A DIGITAL LEARNING JOURNAL

The Possibilities are Endless…

Unleash its Power

The POSSIBILITIES and POWER of

USING DIGITAL PORTFOLIOS

What did you do in school

Today?

The answer is no longer - NOTHING…

Digital Portfolios Spark the Conversation between Parents, Students, and Teachers

Share and Save A Year’s worth of

Learning

Before Digital Portfolios-

A Disorganized Mess

Now - Digital Portfolios

Organized, Accessible, Saved

All work can be

saved and stored,

including digital

projects and videos.

Why Use Digital Portfolios?

? ● Demonstrate Learning

students can demonstrate their learning

in a variety of ways. Pictures, videos,

audio recording, “tech” projects and

traditional paper and pencil work

products can all be shared in a digital

portfolio.

● Differentiation - Students can choose how

they share their learning and Reflect on

the items chosen.

Why Use Digital Portfolios?

? ● Easy Accessibility -

Parents and other teachers can easily access

a student’s digital portfolio from anywhere.

No more worrying about lost papers or

papers that are not returned. Parents can

view portfolios when it is convenient.

● Growth over Time -

Digital portfolios allow students to

demonstrate their growth over longer periods

of time. Traditional portfolios often get

discarded or stored in a central location.

Why Use Digital Portfolios?

? ● Ownership -

Portfolios help students develop a sense

of belonging and to own their learning.

● Motivation -

The most important value of a digital

portfolio is the intrinsic boost to a

student’s self-confidence. They can

clearly see their own accomplishments.

That self-confidence is a key to the

student’s future success.

Types of Portfolios

Looking back, building forward, reflecting

Collection Showcase Assessment Reflection

reflection, looking back and building forward can unleash the full power of a

portfolio. These ideas naturally evolve during the process, it is not something

extra you have to do.,

● Student samples

● Demonstrations and

understanding of a

learning activity

● Reflections

● Assignments

● Everyday work

products

Collection

Portfolios

● Introduce

yourself as a

digital learner

● Strengths

● Weaknesses

● Best Work

Samples

Showcase

Portfolios

● Upload

assessments

● Analyze

● Compare

● Use Data for

Parent/teacher

conferences

● Collect Data

Assessment

Portfolios

● Upload items

for further

reflection and

analysis

● Set goals

● Evaluate

● Growth

Mindset

Reflection

Portfolios

Ideas for Portfolios

● Writing samples

● Technology projects

● Explanations of a process or concept

● Read alouds

● Music lessons

● responses

● Stories, writing pieces

● Reflections

● The Possibilities are endless…. (Whatever

you can create, you can share.)

Why Seesaw?

Why Seesaw?

● Captures student learning in any Form

● Collects student work from any device

● Journals are organized and accessible

● Ability to sign in with options for all types of

classrooms (1:1 devices, shared devices)

● Encourages deeper learning and reflection

● Gives all students an authentic audience

● Helps global connections

● Strengthens connections between home and

school

● Provides a venue to share digital learning

Show What you Know

Organized & Accessible

Teachers and

students can

organize their

posts into folders

for easy access.

Collect Student Work

Develop an authentic

audience

Parents, teachers,

administrators, and

students can comment on

posts.

Share with

others

PRINTABLE PDFS

w/QR CODES

Create a PDF of any

Seesaw item w/ a unique

QR code that links to that

item. Just tap the (...)

button and choose “Print”

on the Seesaw website.

Students submit an item to their Seesaw feed They share

what they know, reflect on the post and add comments.

Teachers, Principals, and Parents can comment on items

posted.

Encourage Deeper Thinking

and Reflection

TOOLS:

Record

draw

caption

Video

Encourage Deeper Thinking

and Reflection

This is my genius hour project that I did a while back. I built a mini car using a few tools that can find in your house, or in old CD player. This was, by, so, so, so, so, far, my favorite project, and part of the year. I could go on for pages and pages about how much I liked this project, how much concentration it took to make it, and how challenging it actually was but I'd like to keep it short. With just a few tools I was able to make a "robot" in fifth grade. The reason that I put robot in quotations was because when you think of a robot you think of a man basically made out of metal, but this is still technically a robot. I would definitely recommend to do genius hour next year. There's no doubt about that. But I wouldn't make somebody build a mini car. This was very hard and you will mess up. Do not try this AT ALL if you think you are going to succeed in the first try. However, if you do mess up do not quit. If you quit everything you mess up in life on the first try, your life would not be good at all. And finally the number of times I messed up. Now, I did not say this so you could try and beat this, I said this so you could understand you are going to mess up. I messed up 63 times. Although you mess up, I definetly think this is a project every one should try.

First Grade Shows What they Know!

Digital portfolios

allow students to

share their

technology projects

- in the past these

items were “trapped”

on a device. Students

can save their work

and share it with

others! It is saved

for future reference

and reflection!An example of “app-smashing” : Thinglink, Chatterpix and Seesaw.

Strengthen Connections

between school and home

Parents get

notifications when

items are added.

They can view the

items whenever

they choose.

Digital portfolios

provide a starting

point for

conversations with

their child.

Parents love SeesawComments from Stoy School Parents

- “Love getting the updates during the day. Brightens the work day and gives us things to talk about during the evening. “

- “I love SEESAW because it allows parents insight into the classroom and lets me see on a daily basis some of the creative activities my child is doing. I enjoy discussing the posts when they get home from school because it allows them a chance to tell me more about each post.”

Parents love SeesawComments from Stoy School Parents

- “We love SEESAW! Such an amazing tool! It helps parents feel connected to their children and their school! I look forward to all of the Seesaw posts I receive.”

- “Seesaw has been one of my favorite pieces of technology utilized by our class. I look forward to the posts and feel more connected to what is going on in the classroom!”

Teachers love Seesaw

- “I love using Seesaw to share what my students are learning and creating. Seesaw has transformed the way I communicate and share information and student work. Without Seesaw, I wouldn’t have a forum to share some of the amazing technology projects my students create. My students have become more reflective learners this year because they have to make comments and reflect on items they post. They also have the opportunity to see their own personal growth and progress over time. I love having everything in one place for easy accessibility. It is truly a snapshot of a year’s worth of learning.” (Brenda Morrow, Grade 5 Stoy)

- “Seesaw provides a platform by which my students can creatively share their learning with their families. Parents were amazed how much we are doing in the classroom once they had an inside look. It is a great conversation starter for parents to begin to talk about specific learning experiences with their children at home. “ (Mae Valenzuela, Grade 1 Stoy)

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Stoytchrs.wordpress.com

Or

Follow us on twitter

@Stoytchrs

Stoy TeachersStoy Elementary School

Haddon Township Public Schools

Haddon Twp., NJ

Brenda Morrow @iteach5m

Randi Harris @followfourth

Laura Dugan @stoyteam3d

Laura Roberts @ilove2R

Mae Valenzuela @hollyn1214

And

Dr. Charles Warfield @CAWedD