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A Richer Picture of Student Performance

Digital Portfolio, Chapter 4

Pierre van Cortlandt Middle School
Croton-on-Hudson, New York

Contents

- About the School
- The Process: Issues in Implementation
    - Vision
    - Assessment
    - Technology
    - Logistics
    - Culture
- The Products: Sample Digital Portfolios
- Further Information
- Supplemental Material
    - Student Guidelines
    - Other Handouts

About the School

Pierre van Cortlandt Middle School (PVC) is a public school in Croton-on-Hudson, a town of about 7,000 residents located 32 miles north of New York City. PVC is the district's single middle school, serving about 250 students in grades 6 through 8.

PVC became a middle school in the mid-1970's. Since that time, the school has been organized into interdisciplinary building teams, with daily common teacher planning time. In the early 1990's, though, the school looked again at its structures and its program, and began the process of bringing the ideas of the Coalition of Essential Schools into practice.

In this work, PVC used a process known as "Planning Backwards." The school began the reexamination of its structures with the appointment of a school Change Committee. This group of faculty and administrators (which included about half of the school's staff) began meeting in September, 1992. In its application to membership to the Coalition, the school reported that:

The first task which we confronted in this process was to identify the qualities which we sought for our eighth grade graduates. The result was a two-page document which identified specific outcomes, including: academic skills, technological abilities, habits of mind, attitudes toward learning, respect for others, physical health and citizenship. We then considered what components we thought most important to a model school program. We developed a draft statement of philosophy in which we defined our future school as:

• A Community of Active Learners
• A Center for Meaningful Research and Inquiry
• A School of Integrated Instruction in the Arts, Sciences and Humanities
• A Facilitator of Enthusiastic, Self-Reliant and Lifelong Learners
• A Community of Caring and Involved Citizens
• A Training Ground for the Future

Having defined our collective vision of the model student and the model school, we set about designing a school program which would enable us to reach our goals.

PVC joined the Coalition in 1993. Its overall efforts in school reform have reinforced a number of features of the middle school structure (for example, teams, if anything, have become more important as teachers work together towards common goals and integrated curriculum). While the school has addressed a number of issues, a great deal of the school's energy has focused on assessment and technology.

The Croton-Harmon School District has long had a reputation as a "good" school district, and the town's residents have supported the schools, both financially (through the passing of budgets and bond issues) and politically. In the 1990's, the district has embarked on a number of innovations, aiming to improve the education received by all students in the district. When the district was approached in 1993 about becoming involved with the Digital Portfolio project, Sherry King, the Croton-Harmon Superintendent, talked with the district's three principals, faculty members, school board members, and parent and community groups, and concluded that this effort would help the district's overall effort in examining assessments that would better demonstrate each student's achievements and abilities. (For more information about the work of the other schools in the district, see the chapters on Croton-Harmon H igh School and Carrie E. Tompkins Elementary School.)

PVC's assessment work has focused on interdisciplinary exhibitions. The interdisciplinary curriculum in the school is organized around themes such as "World Geography and Cultures" and "Crime and Society." Each unit has typically led to a project; for example, in learning about the criminal justice system, students participated in a mock criminal investigation and trial; in another unit on the environment, students were asked to put together a research paper on a topic such as a particular endangered species.

Meanwhile, PVC's "unified arts" area was making a significant transformation from offering traditional "shop" classes to developing a technology-based interdisciplinary curriculum. Dean VanDeCarr, the school's technology specialist, has helped students work with video and computer technologies as a component of their interdisciplinary work. The school deliberately took a strategy of making technology an integral part of student projects, rather than something that is just done in "computer class." In a number of cases, this has meant modifying some existing projects to add a technological component; in others, this has meant entirely new projects.

One group of students, for example, developed a "Murder Mystery" simulation as a HyperStudio project. The work demonstrated the student's understanding of one aspect of American government, as well as their technological communications and development skills. This work was selected by Apple Computer as part of a national search for interesting uses of multimedia; the student's project appeared on a CD-ROM called "K-12 Multimedia Projects."

