Portfolio Guidelines and Support

It's time to move into the writing section of the course.  You've gotten your reading and blogging well established.  Almost all of you have completed your first mini-lesson.  We've had a couple of discussions about what kind of research you could be doing.  So, in the blog posts to follow, I'll lay out the sections of your final portfolio, the rationale for each part and some instructions for how to complete it.  As you have questions, be sure to raise them in class so everyone can benefit from the responses.

This first post is simply a reminder, taken directly from your syllabus of the sections of the portfolio.

CLASS PORTFOLIO. Your grade for the class will be based on the completion of an electronic class portfolio. Many of these items will be appropriate additions for your professional teaching portfolio as well. We’ll discuss these items as well as appropriate assessment of them throughout the semester. You will have tremendous freedom in the organization and content of the portfolio. Here are things that will go in:

• An overall introduction, which will situate the portfolio, your work, your big ideas and learning. It will serve as my guide or road map of what comes next.
• Evidence of your engagement with class material with an introduction to the section
• Lesson plans for teaching mini-lessons, reflections and analyses of them
• A conference presentation (in a technology-enhanced format) based on your research on an issue in technology/pedagogy
• A set of materials you develop that demonstrate your understanding of the workshop format and proposal to launch it in your own classroom. You can select to do either a reading or writing workshop (or both). This section may include materials you developed as part of your own workshop as well as a proposal to a principal or curriculum coordinator that explains the benefits of workshopping, requests permission to move to that model of instruction and lays out a budget and time line for the materials you will need.