Over the past few years I have been lucky enough to see and speak to many different educators about an array of topics. One topic that keeps coming up is the ability to show students learning progression over time. Sure you have assignments and quizzes to help with this process, but I personally feel nothing shows this progression more than a digital portfolio. Digital portfolios give students the opportunity to take ownership over their learning and showcase/explain what they have learned. Digital portfolios enable students to reflect on their learning, select pieces of work they are proud of and ulitmately give them a voice.
So how do we go about creating these portfolios?
There are many tools to create digital portfolios, but recently I started using the Explain Everything app to chart this learning over time. As many of you are aware, Explain Everything has many features to embed and combine different types of media in one file. I love the flexibility of inserting videos, pictures, audio recording and writing all in one location. Having these options fosters a dynamic way to show students learning. Students can create an Explain Everything file, add pictures of their work and supplement them with their ideas. They can also record video/audio to reflect on their learning or things they want to learn about. Having this ability to reflect allows them to actively participate in their learning process. These entries can be made daily, weekly, monthly or any time line that suits the students and teachers needs. The great thing about creating digital portfolios is the students can go back and reflect on their past learning experiences and see the progressions they have been making throughout the year. Digital portfolios are also a fantastic way to keep parents informed on what their children are learning. Explain Everything makes all these things easy as files can be shared on many different platforms and file formats.
So, if you looking for a way to give your students a voice and make them aware of their learning I highly recommend creating a digital portfolio.
So how do we go about creating these portfolios?
There are many tools to create digital portfolios, but recently I started using the Explain Everything app to chart this learning over time. As many of you are aware, Explain Everything has many features to embed and combine different types of media in one file. I love the flexibility of inserting videos, pictures, audio recording and writing all in one location. Having these options fosters a dynamic way to show students learning. Students can create an Explain Everything file, add pictures of their work and supplement them with their ideas. They can also record video/audio to reflect on their learning or things they want to learn about. Having this ability to reflect allows them to actively participate in their learning process. These entries can be made daily, weekly, monthly or any time line that suits the students and teachers needs. The great thing about creating digital portfolios is the students can go back and reflect on their past learning experiences and see the progressions they have been making throughout the year. Digital portfolios are also a fantastic way to keep parents informed on what their children are learning. Explain Everything makes all these things easy as files can be shared on many different platforms and file formats.
So, if you looking for a way to give your students a voice and make them aware of their learning I highly recommend creating a digital portfolio.
