Portfolio Revolutionized
Digital Authorship EDC534 Final Project
Portfolio Revolutionized is a curriculum project focused on the revitalization of the student portfolio requirement at the career and technical education high school where I serve as the library media specialist.
Our school has long had a portfolio requirement. Over their four years of high school, students collect, reflect, and curate academic, career and technical education (CTE) work, along with other materials, into a portfolio suitable for sharing with instructors, colleges, employers, parents, and others as desired.
Despite the benefits of student portfolios, students, instructors, and administrators were growing wary of the portfolio, primarily because of the platform. As a Microsoft/Office 365 school, our portfolio platform (until this year) was Microsoft OneNote. Building the portfolio in a One Note template did not result in a product that created much sense of pride or ownership. It was hard to find much of the ‘why’ behind the portfolio requirement. All of these issues led to negative views of the portfolio. For a variety of reasons, including accessibility, ease of use, and aesthetics, students, teachers, and administrators were ready for a change.
Portfolio Revolutionized stemmed from a school initiative focused on school improvement, teacher leadership opportunities, and integration efforts. A sub-committee of teacher leaders worked to review, revise, and rejuvenate our student portfolio.
A new portfolio manual, a sample student portfolio, a new platform: Adobe Creative Cloud web page, and a variety of training and support materials for teachers and students helped move our program away from complaints about the old platform toward the benefits that portfolios can provide including a more thoughtful, deliberate, and holistic depiction of learning and achievements.
As a result of Portfolio Revolutionized, students will be able to create (and share) their student portfolio as a web page using Adobe Creative Cloud Express. Students and teachers will be able to utilize the library media center web page and library media specialist for training & support in the portfolio creation process, and gain a renewed sense of purpose and enthusiasm for the student portfolio.
Educational researchers document the benefits of a portfolio. “Compiling, reviewing, and evaluating student work over time,” explains the Great Schools Partnership organization, “can provide a richer, deeper, and more accurate picture of what students have learned and are able to do than more traditional measures” (2016). Portfolio pieces together skills, growth, achievements, and readiness for college and careers. Reflection and curation shine a light on the learning and growth process and bring clarity regarding what a student knows and is able to do. Portfolio also provides the opportunity to share one’s progress with others (Chang, 2016; Fowler, 2012; Niguidula, 2010; Renwick, 2017; Zubizarreta, 2009).
Training sessions drew on the “power of two” as the portfolio lead teacher and the library media specialist offered two one-hour sessions to nearly 200 students and teachers in nineteen different career & technical education programs. These interactive lessons guided students to navigate resources helpful to the Minuteman portfolio process; utilize essential components of Adobe Creative Cloud Express, and create a web page for their student portfolio.
Initial lesson activities used a blended learning style. After viewing a sample portfolio and sharing observations, including about its components, design, and aesthetics, we moved on to the why. A short video and infographic were used to provide explanations about the research and rationale behind the portfolio. Canva and Adobe Creative Cloud helped convert dense research into easily accessible visual formats.
Next, the students and teachers were ready for some hands-on, how-to. We modeled the steps of how to log in, create a new web page, also known as a presentation, and set up the framework of their linked pages. Playing a short Adobe Creative Cloud how-to video helped model the key components of creating with adobe creative cloud express. Again, with the power of two, one of us was able to show the how-to on the screen, while the other circulated and helped troubleshoot.
Session two included a Kahoot review game of key portfolio and Adobe Creative Cloud elements and a lot of individual work time. Work time for the students allowed us to reteach and problem solve individually and in small groups as needed. It also allowed students to advance their creativity with Adobe Creative Cloud. The session ended with us collecting links to student portfolios, which will be shared with teachers.
Student feedback showed the benefits of the power of two teacher facilitators and the positive impact of digital authorship and creating to learn. Now that we had increased buy-in and a more positive view of the portfolios from the 9th graders, we needed to make more progress with instructors, especially those who did not complete the training.
We produced a library newsletter: the Media Center Minute: Portfolio edition, sent it to all staff, and posted it on the library media center website. It highlighted our training, the Portfolio resource guide on the library website, and the how-to materials for working with Adobe Creative Cloud Express. A teacher leadership meeting to review the new 9th-grade portfolio will take place in a few weeks and future training for staff is planned.
Portfolio is a meaningful addition to any high school program, especially career and technical education schools, where an emphasis is less on tests as a form of assessment but on hands-on, project-based learning. As such, we have submitted a conference proposal to share our experiences with Portfolio renewal and revitalization at the upcoming June 2022, Massachusetts MA Association of Vocational Administrators Conference, Connecting for Success.
The creation of this portfolio project is linked to numerous aspects of Digital Authorship. A portfolio allows students to display their creativity and personal and social identity as an author. Adobe Creative cloud express, a free platform, was used to shape media production and student digital literacy skills (Hobbs, 2017).
Portfolio curation and creation help prepare students for the present and the future. Through the portfolio, future-ready librarians curate digital resources and tools, such as Adobe Creative Cloud express, build collaborative leadership and instructional partnerships, and most importantly, empower students as digital authors (All4Ed).
References
Chang, C. C., Liang, C., Shu, K. M., Tseng, K. H., & Lin, C. Y. (2016). Does using e-portfolios for reflective writing enhance high school students’ self-regulated learning?. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 25(3), 317–336.
Fowler. (2012). Developing a template for electronic portfolios in career and technical education. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
Future ready librarians playbook. (n.d.). All4Ed. Retrieved May 3, 2022, from https://futureready.org/frlplaybook/
Great Schools Partnership. (2016, February 18). Portfolio. Glossary of Education Reform. Retrieved April 6, 2022, from https://www.edglossary.org/portfolio/
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to learn: Introduction to digital literacy. Wiley/Blackwell.
Niguidula, D. (2010). Digital Portfolios and Curriculum Maps: Linking Teacher and Student Work. In Curriculum 21: Essential Education for a Changing World (pp. 153–167).
Renwick, M. (2017). Digital portfolios in the classroom: Showcasing and assessing student work. ASCD.
Zubizarreta, J. (2009). The learning portfolio: Reflective practice for improving student learning. Jossey-Bass.
