Student Reflection with Digital Portfolios

Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action. – Peter Drucker

A year ago, I created a technology course on Moodle for Spanish teachers as part of the Ministry of Education of Spain. The teachers are very new to web tools, developing Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) and are currently teaching full time. The course is task based and I’m fortunate to be one of the instructors. The course will soon be over so I am grading their reflective eportfolio final projects. I look forward to grading their reflective eportfolios, because this is when my students begin to look back at their learning journey and see how much they’ve grown. Three months ago these teachers were new to integrating digital storytelling projects, integrating technology, social bookmarking, and connecting with teachers online. After the course, they have contributed to our collaborative Pinterest boards, created and shared on Twitter, attempted missions and received digital badges, and kept digital portfolios. Many students let me know how much they appreciate learning about technology integration and how to develop PLNs, which you can see from the tweet I received from one of my students below. Keep reading to discover how to get your students reflecting on their learning in your course with a digital portfolio.

Creating Reflective Portfolio Presentations

Students are asked to create a reflective audio/visual presentation in which they reflect on a task, reading, and resource (tool, app, website, game, database, video or program) for each module. Their presentations should include screenshots, links, and examples. Students are asked to describe what they learned from the resources and explain how they will specifically apply this knowledge in the real world. More instructions are included in the slide presentation below, which is free to download.

Reflective Learning with Student Digital Portfolios from Shelly Sanchez Terrell

I recommend these tools for completing these projects: these tools for completing this project:

  • Prezi- multimedia presentation tool that embeds video with cool transitions
  • VoiceThread - multimedia shows you can add video or audio commentary to
  • Present.me - use video to narrate a slideshow
  • TouchCast- create a multimedia, interactive video with clickable links
  • Capzles -looks like a timeline. Add video, pdfs, etc.
  • Educlipper- curation tool like Pinterest with the ability to add audio and video commentary

These are some examples of their eportfolios. Find more in this Pinterest board.

Challenge: Have your students reflect on their learning for the semester.

cross posted at teacherrebootcamp.com

Shelly Terrell is an education consultant, technology trainer, and author. Read more at teacherrebootcamp.com.

Shelly Terrell is an education consultant, technology trainer, and author. Read more at teacherrebootcamp.com