Through this course I am learning a lot more about the technology that is available for the classroom which is helping me to adapt lessons to incorporate more technology. One idea that I want to use in the near future is the online testing software called Hot Potatoes. It allows teachers to create questions for students who go online to answer them and then the information is recorded. (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p.144). This would allow for quick assessments and record keeping. I also like the idea of moving our portfolios to becoming online portfolios. We recently found out our school is doing away with the portfolio boxes that contain each student’s writing samples from each grade level. We were told they do not have enough time to sort through them each year to move the students’ files to their new teacher’s box. If the portfolios were online then they could be accessed very easily each year. Students will just need to save their work in a word document in order to upload it to a portfolio management system (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, 152). Does anyone currently use an online portfolio system with their students? If so, do you allow them to pick what writing they want to add to their portfolio or are they already selected by you? In my district, the teachers select only four writing samples, each being the marking period’s timed writing which gets scored using the state writing rubric. I would prefer to have the students pick which pieces they want to put in their portfolio, but I currently cannot do that. My second goal, growing as an educator, is being fulfilled by taking this course and learning about the technology available for teachers to us in the classroom. I am gaining a lot of resources and information that I can put into my lessons.
-Lauren Cogan
6-7 language arts
Reference:Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
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Hi.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I am interested in creating online portfolios. Right now, my kids keep all of their assignments for my Language Arts classes in a binder. Then, at the end of the year, we go through it. Originally, I only had the kids send on specific essays requested by the following grade. Last year, I had my kids put everything in order from the beginning of the year to the end, with the end of the year on the bottom. That way, the teachers would be able to see how far they'd come. Just recently I found out that the teachers don't even look at the assignments. Instead, they have the kids go through files and choose their ONE favorite. Now, if we had an online portfolio system in place, each year the kids could add to them. In fact, it would be really beneficial to see the progress all the way through high school.
If you are able to find an online system, please share!
Digs
Lauren-
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the idea of having online portfolios for students. I think it will prep them for college because I'm pretty sure most colleges and universities use an online portfolio. This way, students wouldn't struggle to gather all their writing pieces that are important to put in the portfolio, while it's already there :-) Love it!
Ashley