Tech Play 2

Eportfolio Tools:

Over the last two years I have used and searched for different methods to house my own curriculum.  I didn't matter to me if it was web based, software or even a wiki site.  Sadly, I would start on each and find out that it wasn't capable of doing everything I needed.  Even though I have spent many hours creating and designing it would soon be abandoned because of the limits placed on the user.  For my portfolio I have compared, wikis, websites and eportfolio vendors.

Wiki's that I have used in the past are no longer working.  I tried WetPaint.com but it really seems geared in a different direction than educational use.  I really don't know how many late night surfers I'd like to find my information.  Also, the look of this particular wiki board just doesn't appeal to me.

Portfoliogen.com almost won me over until I realized that I need more pages (or tabs) than it allows on their free version.  It does allow some customization such as color and background that was nice.

Livebinder.com has a real notebook feel to it.  I like it.  I do use it for some projects, but again, there are limitations on how much you can upload for free.  I don't know about you but I do not want to get hours into something and then be limited or forced to pay.

For now, I am sticking with the Blogspot.com.  This site offers what I need and I am used to it.  What I like most about it is that I will "own" it or it will be easily accessible to me no matter where I am or how old I am.



Folio Thinking: 

When I think back to my first portfolio four inches thick, in colors that were carefully selected and thought out, I have to smile.  I was new to the field of Education, energetic and well... inexperienced.   I must admit that I am happy that portfolio's are now web based, but either way this collection of personal educational items serve many purposes.  Having a portfolio that you spend time creating, maintaining, and reviewing is somewhat like having your very own personal adviser.  It is a sort of professional development where you are the presenter and the audience.  When I think about having a portfolio I get a little antsy, mostly because I am a perfectionist.  I have to remember to break it into small chunks to get started and then simply continue to update it on a regular basis.  Since I believe that portfolios make us a little more vulnerable and transparent, who wouldn't want theirs to be fabulous?  It's somewhat like your claim to fame, your very own go-to source.  So why shouldn't we make it GREAT?   It's a place I will revisit several times a year to reflect, remind, revamp or just giggle.

Now, of course these are my personal feelings about a portfolio.  Do I feel the same way about a test? EWW, no way!  An essay?? Definitely not!  (Not to over use the exclamation points but, Definitely NOT!!!!!)  Comparing portfolios to tests, essays, quizzes, or any other types of assessment, think about it for a minute, portfolios are work you have already completed.  The only thing left is to assemble, arrange, decorate your portfolio with your work.  Why wouldn't we love that?  Unless you just like to study of course.  I'd rather study about ways to grow, get better at what I do, continue my learning and leading my learners.

As a student myself, I would much rather articulate what I know to be true rather than be taught the test.  Exploring is so much more fun than memorizing or studying a hand-out.  I feel as if I learn more by hands on learning,  So, although information identified and received by professors is very important because it guides our learning, by telling us what we need to know.   However, telling what we know and showing proof through educational artifacts is evidence of our learning.  Showing growth in each and every learner is our goal.

The difference between physical and electronic portfolios are vast.  True, they both serve the same purpose.  They both allow us to reflect, review, revise, revamp, reuse or make refuse out of an artifact.  Conversely, paper portfolios must be within reach.  Choosing an electronic portfolio enables that you can reach it with a smartphone or wifi connection basically, always at your fingertips. Many of us have admitted to recycling our previously made paper portfolios. Quite simply, they are bulky and take up precious space in our homes or classrooms.  Seriously, that would be embarrassing to lug around to interviews, summatives or anywhere other than the dumpster.  The ease of sharing a link with prospective employers, team members, class-mates or professors far outweigh the idea of the big bulky binder.

My own students use blogspot.com to create their portfolios of their digital work.  My only concern and drawback of this feature is that it allows other students to copy and paste from one student website to another.  Honestly, I have not sat down to attempt to tackle or solve this problem as of now.  Students blog, and I grade directly from their blog.  This allows me to grade from home, the doctors waiting room or while I am a passenger in the car.  Blogs have changed my life as a teacher and grading.

