Electronic Portfolios Tell a Personal Story: An Electronic Portfolio Is a Concise, Annotated Collection of Student Work That Reflects Educational Standards

Tuttle, Harry Grover, Multimedia Schools

Last year when my wife and I went to the parent-teacher conference for our son, James, the teacher explained that James had earned a B in English and handed us a pile of his graded papers. This year at James' parent-teacher conference, James himself demonstrated what English skills he had learned by showing us his electronic portfolio containing scanned-in compositions, pictures of his community project, a movie about him tutoring other students, an oral reflection on his government project, and more. Also, he had a screen listing skills he still needed to master. The electronic portfolio revealed much about our son's learning.

Regardless of whether your school uses "traditional" letter grading systems or has "restructured" student assessment, electronic portfolios showcase the breadth and depth of student learning. Some would argue that letter grading systems of A, B, and C--or even systems with numbers like 82, 92, and so forth--are subjective and not based on solid, demonstrable criteria. Others would argue that restructured authentic assessment, while demonstrable, is not uniformly measurable. In a restructured environment, instead of grades, the student receives a checklist of what goals and competencies he or she has achieved and to what degree.

WHAT IS AN ELECTRONIC PORTFOLIO?

An electronic portfolio is a concise, annotated collection of student work that reflects educational standards. After teachers have established the goals and competencies, students identify their level of mastery and provide proof of learning. Since students usually select their own samples, they are responsible for selecting work that best demonstrates the richness and depth of their learning. They decide if a digitized drawing, a digitized play excerpt, or a scanned-in graph best shows their learning. Electronic portfolios usually tie student work to the district standards.

James' portfolio is typical. It starts off with his name, his grade, his picture, and an oral message recorded by him. On the next screen, he lists skills based on school standards. (It could have been district, …

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Publication information: Article title: Electronic Portfolios Tell a Personal Story: An Electronic Portfolio Is a Concise, Annotated Collection of Student Work That Reflects Educational Standards. Contributors: Tuttle, Harry Grover - Author. Magazine title: Multimedia Schools. Volume: 4. Issue: 1 Publication date: January-February 1997. Page number: 32. © Not available. COPYRIGHT 1997 Gale Group.

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