Summary
By definition a portfolio is a collection of an individual’s education, work samples, and skills. This lesson empowers students to create their own virtual portfolio that will not only showcase their writing, but will facilitate the making of cross county, peer-to-peer connections. Students will draw upon their own personal experiences to write about a variety topics that are relevant to them. They will use the experiences to form a relationship with a peer (outside of their home school) who will serve as a collaborator throughout the online writing process. These connections will bridge the gap between geographical boundaries and student experiences all while allowing students to become creators of their own digital content to be shared with a global audience.
TIPC Ratings
The lesson started with students researching information about online portfolios. They worked in small groups to conduct research about online portfolios and about me pages. They were responsible for developing questions in order to guide their research. They used virtual collaborative spaces to share their findings and make decisions about what information to include in their portfolios. Each school entered their ideas into a collaborative document that was then used to make final decisions and the project rubric.
This lesson provides students with the opportunity to make cross-county connections with their peers through online writing. Students communicated and collaborated through their portfolios and were able to interact with peers they wouldn’t normally have access to because of geographical boundaries. Students interacted and provided feedback through their sites. Students on opposite ends of the county were able to post comments and chat in real about items contained within their writing portfolios and use the experience to develop new insights and understandings about content and technological connections. Students continually reflected on their role as a communicator and peer editor and used those reflections to set future goals for growth. One student even mentioned how they are going to continue chatting with their new found peer and continue to add to their portfolio into the next school year. Videoconferencing tools will be used to make further connections and provide students with the opportunity to have synchronous communications with their writing “pal”.
In this lesson students were presented a variety of prompts that required them to delve deep into the content and make informed decisions about how they wanted to represent their beliefs through writing. The prompts were SOL driven, but by having the class respond to the prompts using the online portfolio as their tool took this mundane task to the next level hereby allowing for authentic learning and more autonomy to occur in the classroom.
Students created meaningful portfolios within the assignment parameters. Student “About Me” pages provided them with the opportunity to creatively communicate information about themselves as an introduction to their writing pal. Students incorporated a plethora of media rich images, video, and other various widgets to enhance the overall look and feel of their website. Students reflected on their creative process and used this reflection to set goals for future work.
