| Blogging Rubric With a nod to the ever-brilliant-and-willing-to-share Kim Cofino, here is the rubric I’ve lately begun to use in my classroom for grading student blog posts. This is an experiment in action and depending on how this tool works, it is very likely that it will come under some revision. If anyone has any comments and suggestions, I would be happy to hear them. If you have posted a rubric of your own, please leave a link behind so that we can learn from each other. Here’s a link to the same file on google docs so you can copy it out and make any changes that fit your place. 3 Ways Digital Portfolios Shift Your Assessment Focus Enjoy your first three pieces of content for free. Subscribe for unlimited access. Have questions about subscribing? Click Here to learn more. “What gets measured is what gets done.” I hear this mantra often in the educational world. Why accept the current frame, that assessment is a tool merely for evaluation? How might we rethink “What gets measured is what gets done," and shift our focus toward documenting students’ potential instead of merely passing a test? One approach I find effective for this work is digital portfolio assessment. There are three shifts I’ve observed in a teacher’s focus when they implement digital portfolio assessment in the classroom. From Deficits to Strengths When an assessment result is more than a score or level, we start to see our students as capable people with a lot of potential. [video_embed src=" width="480”] From Competition to Collaboration From One Outcome to Many Possibilities
How to ensure impact with blogging! The idea behind children blogging is simple - give them a platform to write for a real audience and this provides a purpose to write. When children have a purpose, it impacts on the quality of writing. The most difficult part for teachers trying to encourage children to blog, is to create an audience for children to write for. 100 Word Challenge - Simply an amazing way to promote and showcase children's writing. Quadblogging - Created by David Mitchell, this termly project groups your blog with another 3 schools from around the world to create your quad. Lend me your Literacy - If you are not blogging but want a way to have your work seen and commented on, Lend me your Literacy can provide that service. Using these three tools will definitely build an audience and light up the globe on your blog. This idea originally came to me from Mr Osler and Miss Gardner who had the idea of recruiting a group of parents to ensure every child's work is commented on. Razor-Clause.
4 things you should know about digital portfolios During a recent visit to our elementary art classroom, I saw students in various stages of their personal learning projects. Some were heavily engaged in their work within the medium of their choice, such as sculpture or fiber arts. Others were capturing their work using the app Seesaw to showcase and self-assess their learning. The teacher was busy but not as we typically imagine: checking in on student progress, offering feedback on their process, and ensuring students were submitting artifacts of their work that truly represented their best efforts. When she saw me, the school principal, she surprised me by apologizing. I replied that it was not necessary to apologize. This shift in instruction, with students in the lead, is not like flipping a switch. So before diving into this work with you students, consider the following four points for ensuring this work is done with authenticity as well as for impact. 4 things you should know about digital portfolios #edtech #studentvoice #k12
Blogging in the primary classroom ASLA11 – Using blogging and edmodo in the classroom and library → This post has been designed to supplement my presentation for the Australian School Librarian Conference on Tuesday October 4. Communicating for the 21st century: using tools such as Edmodo and student […] TeachMeet Sydney – from little things big things grow → I have been feeling guilty this year because I just haven’t made it to any TeachMeets yet. Out of the mouth of babes → The Australian school year is nearly over. Out of my comfort zone → Last Monday night I was interviewed by Tony and Darrel of the edtech crew for one of their regular podcasts. My Digital Portfolio Project Planning. | THE TEMPERED RADICAL Over the last year, I’ve been working on a committee in my school district to think about the role that digital portfolios can play in helping students to document their learning. I LOVE that our district is committed to the idea of portfolios simply because they promote more reflective learners and help our schools to move from a culture of grading to a culture of feedback. That’s kinda my jam. The defining moment in my own thinking about digital portfolios came in December, when I listened to my buddy George Couros explain the difference between Learning Portfolios and Showcase Portfolios at Convergence — a meeting of the professional minds hosted by our district’s Media and Technology team. According to George, Learning Portfolios are all about giving students chances to collect evidence of their own growth and progress as learners over time. Static pages on a blog — which are almost always found listed in a header under the Blog’s title — are perfect for housing Showcase Portfolios.
