ePortfolio Checklist for Teachers

July 28, 2014
Following the posting of ePortfolio Resources for Teachers somebody emailed me this visual  which I want you to check out as well. This visual created by Chelmick features 6 components your students should consider when composing their ePortfolios. You can use this checklist in class to give students an idea about the things they need to incorporate  in their ePortfolios.
Why Use ePortfolios ?
According to Cornell University, there are different learning purposes and benefits behind using ePortfolios.
A- The learning purposes of ePortfolios include:

• Reflecting upon learning processes and outcomes.
• Organizing and presenting learning accomplishments.
• Developing self-assessment skills.
• Representing learning experiences.
• Developing multimedia skills.
• Creating electronic text for specific audiences.
• Learning how to use technology to support lifelong learning.

B- The learning benefits of ePortfolios include:

• Personalizing the learning experience.
• Allowing students to draw connections between their various learning experiences over the semester and beyond.
• Seeing progress over time.
• Enhancing critical thinking.
• Evaluating and assessing student products and processes.
• Assessing course learning outcomes.
• Gaining insight into how students experienced a curriculum

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Great ePortfolio Resources for Teachers

July 28, 2014
With the massive uptake of web 2.0 technologies, the concept of portfolios has migrated to the cloud giving rise to what is now termed  electronic portfolios or ePortfolios for short. An ePortfolio is similar in essence to the traditional pen and paper portfolio but with a set of added advantages. For instance , ePortfolios are accessible anywhere anytime with internet connection. Also ePortfolios allows for a wider inclusion of different multimedia items such as videos, podcasts, audio recordings, slides, text, images and many more.

Image source: Tektab

Why Use ePortfolios ?
According to Cornell University, there are different learning purposes and benefits behind using ePortfolios.

A- The learning purposes of ePortfolios include:

• Reflecting upon learning processes and outcomes.
• Organizing and presenting learning accomplishments.
• Developing self-assessment skills.
• Representing learning experiences.
• Developing multimedia skills.
• Creating electronic text for specific audiences.
• Learning how to use technology to support lifelong learning.

B- The learning benefits of ePortfolios include:

• Personalizing the learning experience.
• Allowing students to draw connections between their various learning experiences over the semester and beyond.
• Seeing progress over time.
• Enhancing critical thinking.
• Evaluating and assessing student products and processes.
• Assessing course learning outcomes.
• Gaining insight into how students experienced a curriculum

If you are planning to further explore the concept of ePortfolios and probably try it with your students in class then here are two great resources you should definitely keep with you. These are :

1- ePortfolios Guide from CUCTE

This page from Cornell University Centre for Teaching Excellence provides some key insights and ideas to help you understand and better use ePortfolios with your students. It particularly covers the following items:

• What are ePortfolios?
• Why use ePortfolios?
• How can you get started with integrating ePortfolios?
• How can you introduce ePortfolios?
• What are some ePortfolio learning activities?
• How can you assess ePortfolios?
• What can be done with the final products?

2- ePortfolio Resources

This is an excellent Pinterest board packed full of resources related to digital portfolios. This board is run by Lisa from TechChef4u.

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The 3 Types of Digital Portfolios Teachers should Know about

April 30, 2014
Digital portfolio take different forms and are used for different purposes. Whether to document, diagnose or simply celebrate learning, digital portfolios have the power to transform learning and enhance academic achievement.

There are three main types of digital portfolios you can try out in your class. I have drawn on the work of Hally Clark to explain to you what each one of these types mean. I have also included links to pages where you can access web tools and iPad apps that you can use with your students to create digital portfolios.

1- The Process Portfolio
As its name indicate, this kind of portfolio highlights the process of learning and not the outcome.Using a process portfolio, students will be able to reflect on what they learn  over an extended period of time. They can for instance write an essay and then keep checking it periodically and in every time they reread it they  edit, delete or add something to it. As they keep working on their essays, students get to spend sometime reflecting on the changes they did and contemplate other ways to make their writing better.This kind of reflection usually prompts students to pose new questions, think critically, and so often, conduct additional research into what they are working on.

