Digital Professional Portfolios: Digital Professional Portfolios:

Pathways to Professional Pathways to Professional DevelopmentDevelopment

Natalie B. Milman, Ph.D.

nmilman@gwu.edu

The George Washington University

Today’s Agenda Today’s Agenda

1. Overview/Introductions/Creation of a KWL Chart on digital professional portfolios

2. Multimedia presentation and examination of digital professional portfolios

3. Digital professional portfolios and high-quality professional development

4. Presentation/activity/discussion: Portfolio development process, standards, and professional development

5. Presentation and dialogue about technological approaches to digital professional portfolios

6. Revisiting the KWL chart and considering what was learned

Introductions Introductions

Describe name and position Describe your experience with portfolios

(if any--in general and/or digital portfolios)

Complete KWL chart (K-W parts only)

port*fo*lio (port*fo*lio (pOrt-'fO-lE-"O)pOrt-'fO-lE-"O)

a hinged cover or flexible case for carrying loose papers, pictures, or pamphlets,

[from the use of such a case to carry documents of state]: the office and functions of a minister of state or member of a cabinet, and

the securities held by an investor : the commercial paper held by a financial house (as a bank) a set of pictures (as drawings or photographs) either bound in book form or loose in a folder.

What is a portfolio?What is a portfolio?

A portfolio is a goal-driven, organized, collection of materials that demonstrates a person's expansion of knowledge and skills over time.

The contents, organization, and presentation of materials in portfolios vary depending on their audience and purpose.

Types of portfoliosTypes of portfolios Working Portfolios

– Descriptive– Learning

Presentation Portfolios– Assessment – Class – Employment– Professional– Showcase– Teaching

What are digital professional What are digital professional portfolios (DPP’s)?portfolios (DPP’s)?

Contain the same content traditional portfolios include but present these professional materials in digital format

Also referred to as multimedia portfolios, electronic portfolios, e-folios, webfolios, and electronically-augmented portfolios

Let’s look at some! Let’s look at some! http://home.gwu.edu/~nmilman/dphttp://home.gwu.edu/~nmilman/dp

1. What elements are common among the DPP’s you have examined?

2. Which portfolios did you like most? Explain why.3. Which portfolios did you like least? Explain why.4. What elements do you think are important to

include in a portfolio? Why? 5. What are the advantages and disadvantages to

creating DPP’s?6. Why would you create a digital portfolio as

opposed to a traditional (print-based) portfolio?

Which characteristics of high quality Which characteristics of high quality professional development are professional development are addressed by DPP’s?addressed by DPP’s?

What is the DPP development What is the DPP development process?process?

1. Planning the portfolio: Focus & frame

2. Considering portfolio contents: Collect, select, & reflect

3. Designing the portfolio: Organize & produce

4. Evaluating the portfolio: Perform formative & summative evaluation

5. Publishing the portfolio

Stage 1: Stage 1: Planning the DPPPlanning the DPP

Focusing the portfolio - determine the purpose of the portfolio and its intended audience. (RATIONALE)

Who is my audience? Why am I creating a portfolio?

Stage 1: Stage 1: Planning the DPP (cont’d)Planning the DPP (cont’d)

Framing - determine how to create continuity among the various components of the portfolio. (FRAMEWORK)

How can I create continuity? (theme, standards, question)

Why frame a Why frame a DPPDPP around around standards?standards?Your responses here:)

Which standards could be used?Which standards could be used?

Professional Standards:– State– ISLLC (administrators/school leaders)– NBPTS (experienced teachers)

Technology– ISTE (National)– State

Stage 2: Considering Stage 2: Considering DPPDPP Contents Contents

Collect

Select Reflect

What items should be collected?What items should be collected?

Artifacts

An artifact is “tangible evidence that indicates the attainment of knowledge and skills and the ability to apply understandings to complex tasks” (Campbell, Melenyzer, Nettles & Wyman, 2000, p. 147).

Artifact examplesArtifact examples

Educational/leadership philosophy statement

Résumé School mission statement Professional development plan Student achievement data Photos Lesson plans School budget

What items should be What items should be collected/created?collected/created?

Supporting documentation

Items that do not fit into “artifact” definition. Such items provide information about the person/portfolio, but are not artifacts.

Supporting documentation examplesSupporting documentation examples

Table of contents Authorship statement Credits Rationale or introductory statement Dedication

Selection guidelinesSelection guidelines

Examine as many artifacts as possible (i.e., lesson plans, student work samples, etc.)

Determine which artifacts support the framework by asking the following questions about each artifact:

Selection guidelines Selection guidelines (cont’d)(cont’d)

Does this artifact/item meet the criteria for which I am framing my portfolio? How?

