Participants will review examples of student portfolios across grade levels.

Participants will have hands-on experience using the web for:

• creating entries for student portfolios and teacher portfolios
• linking student work to academic standards
• linking teacher artifacts to a school's goals

Participants will learn how digital portfolios can be used to demonstrate student progress toward standards and a school's odyssey towards its own goals.

Participants will also learn techniques for using portfolios in parent-teacher conferences and for as part of a student assessment system.

Outline

The half-day workshop will be divided into three parts. First, we will focus on examining examples of student portfolios from elementary and secondary schools. As we review these samples, participants will learn how to "read" a portfolio, using a rubric to evaluate the student or teacher work against a set of standards.
Second, participants will learn how these student portfolios can be built. Participants will use the Richer Picture digital portfolio tool to add sample entries to the portfolio. We will be able to use multimedia tools, such as iPods and digital cameras to generate sample work.

Third, we will focus on what it takes to bring portfolios to a school. Each participant will consider how his or her school could address a set of "essential questions." (Versions of these questions were used for the NECC Technology and Assessment "gallery walks." during the past four NECC Technology and Assessment Forum pre-conferences.)

• What purpose does your portfolio serve?
• Who is the primary audience for this portfolio?
• What technology is used? How is it supported?
• How are the portfolios assessed, and how does the student receive feedback?
• How do you arrange the logistics of time and space so that portfolios can be completed?
• What will make the portfolio valued and valuable to your school?

Using these questions, participants will be able to work with web-based tools to begin to design a portfolio geared for their schools. In this short time period, participants will only get a quick glimpse of the overall process of creating and reviewing a portfolio. However, participants should understand that portfolios need to be more than collections of artifacts; successful portfolios are those that reflect progress toward a larger vision.

Supporting Research

Digital portfolios have been the focus of research papers dating back to David Niguidula’s original research for the Coalition of Essential Schools (1993-1997). Key articles have been published in Educational Leadership, most recently in November 2005. The presenter has written extensively on the topic, and the work has been included in several research volumes, including the 2004 and 2005 European Institute for E-Learning (EIFE-L) annual conference proceedings and the Handbook of Research on ePortfolios (A. Jafari, C. Kaufman, eds. - Idea Group, 2006).

Presenter Background

David Niguidula led the first research project on digital portoflios for K-12 in the 1990's. Through his firm, Ideas Consulting, Dr. Niguidula has worked with schools across the country and around the work on the implementation of digital portfolios. His research focuses on both the technology and assessment aspects of implementing portfolios.

In Rhode Island, David has been instrumental in helping schools use digital portfolios as a new statewide high school graduation requirement; in New Hampshire, David and his firm were contracted by the state to provide professional development to help districts implement portfolios to demonstate the state's ICT standards (based on the NETS*S).