ePortfolios in Practice
July 12, 2023 from 9am - 3pm
I was interested in the TST BOCES ePortfolio Workshop as I wanted to glean anything that could to improve the implementation and usage of ePortfolios to allow learners to show their growth. I was excited to hear what Sten had to share as he is dedicated to creating a system that makes portfolio usage easier for interested folks.
Purpose
Experience what it might look, sound and feel like to use an ePortfolio to document and reflect upon a learning experience so that you feel more confident guiding students in using an ePortfolio during a learning experience.
Learning Objectives
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CREATE and CURATE a Google Site (Wix) page to share the process and products of learning.
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IDENTIFY ways to integrate ePortfolio use in classroom systems and instructional units.
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ARTICULATE a purpose for using an ePortfolio with students.
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IDENTIFY a unit or learning sequence that lends itself to ePortfolio use.
What I Know and Want to Learn
Our initial PL introduction had us learn about the design challenge we were being given and how this experience would be shown in our ePortfolio. After the introduction Sten and Ben asked us to reflect on the three questions below and make an audio reflection using Vocaroo.
What do you know and feel confident about given the task description?
What do you hope to learn about and be able to do by completing this task?
How do you feel about completing this project? Explain any of your excitement, curiosity, or worries.
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I was hesitant at first about recording my voice and using Vocaroo (I have WeVideo!!) but realized it was just me being afraid of making a mistake and being embarrassed so I plunged forward!
Task and the micro:bit
Remix a computer program to create a device that uses the hardware inputs and outputs of a micro:bit to help people enhance their well-being
OUTPUTS
LED Screen with 25 pixels
Speaker
INPUTS
A and B Button
Microphone
Identify the outputs and inputs in the micro:bit.
microfit:bit v2
Sten guided us to makecode and supplied the start of a program for a step counter.
I had used Scratch in the past but definitely was not super confident as we started this project. I eventually did created a finished product but due to not listening during the explanation mine was not able to be paused.
Thoughts on Reflection
One of the most useful bits of knowledge that Sten shared with us was the idea of "progressive" levels of reflection discussed in, "Reflection in Teacher Education: Towards Definition and Implementation". His description of the work and further reading showed me a pathway that increased the complexity of reflection and gave me a direction for learner growth.
Hatton and Smith (1995)
Hatton and Smith described four progressive levels of reflection, with each increased level indicating more/better reflective processes.
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Descriptive – this is not reflection, but simply describes events that occurred with no attempt to describe ‘why.’
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Descriptive Reflection – description includes reasons, but simply reports reasons.
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Dialogic Reflection – reflection as a personal dialogue (questioning, considering alternatives).
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wonder, what if, perhaps….
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Critical Reflection – takes into account context in which events occur, questions assumptions, considers alternatives, thinks about consequences of decisions/actions on others, and engages in reflective skepticism.