Kidblog - Simply Wonderful Classroom Tool Kidblog, by Kidblog, gets kids writing, sharing, and experiencing technology in a whole new light… and it’s FREE. Introduce students to the concept of blogging styles with different design themes, photo and video uploads, and linking capabilities. They will also learn the art of curating. A great way to give students a leg up and get familiar with the blogging platform and its multitude of options for future endeavors. Kidblog not only provides authentic learning but gives kids an authentic audience for students to share within the classroom and school. It also has the capabilities of reaching the global community. Kidblog is built by teachers, for teachers, so students can get the most out of the writing process. Kidblog is designed for K-12 teachers who want to provide each student with an individual blog. create classroom discussionslearn digital citizenshippracticing writing skillscreate an e-portfolioreflect on learningformatively assess writing
Free, Robust and “Unglitchy”: Digital Portfolios with Seesaw | KQED Because it works so seamlessly on their phones, it is one of the easiest ways to capture students’ speaking or other video- or photo-based activities —no need to create the video on their phones and then attempt to upload the video online to eventually work with it on a computer. Students are able to quickly and efficiently record and upload directly into their folders (which teachers can also access from any device) using the phones they already carry with them. And if the students don’t have phones, they can share devices: once one student is finished recording, he or she chooses his/her name from the class list along with the name of his/her partner(s) (if applicable) and the video is dropped into all of those students’ folders. They can then give their phone to someone else who needs it and that student can record and drop the file into appropriate folder from the class list that appears. Here are some samples of what my students have added to their portfolios.
7 Reasons Your Students should be Blogging in 2013 One of the best things about blogging in the classroom is that it is a cross-curricular activity that can be used to teach any subject and develop just about any skills, from reading and writing to math, geography and everything in between. If you are still unsure about how blogging can benefit your students, here are seven reasons that might be able to persuade you as a teacher to get on board with blogging in the classroom this year. Blogging motivates students to read and write The best way to get students to read and write is to offer them things that they are interested in reading and writing about – things that relate to them and their peers. Blogging gives students a larger audience As a teacher, it is your duty to grade and critique the work of a student, but getting a second, third or fiftieth opinion never hurts either. Blogging gives students confidence Blogging enables students to create a virtual portfolio Blogging allows teachers to discover a student’s true talents
10 Reasons Why You Should Implement Digital Student Portfolios - ASCD Inservice As both a father and a building principal, education is a personal endeavor as well as a professional one. My two children have always attended the school in which I have served as a leader. So for me to recommend anything to teachers and leaders, it has to pass muster as a dad as well as an educator. One of the few technology initiatives I do promote is digital student portfolios. They are defined as online collections of learning artifacts intentionally curated to showcase a student’s accomplishments and growth over time. With the availability and ease of use of digital tools today, there is little reason why students should not be able to experience this authentic process of assessment. 1. By opening up the possibilities for how success in schools is documented, all students can be celebrated for their efforts. 2. Families are busy. 3. When student work is housed in an online space for others to see, the importance for the learning naturally increases. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Developing Blogging Skills: Simple Rubric Posted by Mrs Kathleen Morris on Wednesday, November 28th 2012 I’ve been toying with the idea of creating a blogging scope and sequence for a while. However, something about that idea makes me uncomfortable. I don’t like the thought of limiting blogging skills to certain age levels. For example, a number of my grade two students were sourcing and attributing Creative Commons materials for blog posts, and using HTML in comments. These sorts of skills would probably not appear in the grade two section of any blogging scope and sequence. I find blogging to be a fantastic avenue for students to work at their own pace, while developing their skills as far as their capabilities and interests allow. A number of teachers who are introducing blogging into their classrooms have asked me what they should teach their students next. Educational Blogging Rubric If you are having trouble viewing/downloading the rubric, you can access the PDF here K Morris Blogging Rubric November 2012
Digital portfolio for students - tips and examples In the context of blended learning and digital classrooms, there’s a growing number of schools that encourage students to build a digital portfolio. There are many ways to do that and various tools that can be used to build a great digital portfolio for students. Student portfolio definition A student portfolio is a collection of academic assignments, projects, revisions and work samples that stretch over a designated period of time, belonging to one student. Why make a student portfolio There are 4 different reasons why you might be required to make a student portfolio: (1) the teacher needs it to evaluate your learning progress by comparing early work to later work; (2) the teacher may use it to review your work in order to determine whether you have met the established learning standards set for your grade-level or for graduation; (3) to help you reflect on your academic goals and progress; (4) to create an archive that compiles your most important school projects and academic work.