The Digital Portfolio project further integrated the technology and assessment work at the school. In the spring of 1994, a first group of eighth graders created electronic portfolios using HyperStudio software as their culminating project. The portfolio demonstrated both ability to put together multimedia documents as well as a chance to reflect on what each student had achieved during the three years at PVC.

The IBM-based Digital Portfolios were then perceived as a project separate from the culminating "celebration" portfolio. PVC's intention was to have students throughout their three years enter work into their school-wide Digital Portfolios to create a cumulative record; a final exhibition in the eighth grade would then focus on allowing students to reflect on their overall work, and prepare to make the transition to high school. As the project progressed, and pilot groups of students worked with the software, it seemed that the two efforts might not be sufficiently differentiated, and that it might make sense to have different purposes for the two portfolios: that the IBM Digital Portfolios might be based on an overall demonstration of skills, while the HyperStudio-based portfolios could focus on demonstrating a particular set of skills. Technology will also play a hand in the ultimate development of Digital Portfolios at the school; as it becomes easier to transfer various forms of information from PC's to Macintoshes and vice-versa, and as new "common languages," such as the protocols used in creating documents for the World Wide Web, pay less attention to particular platforms, it may become the case that the two portfolio projects can become a seamless single portfolio effort.

The Process: Issues in Implementation

Vision

A school's vision helps students, parents, and faculty to understand what is expected of students.

What should a student know and be able to do?

When defining a vision, most schools face the dilemma of finding a set of parallel categories that cover everything that a student should know and be able to do. At PVC, the Digital Portfolio planning committee considered two ways of organizing student work. One way was through a set of skills that students should be able to demonstrate before leaving 8th grade; the other was through a set of content areas. The Digital Portfolio allowed the school to use both lenses for viewing student work.

The planning committee developed a list of skills that every student should possess:

• Problem Solving is the ability to define a problem, determine what techniques can be used to solve the problem, finding a solution to the problem, and justifying that solution.
• Written Expression involves many different kinds of writing, including descriptive writing, expository writing, and technical writing.
• To Take and Support a Position is to develop a position on issues where multiple positions are possible, provide a justification for that position, and show supporting evidence for that position.
• Research a Topic includes narrowing a topic, finding sources that are relevant, and reading and writing about the topic.
• Observational Skills include the ability to note what is different and what is important about the thing that is being observed, and to use appropriate tools to observe different aspects.
• A Response to a Printed Text may be in discussion, in presentation, or in writing. The response should refer to the original text, either to support or refute the claims made in the text, or to provide evidence for what the writer wants to say.
• Artistic / Kinesthetic Performance means using any artistic medium or physical movement to express an idea or accomplish a goal. This may occur in art, music, dance, or physical education classes; an artistic or kinesthetic performance can also be a part of a performance in an other area.

The committee also wanted a way to show the content areas -- but the committee also wanted to help think "out of the box" of strictly traditional areas, and emphasize the content common to many disciplines. Thus, the PVC Digital Portfolio has a second main menu, using Ernest Boyer's eight "human commonalities" as an organizer.

The Life Cycle. Student work will demonstrate learning in these areas:

• the universal human experience of birth, growth and death
• characteristics of the human body
• nutrition, health and wellness
• caring for and/or observing other forms of life

Symbols. Student work will demonstrate learning in these areas:

• history of language
• mathematics as a symbol system
• symbols as a way of expressing feelings and ideas
• speaking, listening, reading and writing across the curriculum
• ethics of communication

Aesthetics. Student work will demonstrate learning in these areas:

• an appreciation of music, dance, drama and/or the visual arts
• performance and/or exhibit experience in the arts

Time and Space (Perspective). Student work will demonstrate learning in these areas:

