Digital portfolios and Assessment

This week we dipped our toes into a deep and profound sea. Please excuse my horrible metaphor but just having returned from the Carribean my thoughts are a bit mixed up in the tropics. 
Assessment and student portfolios is a topic that would merit a year long study all on its own. It  gets to the very heart about what we truly believe as educators.
What consitutes learning? Who is in charge of deciding? How do we measure? How often? How much power should students have in their own learning? What are grades? What do they mean? How do we document learning? For what purpose? I could go on and on.......
At this moment I can be sure of a few things. I believe the more I include students in the process of  assessment and evaluation the more engaged they will be in their own learning. Setting learning goals and being an active member by reflecting on their own progress towards their goals is not only a valid use of instructional time but will reap benefits beyond the classroom walls. The point of school is learning and I need to keep this priority at the forefront of my thoughts as I plan instructional experiences for my students. Portfolios are a key to documenting learning and progress towards goals. Digital portfolios are a bit of a stretch for my first and second graders at this point but there may come a time when that changes.

making learning accesible for all students

This week I dove into the areas of UDL, MI and Assistive technology. We love our jargon in education! Reviewing the concepts and visiting some very interesting websites along the way were the highlights of this session for me. As a teacher who is dedicated to creating a classroom environment and learning opportunities for all my students I have already implemented some of the learning activities and tools discussed in the readings and resources. During my Master's degree program I worked to improve my understanding and implementation of Multiple Intelligences theory.  Several years ago I worked with a student with mobility challenges so I also felt comfortable with the topics and tools described in the Assistive Technology section.  I was most inspired and excited by the UDL resources.

 UDL
My favorite quote, "everyone has a unique learning profile" . This came from the CAST website. I found their visuals and text around the different areas of the brain that are activated during the what, how and why of learning fascinating.  I know that my own profile leads me to emphasize the "why" of learning. I want my students to be engaged and motivated by a larger motive than just skill attainment. This is important but it was a big ah-ha moment for me to understand that not all of my time should be spent on this realm and that, although I may feel it is soul deadening, the how and what of learning is also very important to the overall success of my students.  I am, through this course, becoming more comfortable with using digital media and technology to provide the proper supports and resources for my students to attain my learning goals. This year I have a student who speaks Chinese at home and has had limited experiences. Digital Media is critical for this student to have equitable access to learning and to build her schema and vocabulary. The wonderful thing is, as stated in many of the resources on UDL, what is good for one or two students benefits all. I have seen even my very able students become very engaged with the movies and websites I have shared around our Rainforest unit. One of my goals for this course is to become as comfortable with digital media as I am with print media.
This week by sharing several websites and showing students through use of the projector and Microsoft Word how I compose text, I feel like I made a big jump.