Thing 31 Digital Portfolios

I am interested in starting electronic portfolios next year so most of my work for this topic is reading about how they work and the advantages.


Portfolios are a great way for students to track their growth. As a school we are reflecting on our grading policies with an eye to give students as many opportunities as possible to grow and improve. This means students will have more opportunities for retakes on quizzes and tests and a greater expectation for revision in writing. Electronic portfolios would be another important piece to support that initiative.


Another important emphasis in our school is connecting with parents. Electronic portfolios would allow parents to not only know about the assignments given, but they will be able to read their children's work and the feedback provided by the teacher. This will give them a platform for discussion about school work with their children and an opportunity to communicate more clearly with their child's teacher.


My plan is to lay out the assignments for the year over the summer. Then I will create the rubrics for each piece. I will also work to adjust my grading emphasis to include twenty percent of the grade for growth and improvement. Portfolios will be an important tool to support my classroom objectives and my school-wide objectives.