2- Showcase
This is where students display their best achievements. This type of portfolio is particularly essential in boosting students self-esteem and in increasing their sense of pride in what they have learned. In Showcase portfolio, students are encouraged to share their finished work using different formats including: images, videos, blog posts, audio clips, pic collage and many more.

3- Hybrid or growth portfolio
A hybrid portfolio is a combination of process and showcase portfolios. The kind of work students feature here is more encompassing and representative of both the process and outcome of their learning.In this way, students will be able to both reflect on their learning as well as highlight and share the best pieces of their work that have value to them as learners. In a hybrid portfolio, students can work on longitudinal projects spanning extended periods of times. They can for instance take a project from the previous year and expand more on it over the following years.

• Some good web tools to create portfolios
• iPad Apps for creating portfolios

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The Best Web Tools for Students to Create Visually Powerful Digital Resumes and Portfolios

April 9, 2014
Students on the verge of graduation often start looking for the best ways to  represent themselves to potential employers or ways to create applications that would leave a positive impression on a college admission committee. To this end, online digital portfolios makes all the difference. Those who are able to not only say it but also display it are more than likely to make the cut. Creating a powerful infographic resume, a compelling portfolio or a personal landing page are game changers in competitions. In this regard, I am sharing with you some wonderful web tools that you and your students can use to showcase your work and create great digital portfolios.

1- About.me

About.me is a great web tool that allows you to create a digital page where you can highlight your achievements and assets and show people and potential job recruiters your strengths and academic accomplishments. About.me provides you with a variety of templates and backgrounds to customize and use for your resume. You can also include in your resume multimedia materials such as videos, photos, and SoundCloud files.

2- Visualize

Visualize.me allows you to create a one page infographic resume based on the data imported from your LinkedIn account. Once this data is imported you can then start customizing the look and feel of your resume. Visualize.me provides a wide range of tools to use for visualizing your resume such as using word maps to show your linguistic skills or using briefcase to demonstrate your work experiences.

3- LinkedIn Portfolio Feature

A few months ago, the popular professional networking website LinkedIn added a portfolio feature to user profiles.This new feature allows users to showcase their unique professional story using rich, visual content on their LinkedIn profiles. This means you can illustrate your  greatest achievements in the form of stunning images, compelling videos, innovative presentations and more.

4- Enthuse.me

Enthuse.me is a simple, elegant service that lets you showcase your expertise in the most effective way – by cutting out the noise and hand-picking the best examples of your work, knowledge or passion. Profiles on Enthuse.me are similar to a personal blog .

5- Accredible

Accredible is specifically designed for students to help them showcase their academic prowess and skills through sharing courses completed. Profiles created in Accredible can also include photos, documents, videos and endorsements.

6- Populr.me

Populr.me is a web service that lets you create a stand alone page portfolio of your work and academic achievements.You can use texts, photos, videos and upload documents to back up your portfolio. Populr also provides you  with a set of ready made templates to use when creating your page. It also allows you to share your page via social media, email, and more.

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Tackk A Great Free Tool for Creating Digital Portfolios

April 7, 2014
Tackk is a wonderful web page that you can use with your students in class to do a vareity of tasks. Students do not even need to register to use the service, however, unregistered Tackk pages last only for 7 days after which they are deleted.
Students can use Tackk to create digital portfolios to display their digital works. These portfolios can include different materials such as text, photos, videos, and audio files. Here is how they can use it:

Head over to Tackk homepage and click on "create". If you register ( it's free) you will be able to save your creations forever.

Now you can either choose 'Blank Canvas' or ' blog post' either way, you will be directed to a Tackkboard where you can add your digital materials.

Click on the + button and select what  you want to add.

You can add text, headlines, photos, videos, audio, buttons, maps, and forms.

You can also use the authoring tools on the right to change text fonts, colours,and patterns.

Click on 'options' to select whether you want your Tackk to be public or set it to private

Click on 'share' to share your Tackk page on popular social media like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus. or send it via email, or use the HTML code to embed it in your blog or website. You can also print it using the print button.

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