Play Tech 2

Reflect on your understanding of “folio thinking.” Setting aside differences among various digital 
tools that could be used to create eportfolios, consider portfolios in general (electronic or physical/
paper-based). Compare/contrast portfolios to other forms of assessment: quizzes and tests, essays 
and research papers, student presentations, homework, worksheets, you name it. As a learner 
pursuing a graduate degree or certification, which of the following would be more relevant and 
meaningful to your academic and professional/career goals:

-Answering questions about educational technology that ETEC professors have identified as the most 

important things to know and having them judge the logic, accuracy, depth, breadth, and precision of 

your answers.

-Articulating what you know and have learned about educational technology from your academic, 

professional, and other experiences and providing evidence of that learning with a collection of 

artifacts you’ve created.

Then, reflect on which you would prefer(note: the first question asks which would be more 
relevant/meaningfulto your learning, not which you would prefer) and explain why.

According to Stanford University, folio thinking is a reflective practice that 
situates and guides the effective use of learning portfolios, defined as a 
purposeful collection of artifacts that characterize the learning experiences 
of the portfolio owner. My interpretation of this is that folio thinking is a 
learning process. While you are highlighting works that you created and are 
proud of, you are also reflecting back on what you created and identifying 
why you created it, how you created it, issues you had, etc.. This is an 
important concept because if you never change, then you give no room for 
growth and improvement. Portfolios are unique in that you select works 
that you are proud of. Think of this as a trophy wall an athlete may have. 
It is a designated area with all of your accomplishments. This is exactly the 
same thing just different materials. Portfolios have the ability to show growth, 
adaptation and change. This is different than a test or quiz. Portfolios are 
created over time and you can compare something from say first year of 
graduate school to after graduate school and notice the difference and effects 
that school had on you. A quiz or a assessment is immediate and doesn't 
show growth. You can create an assessment that is in-depth and rigorous, 
but where this differs from a portfolio is that it lags the reflection and 
explanation behind the work. If I choose answer choice B, you can't see why 
I chose it. For all you know I could have guessed and got really lucky.

As a learner pursuing a graduate degree I find it more relevant and meaningful to articulate what I know and have learned about educational technology from my experiences and providing evidence of that learning  with a collection of artifacts that I created. I say this is more relevant and meaningful because graduate school is suppose to be a higher level of thinking and focusing on what I have been doing and building on that. I would also have to say that I prefer this method as well compared to answering questions. Although this way may seem long, it is more rewarding in the long run. My personality likes to think things out and plan. I am very detailed oriented so when having to answer questions without having the opportunity to draft out my response and revise over time I tend to not like. I like processes and being able to explain myself and my reasoning. As my husband states, "I am sure glad you understand your madness because I sure don't. " This is why I prefer being able to explain myself because I can fully articulate my madness. haha

Identify technology affordances. Now compare/contrast physical portfolios to digital or electronic portfolios, and compare/contrast the unique affordances of the different tools you explored. Consider which tool is the best choice for you in creating your eportfolio.

When creation a portfolio the actual creation can be an insight to who you are.  You can create a neatly organized binder with tabs and color coordination to depict your organization skills. You could also create an eportfolio online using a layout that depicts maybe bright colors to show creativity. A physical portfolio that you can actually flip through is sometimes preferred to people because it's actually in front of you and you don't have to worry about being technology savvy. This type of portfolio is preferred by people who like to read things on paper and actually interact with it. The downfall to a physical portfolio is it is limited to others viewing. An eportfolio is different in that it is easily accessible. If someone is wanting to view your work, all you would have to do is share the link. It is immediate and easy to manage. If you are not such a detail oriented person, it can be beneficial to use a eportfolio because you can select a template on some websites and then let the website do the organizing. I am a very detailed oriented person and I am an organization freak. One would probably think that I would prefer a physical portfolio, but I prefer an digital portfolio. I prefer this because the ease of accessibility as well as the availability to others. I do like to have things in print in my hands and highlight, make notes on etc..., but after I have done all of my notes I type up my work. As I identified earlier, I have a method to my madness.

Shift context/perspective. Consider whether you would select a different tool if you were asking your students to create an eportfolio? Why or why not? Discuss the affordances of these tools for others in different contexts (i.e. describe what technological knowledge, pedagogical approach, and content standards might align better with the tool you’d use with your students, rather than select for yourself).

In my classroom I would prefer my students create a digital portfolio. I would have to take some time out of class to go over creating a portfolio which could be time consuming, but in the end more beneficial. I believe it would still be more beneficial for my class because we focus on digital design. The bulk of the work that my students do in class is on the computer and in programs like photoshop. This would relate to my content because it physically states in my TEKS to use technology to communicate knowledge. Also, I teach middle school and for some reason giving a student a piece of paper and expecting it to be in class a week later is highly impossible. We also use interactive spirals and lets just face it...organization is not always a strong skill they poses. If they had to create a digital portfolio they could customize a webpage and put things they preferred in the layout or just choose a template.

Create something. You can begin building your portfolio or just play around with various tools, but you need to select one tool that you’ll use to create your eportfolio for this class. We ask that you post the link to the eportfolio that you create this week in the your blog post/reflection.

Education is Motivation