Portfolios

One of the most emphasized prescriptions of the Quebec Secondary English Language Arts (SELA) program is the student portfolio.  The student portfolio serves several purposes.  It facilitates reflective learning and meta-cognition.  It stimulates conversation and collaboration between the student and the teacher.  It fosters autonomy.  It is a tool for evaluation, and for demonstrating progress to parents.

The Ministry document makes the relevant point that the portfolio should contain more than just finished documents.

The integrated profile is an essential part of the student’s learning and evaluation process over the cycle.  This working collection of artefacts from all the competencies is owned by the student and is used by her/him as a learning resource. It represents a dynamic portrait of the student over time and not simply a collection of her/his finished or final products.

I would aver that student portfolios should consist of both paper and digital components.

I researched online portfolios – efolios.  I uncovered only limited resources, which led me to believe that dynamic, pivotal portfolios, as they are described by the Quebec Education Program, are relatively new educational manifestations.

I found sites such as Avenetefolio, which costs money, and Foliospaces, which is free.  However, these sites seem more geared towards business folks, not educators.  I think these sites are too complex for the needs of me and my students.  At this stage, I believe a simple blog, such as this one, will suffice as a medium for eportfolios.

Perhaps, as this new tool evolves, more accessible Web2.0 eportfolio tools will become available.