Amber Rutan

Artifact Commentary Nine: Online Portfolios and Student Samples (Field)

Goals: 2, 3
Standards: 1, 2
As I was taking my CEP 813: Electronic Portfolios class, I was drawn to the idea of online
portfolios and creating a safe place to store and share your great work. During my college class, I was
asked to create my own online classroom website using a program called Weebly. I was so excited to see
the ways I could publish my work online that I decided to integrate online portfolios into my own
classrooms at Harper Creek High School. I knew that creating online portfolios would take timetime
for myself to develop the project, as well as time for my students to create their own meaningful digital
space, so I decided to add online portfolios into my curriculum one class at a time. I started with my
Creative Writing class in the fall and created a two part project; one part was to have students polish and
finalize their online portfolios/Weeblys that they had started earlier in the semester, and the second part
was a presentation of what they learned using the Weeblys as a visual resource to demonstrate that
learning. In the spring, I then had my AP Literature and Composition students do a similar project. For
both of these classes, the portfolios were considered their final exams. After my first year of initiating
these portfolios, I have learned a lot about the process as well as seen some extraordinary student work.
Creating online portfolios has pushed my views of English and writing in new, exciting ways; I have
learned how to teach subject matter in different ways to students(Standard 2) and feel I am in the
process of successfully craft[ing] units of study around big ideas (Standard 2). Online portfolios
involve the big idea of publishing, and more importantly celebrating what students have learned and
created over the course of entire semester, which I feel is hard to do, or often neglected in many
classrooms. I also feel these projects show that I am deeply committed to students as individuals, their
diversity, their capacity to learn, and their development as whole persons (Standard 1) because these
portfolios encourage student choice with what they publish, what they decided to share as their great
learning moments, and how they organized and present the final project. Plus, these portfolios can be
accessed any time, any placeeven after a student graduates. Working on this project over the course of
the year has helped me continue to expand my pedagogical knowledge, skills, and repertoire in teaching
subject matter to diverse students (Goal 2) and it is a project I plan to continue working on years after
this. The most interesting part of these portfolios is that comes at a time when my own English
department has began to initiate and support changes in local policy and practice that will enhance both
teachers and students learning (Goal 3). My district is considering shifting all of our English classes
from the traditional multiple choice/timed writing exam to a more collective writing, standards based
portfolio exam instead, which I have already started to do in two of our schools English elective classes.
I have learned that the full scale initiation of something like online portfolios will take time and a lot
of revision. Going through my MATC portfolio process, as well as watching two classes go through the
online portfolio project requirements for the first time, has already inspired me to change some of my
current practices before I make this a part of every class prep I teach. I want students to add in artifacts as
well as connect to the standards when they assemble these portfolios to make them as meaningful as
possible, as well as a true demonstration of what they have learned. I have also learned that students dont
have enough opportunities to celebrate their great work, and if they do, it is often limited in expression.
These portfolios allow students to share what they have learned in a completely new way (vs. the
traditional bubble in the correct answer format), as well as make that learning public beyond the
classroom. Students can share these portfolios with so many more peopletheir parents, friends, possible
colleges and employers. I have always known that publishing is the most crucial final step in the writing
process, but it has been hard finding the right moment and method. Now, I have a great solution to that
problem, and given more time and reflection, I will be able to develop a truly meaningful publishing
activity for all of my students.