e-Portfolios and Assessment for Learning

Which tenent did you most relate to and why?

I most related to the tenant, AFL develops learners' capacity for self-assessment so that they can become reflective and self-managing. I think this tenant really resonated with me because with portfolios students have a greater opportunity to think about what they are learning and how it applies to them. This process, I believe, deepens their understanding of the concepts being taught. Many students, myself included, when presented with a quiz or test, will memorize the information, regurgitate it for the test and then lose it almost entirely. With portfolios and assessments for learning, students use the knowledge gained in an ongoing capacity throughout the school year.

 

What potential if, if any, do you see for portfolio assessment?

I see great potential for portfolio assessment. As stated above I think portfolio assessments give amazing opportunities for students to reach a higher level of thinking and understanding of skills they are mastering. It also gives them the opportunity to discover and then show how these skills apply to them. Portfolio assessment also trains our students in how to be lifelong learners. These are skills that will be used in the workplace as well.

 

What do you think the creation and development of your portfolio will do for your learning?

I think the creation and development of my portfolio will help me maintain the skills I am learning as well as serve as an example of what I am capable of creating. It will also serve as a confidence booster for me later on when I may be less than enthusiastic about diving into a new skill.

Wiki/ digital natives

The purpose I had in mind when creating my wiki was the amount of questions, confusion and misinformation that my department deals with on a daily basis.  It is our responsibility to train the sales and training teams on what our curriculum is, what it does, and how teachers and administrators can use it to ensure the success of their students.  One issue that we have been experiencing lately is that we will receive the same questions from various people.  In the past, we have solved this problem by sending out a mass email to both teams with the answer.  This is great for the first few days until that email response has rolled off the bottom of their screen and for all intents and purposes has disappeared from their minds forever.  By creating a wiki, we are able to post the questions and the answers to be viewed by both teams as many times as they need.  We can also have a thread for new questions that might start a discussion.  How great would it be for our teams to be sharing ideas of what worked in the field when x question came up or how they utilized y in a new situation. 

The only disadvantage I see is the possibility of misinformation being posted.  I think that this problem can be avoided by only allowing registered users to edit the pages.

I think wikis have great potential for engaging the digital native.  Not only because the wiki is interactive but also because a wiki is constantly changing.  You want to go back and look at it again and again to see what is new there.  In a world of text alerts for things such as news reports or Angry Birds updates… (I can’t put it down.)  digital natives are only going to be engaged by non-static sites.

Are we on the right track?

The statistics in these two videos were staggering.  I was amazed and overwhelmed at the numbers presented and most of them were 5 years old!  The PK-12 students of today are strictly digital learners.  If we as educators do not change our teaching styles and methods we are going to lose these students very quickly.  I loved the quote from one of the videos about having to "power down" when at school.  For the digital generation that must be so true!  

I was involved in a discussion just today about how cursive handwriting has been taken out of the required skills for elementary students.  They are no longer taught this skill in most states.  And why should it be?  Most written documents are now created, edited and delivered digitally.  This is one example of a change in the right direction.  We still have a long way to go but educators are making strides!

Today's Learner

I thought these two articles were BRILLIANT!! I love the imagery of the second language learner. I have such a better grasp on how to explain educational technology! Can this article be my Educational Technology Philosophy? Just Kidding!

Educational Technology

What is the meaning of educational technology?
 

Technology can be defined as hardware (ipad, laptop, projector, tv) or software (learning games, word processing, digital recordings). To make these items educational, we, as educators we must use these tools to present and transfer knowledge and skills to our students who face bigger and better technologies every day. 

Intro Week

Having my educational technology philosophy down in writing helps focus my thinking when working on a project or lesson plan.  I now have a jumping off point. 

At this point, what potential uses do you see for blogging?  Stephen Downes' article on Educational Blogging was written in 2004. Have we met this potential? What's preventing us from doing so?  

I think blogs are great.  In my opinion using blogs in the classroom is a non-threatening way for students to practice their writing skills.  If they are assigned regularly scheduled posts with the only limitations being grammar and basic writing guidelines, then the students have the freedom to write. And isn’t that what the goal is anyway? To teach our students to communicate effectively in written formats? 

November's article, Creating a Culture for Teaching and Learning outlines six areas to think about and changes on the horizon with technology and education. Which one stood out to you the most and why?

The area that stood out the most to me was If its on the internet is it true?.  We must train students to filter what they are consuming.  We have to teach them how to search out evidence for the truth (or untruth) of what they are reading/ seeing.  The students MUST learn to think discriminately about what they consume from the internet.  I have been trying to teach this to my own mother by reminding her that just because someone she trusts forwards her the email doesn’t necessarily mean the content of the email is true.  I am constantly asking her if she checked snopes.com or at the very least googled what she is taking for truth. 

And finally, what are some of your expectations for this class?

I am SO excited about this class.  I am really looking forward to diving into the different topics each week.  I think this class is going to give me a great overview of what constitutes “educational technology.”

Educational Technology Philosophy

I believe that technology can be used to further a student’s education in ways we have only begun to imagine.  I believe that technology, if used effectively can begin to close the gap between our at-risk and high achieving students.  This is what led me to pursue educational technology.  

I want the participants in my training sessions (be it professional development or a classroom of kindergartners) to take the knowledge I give them and use it effectively in their own situations.  I want them to have such an understanding of the skill that they are able to “tweak” it in order to make it most effective for them.

As the educator, I need to be able to transfer knowledge from my “head” to that of my students/participants in a meaningful way.  My students should be able to walk away from the session and teach others how to use their new skill. 

I believe that teachers must provide students with real-world learning situations.  By providing this type of learning environment, teachers are giving students invaluable experiences in which to master and retain the skills taught. 

Teachers should also give students opportunities to “think through” and discover knowledge by encouraging higher level thinking.  This will give students the needed practice to be able to use these higher level thinking skills in every area of their learning and throughout their lives.

When learning is student centered, they become more responsible for their own learning.  Teachers should not be the center of learning.

I think that as educators we must also be activists in a way.  We need to be willing to change and PROMOTE change.  Our students learning styles are deeply embedded in technology.  When an 18 month old child knows how to open and use an app on an iphone it stands to reason that our 5-18yr old students possess excellent technology skills as well. 

I believe that technology is a tool for accessing infinite information.  If my students are learning a new skill, using technology can allow them to do anything from having an e-learning session from a team at MIT to participating in a discussion about British literature with students from China.  They can also use the technology to enhance and express what they are discovering around them.

As an educator, I need to be a facilitator.  My students should have the freedom to discover new ways to explore learning.  The skill is what I want them to obtain.  The path they take to get there is an adventure!  I may very well have the next Bill Gates, Steven Hawking, or Mark Zuckerberg in my class.