Using ePortfolios in the High School

One of my goals this school year is to attempt to convince my fellow colleagues at the International School of Bangkok to begin using ePortfolios in their high school English classrooms.

To begin, let's look at the basic questions:

What is a ePortfolio?

An ePortfolio (or e-folio) is a space on the web where students can monitor and document their learning throughout a given period of time. Unlike the traditional portfolio commonly used in the past, an ePortfolio no longer is housed in the classroom in a manila folder stuck in a filing cabinet. It is stored on the web for students to carry with them from one learning environment to another. The implications for this are huge. A student can document their progress and growth over an extended period of time in not just one subject area, but as many subject areas that they choose to illustrate and document over time. The student now has control over his/her online presence and digital footprint allowing the student to demonstrate his/her growth in a particular subject area. Colleges and universities can now have a clearer picture of the whole student and the potential for growth within the student over a period of time. Instead of a few snapshots of some one's potential, an ePortfolio provides a full length photo album which can be explored in as much detail as the viewer decides they wish to explore.

Why should I use an ePortfolio?

With ePortfolios, students have the opportunity to archive artifacts which provides a forum to showcase different versions of their learning in progress, reflect upon their learning, evaluate the progress of their learning over time and plan how to improve their learning processes. This allows teachers the opportunity to provide detailed feedback on a student's work. Honestly, once ePortfolios are up and running for your class, grading is easier (no papers to lug home every day), students can not say they forgot their homework or their flash drive is corrupt, student work is accessible at all times as long as there is internet access, and it is simply better for the environment. You will not regret it, trust me.

Although there are many facets to an ePortfolio (to find out more click here), basically students begin by using an ePortfolio as a storage place for homework assignments. As they begin to become more familiar with the process, students can use an ePortfolio as a workspace to get feedback on papers in progress, discussion venues of ideas and concepts covered in class and a place for reflection on learning. Ultimately, the ePortfolio will then serve as a showcase of student work to give educators, parents, counselors, college administrators, and future employers a comprehensive venue to better acquaint themselves with a particular student.

Want to look at some examples?
Here are a few examples of some amazing ePortfolios I have found online:

Hen's Portfolio from Mission High School, San Fransisco:
http://www.missionhs.org/eportfolio_henriettaw/index.html

Robert's ePortfolio from Oswego High School, New York:
http://students.oswego.org/HOF/RAHART2/

At Shanghai American School, the students' blogs are housed at one site. This enables educators and school administrators to monitor the information students are providing about themselves.

At International School of Bangkok, we are doing something similar. Last year we began with something my students called "Facebook Lite" titled my.isb. Students were given a school blog, and they responded to different questions and problems each week on their blog. The grading was incredibly easy to manage, but the best part was to watch how the students' writing began to improve once they realized that many other students were reading their work. My ESL students had a place to flourish where they could wait to publish until they had carefully formulated their thoughts on paper. Some of my so-called slackers began to realize that everyone in their class could see what they wrote and the good students would challenge them to explore their ideas further in their writing. The process was amazing.

Now ISB has taken student blogs another step farther. This semester we plan to implement student blogs that will be housed within ISB, with all the bells and whistles that come with a true blog using Word Press. It will be housed through a site titled inside.isb and the high school English department will provide links to individual teachers, course loads, and class assignments. My goal is to link my class blog to my student blogs and provide them with the foundation to build an ePortfolio that they will in turn use and develop as they progress through their academic journey at ISB.

Will it work? We'll see. I am not sure I can convince others. I am frightened of looking as if I am a know-it-all in a world I have only just stepped into. There are so many different aspects of technology that are coming at us faster than we know what to do with. Is this the best new thing? I honestly have no idea, but so far, I think this one has the most promise to enrich the learning process for my students and develop my ability to provide my students with a multitude of learning experiences. We'll see how it goes. . .