During our professional development day at school yesterday I was given a break from presenting and was able to attend Kate Johnston's presentation on Digital Portfolios. I have presented on the topic before but enjoyed the fresh perspective Kate brought from a 7th grade teacher. She emphasized the use of Wikispaces (user friendly) but preferred GoogleSites due to their ability to customize. I liked how she used Diigo to add sticky notes to student portfolios when grading after they join her Diigo group.
Many times as a tech teacher I focus too much on the technology and design side of things and cut corners or forget the learning process. For example, she did a great job in providing clear detailed rubrics, specifically aligned the assignment with the appropriate standards, and even had students give a narrative reflection & rate their own portfolio.