Is this artifact/item the best example(s) I can use for demonstrating these criteria? If so, why? If not, why not?

Should I include this artifact/item in my portfolio? Why? Why not?

Selection guidelines Selection guidelines (cont’d)(cont’d)

Create a chart of the artifacts, how they correlate with specific standards, and how they rate (i.e., definitely include or maybe)

INTASC Principles Artifact Rating LocationLetter ofreference

Maybe 2001 student tchngfiles

Principle #1: The teacher understands the centralconcepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s)he or she teaches and can create learning experiences thatmake these aspects of subject matter meaningful forstudents.

Recyclingunit

Yes! Fall 2001 Sciencemethods folder

Educationalphilosophystatement

Yes! Fall 2001 TRED220 class folder

ISLLC standardsISLLC standardsISLLC

Standards

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Stage 2: ReflectingStage 2: Reflecting

“A [digital] portfolio without reflection is just a multimedia presentation, or a fancy electronic résumé, or a digital scrapbook” (Barrett, 2000)

Reflection is...Reflection is...

"a drawing together of long strands of connections, the weaving together of experiences, theory, and practices into meaning for the individual teacher and a kind of construction of knowledge – a knowledge of teaching practice" (Lyons, 1998, p. 106).

Reflective questioningReflective questioning

How does this artifact demonstrate competence in a particular standard?

Why did I include this artifact (why is it important to me)?

What did I learn as a result of using/creating this artifact?

How would I do things differently as a result of the artifact?

Stage 3: Designing the PortfolioStage 3: Designing the Portfolio

Organizing Creating a table of contents (toc) Putting artifacts into different

categories in the toc Creating storyboard Creating a design grid (layout of web

pages)

Stage 3: Designing the PortfolioStage 3: Designing the Portfolio

Before Producing - Consider Skills Portfolio development process Resources (Software, Hardware,

People) Need to digitize artifacts Time

Stage 3: Designing the PortfolioStage 3: Designing the Portfolio

Producing Transforming artifacts and supporting

documentation into digital format Creating, testing, and building the portfolio from

a template

Stage 4: Evaluating the PortfolioStage 4: Evaluating the Portfolio

Conducting both formative and summative evaluation (involve “critical friends in the process)

Revising the portfolio

Stage 5: Publishing the PortfolioStage 5: Publishing the Portfolio

FTP to WWW Save on CD, DVD, Zip disk Print a Hard copy

SHARING of portfolio with students, colleagues, administrators, professors

Tools for creating DPP’sTools for creating DPP’s

Aurbach & Associate’sTeacher’s portfolio Taskstream Road’s E-portfolio- Chalk and Wire PowerPoint KidPix Hyperstudio HTML Adobe Acrobat

Factors to consider when selecting Factors to consider when selecting tools for creating DPPstools for creating DPPs

Technical skills Availability Difficulty Support Transferability Support for various media formats

Factors to consider when selecting Factors to consider when selecting tools for creating DPPs (cont’d)tools for creating DPPs (cont’d)

Multimedia environments Platforms Technical requirements Hardware and software required for

viewing Audience skills required for viewing

What have you learned about digital professional portfolios?

DPP DPP Commandments(Kilbane & Milman, 2003)(Kilbane & Milman, 2003)

When in doubt DON'T throw it out! Do it digital! Be organized, not frustrated! Log it or lose it! If it is nice, save it thrice! Be careful, not sorry! Give credit where credit is due! Do unto others as you would have done unto you. Create and stick to a timeline!

ReferencesReferences

Barrett, H. (2000). Electronic portfolios = multimedia development + portfolio development the electronic portfolio development process. Retrieved July 23, 2001, from http://www.electronicportfolios.com/portfolios/EPDevProcess.html#stage3

Campbell, D.M., Melenyzer, B.J., Nettles, D.H., & Wyman, R.M. (2000). Portfolio and performance assessment. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Council of Chief State School Officers. (1996). Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium Standards For School Leaders. Retrieved December 1, 2004 from http://www.ccsso.org/content/pdfs/isllcstd.pdf.

Kilbane, C.R., & Milman, N.B. (2003). The digital teaching portfolio handbook: A how-to guide for educators. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Lyons, N. (1998). Grant, G. E., & Huebner, T. A. (1998). Portfolios and their consequences: Developing as a reflective practitioner. In Lyons, N. (Ed). With portfolio in hand: Validating the new teacher professionalism (pp. 23-27). New York: Teachers College Press.

U.S. Department of Education. (2000). Building bridges: The mission & principles of professional development. Retrieved January 29, 2002, from http://www.ed.gov/G2K/bridge.html