eportfolios for educators

ePortfolios for educators

Dr Nicola Pallitt Lecturer, Centre for Innovation in

Learning and Teaching (CILT)

University of Cape Town

Contact me:nicola.pallitt@uct.ac.zahttp://niccipallitt.wordpress.com@nicolapallitt

on Twitter

What is an ePortfolio?A purposeful digital collection that…• Provides evidence of an educator’s

teaching (classes you’ve taught & grade level, sample lesson plans, student testimonials, letters of recommendation, awards),

• Demonstrates teaching as reflective practice (your teaching philosophy, your teaching style, reflections on lessons taught, etc),

• Showcases your professional bio & CV, • Demonstrates your continuing education

and creativity

What is an ePortfolio?BUT…There are MANY definitions & uses

No one ‘correct’ way to design it – depends on how you wish to use it & the audience you envision

What is common: inward & outward lookingPROCESS & PRODUCT

How does an ePortfolio differ from a teaching portfolio?• Using the affordances of digital

media• Artefacts for supported reflection

(documents, photos, video clips, etc.)

• Ethics RE online sharing sometimes depends on school, does your school have an Internet policy?

Audience

Purpose Message

Educator

Audience

Purpose Message

Educator

• Potential employers• Fellow educators• Parents and learners

Audience

Purpose Message

Educator

• Job seeking, showcasing for potential employers

• Reflecting on teaching to improve practice

• Participating in online communities of educators around shared interests

Audience

Purpose Message

Educator

• Hire me!• I’m a reflective educator• Let’s share and learn from each other

• I’m keeping you updated on what’s happening in my classroom

Examples

Differences: ePortfolios & blogs

Links to best work, awards, PDF of CV, etc. What you include depends on how you intend to use it.More static presence?Less maintenance, desire to update less frequently?Professional ‘me’ stuff only?

Try About.me or Tackk.com

General ePortfolio situation: When you are being assessed by someone as a professional

A blog by definition is presented in reverse chronological order with the newest entries at the top= Always moving forward

bPortfolio (Helen Barrett)

You can use a blogging platform to create an ePortfolio It’s not WHAT you use but the PURPOSE you use it for How often to post? Up to you

• Read this post: http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/4435• Nice ePortfolio too

Common elements of an ePortfolio• Teaching philosophy / statement• Evidence of experience, learning &

professional development• Lesson plans• Classroom artefacts• Photographs of learners – ethical issues• Reflective accounts of teaching practice• CV• See Norms & Standards for Educators Policy

doc & think of creative ways you can demonstrate these competencies

What platform can I use?• WordPress• WikiSpaces• Google sites• About.me• Tackk.com• WixPurpose before platform

“It is no longer enough to do powerful work if no one sees it”.

- Chris Lehmann

Where can I see your powerful work?

Thank you

Interesting cool stuff to take a look at…

"What I'd done was written a casual blog," she wrote in a post on Saturday to address the issue. She argues she kept her blog "as anonymous as possible" and never named names of students or disclosed her location.

Munroe's attorney Steve Rovner argues she did nothing wrong, even if she offended people. "There's no Internet policy at her school district. She was free to write and she free to express herself; it was like a personal diary," he told ABC.

Great resource See https://tackk.com/eportfolios