Using Technology | Electronic Portfolios in the K-12 Classroom The use of personal portfolios for assessment and presentation long has been a component of higher education. In fact, personal portfolios are a graduation requirement at many colleges and universities. Now, electronic portfolios have begun to enter the world of K-12 education as well. Learn what electronic portfolios are and discover how they can help you and benefit your students. Included: Guidelines for developing personal portfolios. "A portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work demonstrating the student's achievement or growth as characterized by a strong vision of content," according to Todd Bergman , an independent consultant and a teacher at Mt. Helen Barrett, an assistant professor and educational technology coordinator for the School of Education at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, provides another definition, one developed by the Northwest Evaluation Association: "Portfolios can serve multiple purposes," Barrett told Education World.
Student Life Tools > Home Using E-Portfolios in the Classroom For decades, students have been completing assignments in school. Often, these were seen only by the teacher, graded and returned to the student. Sometimes, the work was posted on a classroom wall or in a school hallway. Many teachers kept portfolios of student work for report card conferences, and the rare teacher taught students how to build their own portfolios from their work. With more and more schools going paperless or migrating to the "cloud" (storing files on the Internet), student work has become more easily shareable, accessible by many, and more easily organized. However, with so many options for collecting and sharing student work, it's hard to know which method or tool to use. Defining Your Needs Here are some guiding questions to consider before you commit to a tool or platform: Can student work be made public or is it housed inside a "walled garden?" Some Options Below is a list of tools that can be used to collect, organize and share student work. Project Foundry Dropbox*