Teacher in Development

I’m fascinated.

Today I was reading and responding to comments left on my post about ePortfolios, and I found Graham’s comments around the need to model portfolio use for students to be very thought provoking. 

He asked:

"… have you given thought to being the role model and setting up your own e-portfolio and learning alongside your students. That way, you aren’t imposing your idea on them but rolling up your sleeves (metaphorically) and pitching in with them."

That made me think.

In my last post, one of the "big questions" I had been wrestling with was around encouraging students to "buy" the whole portfolio process in the first place. Could this be part of the solution?

I think Graham is on the right track here. A few hours after I read his reply I came across this link in my bloglines account. I’ve set a feed up to monitor delicious postings which have to do with portfolios - here’s the link if you want to do the same thing: del.icio.us/tag/eportfolio

Delicious led me here:PORTFOLIO LIBRARY: Planning and Design Guide : see Exercise  2: WHAT GENERAL PORTFOLIO SKILLS DO WE NEED TO TEACH?

He opens with two very interesting approaches to deploying portfolios: the folder approach vs. the model approach.  It was a good smack in the head for me, as I found myself showing up a bit in the "folder" story. Now I know where I need to migrate to…and quickly.

 I do have a very weak blogfolio on the go, but with these new ideas before me I now see that I need to pump my own portfolio up if I want to successfully use it with my students.

It makes beautifully simple sense: If you’re not a "folio thinker" yourself, how can you expect your student to become one?

Take a few minutes and read Kimeldorf’s  story of how he has been using portfolios: he’s passionate about them. Passion is catchy.

Related resources for future exploration:

Why Engage with Electronic Portfolios? 

Engagement with Electronic Portfolios: Challenges from the Student Perspective.