As you can decipher, I am a fan of blogspot.com.  I am familiar with it and know that if I need to change something, I can go into HTML mode and push out what I need it to be.  Although I rarely have needed to, knowing it's there and there are not as many limits makes me blogging happy.

Here is a link to my portfolio:  Leigh Moreno's Eportfolio

Tech Play 1

Definitions: 

A blog is a unique address located on the internet that allows you a space to present your thoughts, ideas or information you would like to share.  It is a spot all your own that you can customize to represent your individuality or to represent the information you would like to put out to the public.  There are very few limits as to what you can do with a blog.  Limits are simply defined by which hosting site you choose.  

A blog is a little more simple to update regularly than a web site.  Some web sites can be cumbersome to navigate in or to build.  Most blog hosting sites are drag and drop or ready to use.

Other options are:

• VLOG  which is primarily a video log.  Great if you just need a simple tutorial or would like to showcase work in your room for parents to see. 
• VOICE THREAD which is simply audio threads.
• GLOG  is an interactive media poster ( I use this for students to show parts of a computer in my class).
• BLOG  is an interactive site that can be a combination of any of the above.

Blog Sites: 

I have a little experience with several different sites.  Here is a list of what I have tried over the years and my thoughts.  Please know, some may have been upgraded since I have first began using them.

• Google sites (not the same as Blogger or Blogspot) access via your Google account.  This is a web site but works well for blogging.
• www.Svbtle.com - Sleek, not free, but inexpensive.
• www.squarespace.com - Totally love the way this looks but again it isn't free.  If I had a product to sell this would be my choice.
• www.edublogs.org - free trial, not free. ( :
• www.edu.glogster.com/product-information - not free
• www.wix.com - I like the look of Wix, but I feel like it is less personal.  
• www.blogger.com - free, ability to create tabs, customize to your liking. It takes a little time to get used to it, maybe not as "new user" as others.   Allows for coding rather than just plain drag and drop fill in the space type of sites.  Did I say FREE? It's free!  

Affordances: 

I currently use blogs in my classroom.  Some are better than others, but that is the case with any subject and work that is submitted.  One class that I teach offers photo manipulation such as Photoshop.  My students use a blog to keep their portfolio of work and progress made.  I allow all notes to be taken and kept in a single tab on their portfolio.  These notes can be accessed during testing, but not paper notes, text, or other websites.  My thought is that the student will learn the information by creating the information or by typing it out. Also, they can refer to it at any time during their LIFE, such as college if needed.  It is a great way to refer or reflect back on their past work.

As a teacher, using blogs in the classroom allows me to check student work from home.  I have several ways that I store all of their site addresses for easy point and click checking. It makes my life a little easier rather than shuffling papers or flash drives. 

Being a learner and using a blog allows me to reflect on my own thoughts and classwork once I move forward in my career.  This blog will allow me a simple and effective storage area for things I want to remember, use later, or to share with others. This blog would be easily accessible to me no matter where I am. 

For My Lessons: 

I currently keep my own scope and sequence on a blogsite.  I work in a small district that does not furnish lessons.  Everything I teach, I create or borrow and revamp to fit my needs.  The site I use for my scope and sequence of my 4 different classes allows me to simply click and teach.   I don't have to worry about running to the file cabinet to pull a lesson if I am off campus.

To support learning I keep papers, videos, self created videos using screencasting on my blog.  If a student is out sick, homebound or needs to review they can access my site for all in class work that was covered on that day.  

Obstacles: 

I would like to use the feature where students can comment on each others work. So far that has not been so successful because inappropriate or silly comments are made.  I have had many lessons on internet safety, flaming and appropriate content, however, it is very hard to control and monitor.  If I were able to use this aspect of the blog, I feel it would allow a type of discussion board rather than going to another site such as a Wiki for discussion.  At High School level, I have not been able to successfully implement discussion boards where inappropriate postings haven't been a problem.  Another obstacle I have is that if student blogs are shared to all students in the classroom, they begin to start copying information from one student site and posting to their own.  Would love ideas if you have them.