Kimberly Noe

ETEC 424.01W

Professor Wolfe

April 10, 2019

Discussion 5: Folio Thinking

An academic portfolio is a collection of a students academic work it can include

things such as their learning progress and academic achievement, determine if a student has met

the learning standards to move on to the next grade, helps students reflect on their goals, and

even creates an archive of their academic accomplishments. A portfolio can come in many forms

such as folders or notebooks. Keeping paper copies of everything a student has done over the

years can be complicated to keep track of. With the use of technology on the rise ePortfolios

have become a much more efficient way to keep organized. An academic ePortfolio is a digital

collection of work that shows what a student has learned during a course ("ePortfolios

Explained: Theory and Practice", 2019) . This is a great way for teachers to keep track of a

student’s progress with just a click instead of flipping through a stack of paperwork. These

online portfolios can be full of a students work from a course such as essays, power points, and

videos that the students have created themself. Eportfolios also show a reflection of the materials

posted by the student.

Assessments of learning are given after a teacher has finished a unit or a grading period

for a school district has ended. Assessments of learning are mainly used to see how much a

student has learned and is compared to the rest of their grade, district, and other students around

the state (Bennett, 2007). A good example of assessments of learning is benchmark testings. At

the school I work at students are given the same benchmark test at the beginning, middle, and
end of the school year to track their progress throughout the year. Assessments for learning on

the other hand assess a students understanding of a skill while the unit is being taught.

Assessments for learning is a way that teachers are able to identify at-risk students early on

before it is too late to get the help they need so they can change the lesson and motiter the

classes’ progress (Bennett, 2007). ePortfolios are a way for students to show off their best work

from throughout the course. It is a great way for students who may have a hard time with the

course to show off their best work and hopefully earn a higher “grade” in the class. By doing this

students also do not have to go through the stress of studying and preparing for a final. The

student will be able to personalize and keep working on their ePortfolio all semester to present a

final link for their instructor to evaluate.

An ePortfolio can be considered a “lifelong” document because it can be constantly be

updated throughout a person’s learning career. The longer a person keeps updating their Portfolio

over time the longer they are able to keep up with how much they have grown educationally over

time (Lorenzo & Ittleson, 2005). Also, the longer an ePortfolio is updated it will benefit a

student’s teachers by being able to see what a certain student may have struggled or excelled in

previous grades. Teachers are able to look back where a student has struggled and look for new

ways to teach a lesson to where the students can hopefully understand. An ePortfolio can also be

considered a “life-wide” document because the portfolio can help a person learn new technical

skills. For example, while taking ETEC 424 I have learned many new technology skills that I

plan on teaching my students as well the future to a certain extent depending on their grade level

and learning abilities. Before I started this course I had no idea that a powerpoint could be

converted to a YouTube video. I think this would be a great way to record lessons and give the
students access to them so they can hear the lesson multiple times for review or if they were

absent they can still hear the lesson.

 Works Cited

Bennett, J. (2007, December 8). Assessment FOR Learning vs. Assessment OF Learning.

Retrieved April 10, 2019, from https://www.classroomassessments.com/blog/assessment-for-

learning-vs.-assessment-of-learning

EPortfolios Explained: Theory and Practice. (2019, March 04). Retrieved April 10, 2019,

from https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-

tips/educational-technologies/all/eportfolios

Lorenzo, G., & Ittleson, J. (2005, December). An Overview of E-Portfolios. Retrieved

April 10, 2019, from http://case.edu/artsci/cosi/cspl/documents/eportfolio-

Educausedocument.pdf
 Responses

Response to Madison Shaw: Your post was very well thought out. You made lots of valid

points. ePortfolios are great for resumes and future employers. They also give teachers a better

understanding of a students background. And you made a great point when you mentioned about

ePortfolios being not only a good resource for teachers, but for everyday society as well.

Response to Bailey Arthur: I really enjoyed reading your post! I agree that having peer

interactions with each others ePortfolios helps us understand the concepts better. Personally, if I

do not understand an assignment I will look back at someone else’s just to kind of get a general

idea of what I am supposed to do especially since this is a strictly online class it can be easy to

misunderstand instructions. You gave a great explanation of assessments for and of learning as

well!

Response to Brandon Leavell: I really like how you included a comparison of traditional

portfolios and ePortfolios. You also did a great job comparing assessment of and for learning and

provided good examples. I agree that ePortfolios are a great way for students to show off their

best work and can share only what they want others to see. I also agree that ePortfolios are a

great way for students to keep track of their self-assessment strategies as they continue to learn

new skills through life.