This chapter presents an overview of current electronic portfolio options available to practicing... more This chapter presents an overview of current electronic portfolio options available to practicing educators, emphasizing the different roles portfolios play within the professional development process. Available features within a variety of free and subscription web-based portfolio services are compared and the use of specific portfolio options within different professional development environments such as university graduate programs are profiled. Using a case study-like approach, the chapter details the use of the National Science Teachers Association’s (NSTA) Learning Center, a collection of resources available to teachers that includes a web-based professional development plan and portfolio tool. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the different ways in which professional organization resources like the NSTA’s PD Plan and Portfolio Tool can be used in the near future to continually improve the professional practice of educators.
Over the last decade a growing number of social studieseducators have mirrored Berson's cont... more Over the last decade a growing number of social studieseducators have mirrored Berson's contention that interactivetechnologies hold a great deal of potential for transforming theteaching and learning of social studies (Braun, Jr. & Risinger,1999; Diem, 1999, 1997; Martorella, 1998, 1997; ...
Information Technology in Childhood Education, 1999
A software review procedure developed by the authors is described. The procedure centers around a... more A software review procedure developed by the authors is described. The procedure centers around a form that extends the functionality of traditional software evaluation forms by enhancing the use of the computer software in the early childhood classroom. The form encourages teachers to discover ways a piece of software can be integrated across disciplines and used as an anchor for instruction. Users of the review form are also encouraged to examine ways the software motivates the user to remain engaged in its use ...
This study reports on a sequence of iterative redesigns of a graduate-level foreign language teac... more This study reports on a sequence of iterative redesigns of a graduate-level foreign language teacher education course. The study describes the interplay between technology and pedagogy that resulted in important curricular changes, from a focus on individual to social and then holistic reflection. Using a team-based design model, instructional experts worked collaboratively over multiple redesigns, sparked by the unique affordances of emerging technologies such as video, video editing, and electronic portfolios, as well as shifts in pedagogical approaches and changes in course goals.
Recognizing the importance of meaningful reflective writing as an integral component to the portf... more Recognizing the importance of meaningful reflective writing as an integral component to the portfolios used in the first-year program (FYP), faculty questioned whether a newly developed electronic portfolio offered any pedagogical benefits over the existing traditional paper portfolio. Of particular interest for this work was whether the use of ePortfolios might positively impact students' metacognitive skills. A study conducted with students and faculty in the FYP evaluated student understanding of purpose, significance, and relevancy in their reflective writings. Findings indicate that while both types of portfolios, electronic and traditional paper, contribute positively to students' learning related to "connections to the course," students completing an ePortfolio show heightened levels of metacognition in relation to "connections to learning" and "connections to career or personal goals."
This chapter presents an overview of current electronic portfolio options available to practicing... more This chapter presents an overview of current electronic portfolio options available to practicing educators, emphasizing the different roles portfolios play within the professional development process. Available features within a variety of free and subscription web-based portfolio services are compared and the use of specific portfolio options within different professional development environments such as university graduate programs are profiled. Using a case study-like approach, the chapter details the use of the National Science Teachers Association’s (NSTA) Learning Center, a collection of resources available to teachers that includes a web-based professional development plan and portfolio tool. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the different ways in which professional organization resources like the NSTA’s PD Plan and Portfolio Tool can be used in the near future to continually improve the professional practice of educators.
Over the last decade a growing number of social studieseducators have mirrored Berson's cont... more Over the last decade a growing number of social studieseducators have mirrored Berson's contention that interactivetechnologies hold a great deal of potential for transforming theteaching and learning of social studies (Braun, Jr. & Risinger,1999; Diem, 1999, 1997; Martorella, 1998, 1997; ...
Information Technology in Childhood Education, 1999
A software review procedure developed by the authors is described. The procedure centers around a... more A software review procedure developed by the authors is described. The procedure centers around a form that extends the functionality of traditional software evaluation forms by enhancing the use of the computer software in the early childhood classroom. The form encourages teachers to discover ways a piece of software can be integrated across disciplines and used as an anchor for instruction. Users of the review form are also encouraged to examine ways the software motivates the user to remain engaged in its use ...
This study reports on a sequence of iterative redesigns of a graduate-level foreign language teac... more This study reports on a sequence of iterative redesigns of a graduate-level foreign language teacher education course. The study describes the interplay between technology and pedagogy that resulted in important curricular changes, from a focus on individual to social and then holistic reflection. Using a team-based design model, instructional experts worked collaboratively over multiple redesigns, sparked by the unique affordances of emerging technologies such as video, video editing, and electronic portfolios, as well as shifts in pedagogical approaches and changes in course goals.
Recognizing the importance of meaningful reflective writing as an integral component to the portf... more Recognizing the importance of meaningful reflective writing as an integral component to the portfolios used in the first-year program (FYP), faculty questioned whether a newly developed electronic portfolio offered any pedagogical benefits over the existing traditional paper portfolio. Of particular interest for this work was whether the use of ePortfolios might positively impact students' metacognitive skills. A study conducted with students and faculty in the FYP evaluated student understanding of purpose, significance, and relevancy in their reflective writings. Findings indicate that while both types of portfolios, electronic and traditional paper, contribute positively to students' learning related to "connections to the course," students completing an ePortfolio show heightened levels of metacognition in relation to "connections to learning" and "connections to career or personal goals."
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