one thing, but seeking positive feedback and academic validation from their same-aged peers is a desire that teachers try to encourage daily. To aim to have peers commentate and hype up a fellow classmate’s work can be euphoric for the giver of that feedback and the receiver.
Students being shown the importance of owning their learning and taking the time to praise others for their growth will undoubtedly raise reflective and confident learners. These skills and ePortfolios are beyond the four walls classroom as well, and “are really important for career and college readiness. The writing the students are doing is not just for [their teachers]. [...] The procrastination goes out the door. You see their desire to speak out and use their voices.” (Anderson, 2019). Educators will see a clear shift in how students plan, tackle, and reflect on their school work. This in turn will help develop further career and life skills, as the habits will already be in place for these individuals.
Another teacher explained that she “expected students to document their work, reach out to online communities, and to make real world connections that lead to possible employment or internships opportunities” (Abamu, 2017). Making that real world connection and seeing a point to certain school work will be a motivator for students who are perhaps reluctant. If they saw the value and application of these ePortfolios and what doors they could open in the future, perhaps students would buy-in to the concept and be authentic about their participation. When students are held accountable earlier and we set higher expectations throughout their formative schooling years, they will continue to convey those habits and behaviors as real-world employees. These can aid them as they-
apply for admission to a college or university; transition to a career; relocate to a new classroom, campus, district, state, or country; request exemption from a foundational course (for example, placement in an advanced Web design course rather than a basic Web design course); enter local, state, national, and international competitions; compete for scholarships or awards; apply for certifications; or launch a business or service.
(A Guide to Understanding ePortfolios 2013)
ePortfolios will open doors to so many opportunities to students and graduates alike, and by the commitment to the upkeep of their work and success, they will impress those they come across.
As much as educators want students to celebrate their successes and show their growth, it is just as important to reflect over expected shortcomings and failures. The reflection process is also an extension of student accountability, since ePortfolios are technically a form of formative assessments, however “students will also self-reflect and assess themselves. These process portfolios promote student reflection and ownership of the learning process” (David, 2015). Having students measure their strengths and weaknesses along this timeline of learning that ePortfolios allow, is crucial to their personal and professional success and development. The accessibility of these digital portfolios is also what allows students to continue to track their learning, whether they are “migrant students, students in foster care, students in military families, students recovering from extended illnesses or injuries, and students in alternative education programs” (A Guide to Understanding ePortfolios 2013). Rather than shuffling around papers from place to place and school to school, students can access and update their work from anywhere. The ability to create, share, reflect, revise, and publish is limitless. Furthermore, there is a great opportunity for constructive criticism and feedback - and not just from educators.
One example is when employers may get an ePortfolio that shows irrelevant interests to the internship or position a student is applying to. A student of Lisa Gottfried shared a story of how a local hospital was unimpressed with a resume that was submitted because the interests portrayed and the job the intern applied for did not align. So the hiring committee went through the portfolio with that student, revisions were made and resubmitted based on that critical feedback, and the student got the internship after all was said and done (Abamu, 2017). Gottfried believes that “this type of feedback is a positive process that students go through making drafts, testing it out in the real world and making changes. ‘This puts them ahead of most adults’” (Abamu, 2017). You can reflect and correct at any stage in life - 3rd grade, 8th grade, 11th grade, and beyond. It’s important to identify the challenges attempted and to critically evaluate what is put together for public knowledge.
By fostering reflective learning in students, there has been a shift in higher education too, and “institutions prioritize active learning over rote learning” (Gamrat 2017). It is widely accepted that people “learn by experience, doing, and creating, demonstrating newly acquired skills in more concrete and creative ways” (Gamrat 2017). By encouraging students to learn in this manner and to keep creating until they find success, we are redefining how we measure “and demonstrate subject mastery and soft skills such as creativity and collaboration” (Gamrat, 2017). If a student falls apart after getting feedback, cannot take criticism, or cannot proactively make adjustments, the image they will portray will not be one of a reflective individual. Educators are encouraging multidimensional learners, with learners who contribute to their growth by careful reflection and redesign. Using ePortfolios as a foundational source for learning and progress tracking provides the individual the critical opportunity to blend “elements of positivism and constructivism” (Davis, 2015). There is that saying that reminds us to learn from our mistakes, and that’s exactly what educators desire from their students - self-reflection on the glows and grows and critical thinking.
The previous aspects of the benefits of ePortfolios highlighted reasons to encourage student accountability and continued student self-reflection. Both tie in and support vital elements of learning: metacognition and growth mindset. It is stated that “the ability to think about one's thinking is what neuroscientists call metacognition” (Price-Mitchell, 2015). These concepts are positively associated and work in tandem to help create a well-rounded critical thinking. James Zull was quoted on his book over the biology of learning the cycle of learning moves (Davis 2015). See image below.
By understanding how learning works and how our brains are constantly reshaping and processing information, we can also understand how humans should ideally learn. Students are constantly updating their knowledge, based on experiences and observations. By fostering a growth mindset and modeling it for students in the classroom, they can become more comfortable with understanding their learning process and find the best practices in making revisions for their portfolios. This was well portrayed by Jenna Zucha, who states
I’m doing a lot of writing—often the same quick-write assignments—with my students, in which I invite them to give me feedback. It's terrifying! But when they see that I actually implement the revisions they suggest, it builds a classroom community that I don't think I could recreate without that process. The vulnerability that I'm showing my students has created an amazing turnaround in the kind of work they're willing to give me. (David, 2015)
By having teachers model their own critical thinking and positive attitude towards a growth mindset, the students can see the authenticity in the intent of the lesson. The vulnerability that Ms. Zucha mentioned is paramount to stimulate a similar perspective from students. By displaying, highlighting, and even encouraging mistakes, teachers are normalizing those fears that students often internalize. In an age where everything is public and easily accessible, the youth in particular are greatly concerned with the input and opinions of others. By working through such a process with students from a young age, there is an opportunity to truly plant the seed of a growth mindset. By promoting “greater awareness of how they acquire knowledge, students learn to regulate their behavior to optimize learning. They begin to see how their strengths and weaknesses affect how they perform” (Price-Mitchell, 2015). All these processes are made possible by these highly individualized digital portfolios. It is student-centered and focused on the growth of a child. And for once it is not just adults telling students how they are doing. Students are measuring and evaluating their own abilities, which is what educators hope to see more of in the future.
Overall, there are an abundance of benefits that would stem from implementing ePortfolios. They allow for students to take charge in their own education, to see mistakes as an opportunity to persevere, and to challenge them to critically think and adopt a positive mindset on their academic growth.
References
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