Portfolio Project- Update #4

I was beginning to lose hope in terms of my portfolio project, but suddenly everything brightened up a bit. We figured out a way to have the students use Google Sites for the portfolio by making their sites private and only allowing specific users to see and/or collaborate by invitation. This will allow the teachers and myself access, but not the general public. Once the students graduate, they can choose to make their site public or to keep it private.

We have also double checked with the student logins to ensure that we will not run up against any filtering issues when the students start to make and maintain their sites. So far, no problems!

We had a great planning session two weeks ago where we came up with specifics for portfolio contents and a timeline and general idea of a due date. I plan to focus on this project with these two classes, and then next year, I can roll it out to more.

Portfolio Project- Update #3

Things have stagnated slightly in terms of the porfolio project. We have run up against things such as privacy issues and posting information online. Requests have been made in terms of ways we could still do this project and have it be something the students can take with them, but no results as of yet. So, today, I am thinking it may be easier to take this back a few notches and do something slightly less all-encompassing. I don't want their interest to wane, and I don't want them to be frustrated by the red tape. I think the next best step is going to be to meet with each department individually and see what we come up with in terms of their instructional blueprint for the next few months.

Portfolio Project- Update #2

And we mustn't forget that everything is a learning process! I may have gotten a little ahead of myself with the wiki-- in terms of putting it out there without any personal explanation of its purpose. But I was able to hold a very brief, informal training session with a few today that helped a bit. I need to remember that face-to-face meetings are beneficial, too! I think I get sucked into sitting in front of this computer screen, and I forget that others may not be so comfortable, savvy, or interested. So before I frustrate my pioneers, I am going to work a little more closely with them at the start, and then, once everyone is comfortable, we can take some time apart to reflect and brainstorm. We'll file this under lessons learned.

Portfolio Project- Update #1

Exciting news! I created a wiki on Wikispaces for the pioneers in my building who have agreed to work on implementing an online portfolio project with their students. So far, I have had one teacher create her account and post a reply to the discussion board. We are taking small steps, and I am trying not to get over-zealous and inundate them with too much, but at the very least I posted a Common Craft wiki video to give them some background on what a wiki is. I also hope this experience with a wiki will provide the impetus for implementing wikis with their students. I couldn't help but mention how this could be integrated in their curriculums and urged them to think towards that as we used the wiki to plan our projects. Right now, we are all using one space to plan, but I am guessing that as we progress, we will need to divide into smaller groups that are more specific to their subject areas. I hope that this will begin an evolution towards top-notch technology integration at the Tech Center!