How the Use of ePortfolios and Blogging Foster Student Accountability, Reflection, and Authentic Learning. 

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Introduction

Student ePortfolios or ePs have been used exclusively for higher education students for the last several decades. eP incorporation into high school classrooms has become more popular over the last several years; however, the use of ePs in middle and elementary school settings is still limited. The authors of this article are all middle school educators currently testing the benefits of ePortfolios and blogging by measuring student growth, accountability, and reflection. All these aspects are critical in developing an authentic learning environment. 

 

The overarching purpose of portfolios is to create a sense of personal ownership over one's accomplishments because ownership engenders feelings of pride, responsibility, and dedication (Paris & Ayres,2003). According to Vicki Davis (2017), Portfolios have many benefits: They can aid students in metacognition, reflection, and ownership of learning. As teachers/facilitators of learning, we believe in the importance and benefits of using ePortfolios in the middle school learning environment to promote student choice, ownership, and voice, allowing reflection of the student as a person undergoing continuous personal development. Student use of ePortfolios fosters choice, ownership, and voice in the areas of time or pacing; hands-on learning with digital tools; blogging for self-reflection; and authentic learning in a student-centered environment. 

 

Time

The ePortfolio is a unique tool designed to feature collections of student work, multi-media evidence, measure growth, and foster student-centered learning. The most impressive aspect of ePortfolios is their capacity for growth and commitment to life-long learning. Unlike traditional projects, ePortfolios are intended to grow with the learner, not stopping at any particular point, just continually growing and presenting new ideas, finding, etc. As an educator, I believe the biggest thief of my student’s growth and true mastery of a concept is the time restraints enforced in the classroom. Any educator who has taught for at least one day knows that students learn at different paces. ePortfolios allow students to work at a pace that is comfortable for them. 

 

Mrs. Carter-Kegler recently launched her ePortfolio project for her 8th-grade digital design students. Initial responses from her students were unfavorable, but her students slowly started putting the pieces together. Each week the students have 2-4 deliverables, such as writing their weekly reflection blog, creating a new page, adding copy, or uploading previous works. Giving the students a week to execute these seemingly simple tasks creates a less structured classroom and promotes a more fluid, creative, and collaborative learning environment. When explaining the weekly expectations to her students, she used one of her favorite artists as an example. 

 

I loved Jazmine Sullivan but didn’t love how long it took her to release new music. We discussed corporately why they thought she or other artists took such long breaks between new releases. Responses varied from they wanted to make sure the music was good, they wanted to make sure they were proud of the work, or they were waiting for inspiration. All these responses were correct and are transferable to their eP projects. Eliminating restrictive timelines allow for a more organic and self-regulated learning experience. Without the dark cloud of time hovering over the students, I have observed significant growth in reflection quality, engagement, collaboration, and student-led teaching. 

 

Digital Tools

Digital tools like Canva, Flocabulary, YouTube, and Quizlet have become staples in many classrooms. Educators are using digital tools to close the gaps that exist for students who require differentiation or enjoy alternative delivery methods. Even though ePs are digital tools within themselves, they also possess a great capacity to incorporate others. When developing their ePs, students are encouraged to use the tools they are most comfortable with. For example, if the assignment is to define layout and composition, using various digital tools allows the student to choose the best option for them to execute the assignment. They can choose to define layout and composition with a design of their own,  recorded video, blog post, etc. If I had to select one foundational advantage of ePs, it would be flexibility. Students can demonstrate understanding and mastery in the most advantageous ways. Using ePs and different digital tools releases them from the bondage of being a one-trick pony. 

 

Blogging

As an educator, the idea of blogging was very intimidating and scary for middle school students. School districts create several technical rules and system limitations to prevent students from communicating with anyone outside of the district's network, which interferes with the nature of blogs: connecting like minds through similar thoughts. The second challenge was determining the actual value of blogging for students. Was blogging something that would be measurable and produce evidence of authentic learning or just another platform that's aesthetically pleasing but produces little learning? Mr. Hill decided to take a step back and read through his childhood journals. “I found that my thirteen-year-old self had a basic writing style and emphasized life experiences that mean little to me on the surface today.” From his own journaling experience, Mr. Hill could read the maturity of his thoughts and see the refinement in his writing ability. “The journals were a physical example of my learning and growth over the years and a tangible example of what it could be for my students.” Having students blog through ePortfolios serves a similar purpose in that they can document their learning experiences in the course and see the depth of their understanding over the years in a safe space to collaborate with their peers. 

 

Student-Centered Learning Environment

Most educators agree that students learn best from one another. We see this method in schools and in professional settings. There is something unique about students explaining concepts to their peers. They tend to use familiar language or examples that people their age or in their community would understand. ePortfolio development thrives in student-centered learning environments because of its collaborative nature. By design, ePortfolios are exploratory projects. They require one to use higher-order thinking, problem-solve, troubleshoot, and more. In Mrs. Carter-Kegler’s classroom, students are grouped into learning communities of 3 or 4. They are intentionally grouped with students they wouldn’t normally collaborate with. Students were informed that their LCs (Learning Communities) were their first stop for questions, feedback, and review of their sites. They were all given ample digital and physical resources to assess them with the eP development, and it was up to them to use their most valuable resources, each other. Mrs. Carter-Kegler observed that her students were slow to collaborate when not paired with familiar peers; however, the students identified their success as working together. In Ms. Logan’s seventh-grade ELAR class, her students were reluctant to begin using ePs; however, as she facilitated the process and engaged them in feedback conversations, along with collaborative student groups, the students were able to construct ePortfolios that surpassed expectations.

 

Allowing the students to take center stage benefits them and creates more time and space for the teacher to assess, adjust, and observe. Collaboration, problem-solving, and resourcefulness are all vital skills our students need to become productive members of the community and workforce. 

 

Conclusion

ePortfolios are brilliant tools for creating significant learning environments in the classroom. It is essential for students to establish a plan using a timetable in student-friendly language while providing relatable examples to create buy-in. Giving the students a choice to exhibit their learning on various platforms, in a video or blog post, allows them to experience an authentic learning experience based on their experience while also gaining 21st-century skills to follow them into the workforce.

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References

Paris, S. G., & Ayres, L. R. (2003). Becoming reflective students and teachers: With portfolios and Authentic Assessment. American Psychological Association. 

Davis, V. (2017, November 17). 11 essentials for excellent digital portfolios. Edutopia. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/11-essentials-for-excellent-eportfolios-vicki-davis 
 

Potential Publication Submissions 

 

Tech Notes (TCEA) https://blog.tcea.org/

The submitted post should be between 500-800 words.  A short one to three-sentence bio and at least one high-res photo related to the post should also be included.  

 

Edutopia https://www.edutopia.org/ 

email a detailed, original outline, 80-word bio detailing your role in education, and links to other publications (if any), disclose any commercial interest, and Twitter handle

 

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