What is a digital portfolio?
A digital portfolio can be compared to a footprint. Each individual has a separate and unique footprint. A portfolio can be a digital reflection of one's life, a student's classwork, an employee's performance, and so on. The following set of pages is going to demonstrate how to create a school-wide digital portfolio project.
Digital portfolios help students create a "richer picture" of their skills and accomplishments than a traditional transcript would allow. Portfolios also have the potential to help schools think about performance assessment and overall issues of school reform - by providing a more thorough documentation of how students are reaching goals.
Beware - Digital portfolios can be a "provocation" to help teachers, administrators, and/or a school think about its systems, its vision, and what it wants students to be able to say about themselves. They can also be just another gimmick that turns off a school to technology, portfolios, or both.
Let's take a look at a sample digital portfolio.
(Click the footprint)
One other caveat to consider - there is an assumption that the most effective use of digital portfolios is as a school-wide innovation. This suggests that the entire school needs to be involved in the preparation, planning, and implementation of a digital portfolio system; not a quick or easy endeavor to organize.
Follow the footprints below for successful creation of your own digital portfolio project.
Last Updated: August 2004Original material: © 1997 by David Niguidula
The Digital Portfolio: A Richer Picture of Student Performance
Coalition of Essential Schools
Annenberg Institute for School Reform
