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ePortfolios >> Hi-Octane Assessment
8/16/2005
On the surface, each portfolio is nothing more than a glorified Web page to organize presentations, documents, and images for others to peruse. Behind the scenes, however, the Digital BackPack is an elaborate, homegrown content management system, a place for students to store all the evidence of their education and curriculum-driven conceptualizing.
Not surprisingly, many students use the resumes and work samples in their ePortfolios to look for work. Once they’re hired, the Digital Backpack becomes what technologists call the Cyber Toolbox, which remains active after graduation and enables students to store lesson plans and professional utilities early in their careers. Rebecca Anthony, director of Placement, says that many first- and second-year Iowa teachers use the toolbox as a homepage for enrichment activities—a place to post a summer reading list, and a means to communicate with their parents. John Achrazoglou, director of the college’s Education Technology Center, notes that these sites stay active for three years after graduation, at which time the university strongly encourages students to find a local Internet Service Provider(ISP) to host their ePortfolios.
“Right now, we’ve got more than 4,300 portfolios with 500,000 files sitting on our servers,” says Achrazoglou. “While we want to encourage students to use this technology, at some point we’ve got to wean them off of our servers in order to keep the space available for others.”
Benefits for Faculty
Extending the Technology for Life approach that so many schools embrace, Iowa’s other ePortfolio efforts exist to help established educators incorporate the technology into their everyday lives. One model, the Ph.D. Professional ePortfolio, mirrors the Digital BackPack, yet is designed specifically for students studying for doctoral degrees. Another model, the Early Career Teacher ePortfolio, provides ePortfolios to every teacher in the state. This third approach is the result of a partnership with the Cedar Rapids Community School District and the Cedar Rapids Education Association. Based on eight standards and 42 performance criteria, Achrazoglou and colleagues developed an ePortfolio template that revolutionizes the tenure process. Assessment of early teachers seeking standard licensure is now done through an ePortfolio instead of via paper-based files, the method previously used. Thanks to a $215,000 grant from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust (www.carvertrust.org), teachers can download the template for free.
The fourth and final flavor of ePortfolio technology at the university debuted in August 2005. Known as the Leadership ePortfolio, this effort represents the biggest partnership to date: a collaboration with the Cedar Rapids Community School District, School Administrators of Iowa, and the Iowa Association of School Boards to deliver ePortfolios designed specifically for principals and other district administrators. The templates for these portfolios are based upon six standards and 36 performance criteria. Anthony says that much like the templates for the Early Career Teacher ePortfolio, these leader-oriented tools have begun to change the way Iowa reviews administrators and grants them promotions. Now, she adds, all the university needs is user cooperation statewide.
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