• an understanding of one's place in time and space
• geography and astronomy
• influences of other cultures on our own
• personal roots
• intergenerational connections

The Social Web. Student work will demonstrate learning in these areas:

• government functions
• informal social structures
• varieties of groups / families
• webs of institutions
• cross cultural studies

Producing, Consuming and Conserving. Student work will demonstrate learning in these areas:

• simple economics and different money systems
• how work varies from one culture to another
• respect for craftsmanship
• producing and consuming products which support and enhance life
• conserving natural resources

Nature. Student work will demonstrate learning in these areas:

• ecology
• human connectedness to nature
• principles of science
• the impact of technology on life

A Larger Purpose: Convictions and Commitments. Student work will demonstrate learning in these areas:

• special meaning of their life
• their own values and beliefs
• ethics
• respect and responsibility

Source: E. Boyer, A Quest for Common Learning, New York: Carnegie Foundation, 1981.

The planning committee described these menus as follows:

"The PVC model offers a double matrix which is designed to permit assessment of student work according to 'big ideas' and also according to major skills areas. In this way, we hope to use this project to help our students, teachers, and parents develop a sequential, connected view of a student's work at PVC.

PVC decided to use Boyer's commonalities as one organizing device for this project because it offers ideas which go beyond specific disciplines but which also require serious content based work. In other words, the commonalities provide a guide which we can use to describe and connect our curriculum from subject to subject and from grade to grade. ... We have a unique opportunity to talk with the PVC community about how these 'big ideas' connect with the work students actually complete at each grade level to see if using this system can help us attain greater clarity and consistency.

Similarly, using a basic skills list as the other point of entry to the IBM collections will enable us to discuss the sequence in which skills are emphasized and reviewed. ... The list should help us articulate and focus our skills work in a way that will define certain expectations and standards for our students. This list will add to the portability of the portfolio because it will provide a point of entry for people who do not think about curriculum in terms of big ideas or even in terms of interdisciplinary work."

Thus, while the vision was meant (as in all schools) to help students understand what was expected of them, PVC's vision was also a deliberate provocation to the faculty and community to think about expectations in new ways (specifically, along interdisciplinary lines, and with a focus on a particular set of skills).

Assessment

The school's assessment system lets students learn about their progress towards fulfilling the vision.

How can students demonstrate the vision?

The interdisciplinary approach described in PVC's vision corresponds, in a way, to the interdisciplinary structure of the school. While Boyer's commonalities are a new way of thinking about curriculum for the school, the school has organized its faculty into grade-level teams, and these teams have worked together to map a curriculum with common themes across the subject areas.

Students are regularly asked to complete performance assessments throughout their years at the middle school. Some projects are done by students working on their own, some in groups. In all cases, though, the assumption is that students will demonstrate the skills and knowledge that the school thinks is important.

Why do we collect student work?

Prior to participating in this project, PVC had begun some work with digital portfolios. During the last nine weeks or so of 8th grade, each student is asked to create an electronic portfolio demonstrating their best work to that point. This electronic portfolio is a demonstration both of skills using multimedia (using HyperStudio software on the Macintosh), and of what each student feels is his or her best work to this point.

When we began discussing the Digital Portfolio for this project, a discussion emerged debating the differences between a "celebratory" and an "assessment" portfolio. The 8th grade culminating exercise allowed students to take stock of their talents and abilities; the Digital Portfolio was aimed more at showing growth over time. (The idea is that students will put work into that portfolio during each of the three years they were in the school and would be standard for all students, and the culminating portfolio would show a different, more individually tailored view of student work.)

What audiences are most important to us?

Students at PVC primarily were interested in putting these portfolios together for themselves, and also as a public document to show to friends and parents. Each year, the school has an open house for parents where all students can show their Mac-based electronic portfolios; as more students also have an IBM-based Digital Portfolio, these will also be featured at parent gatherings.

While college and employers are a long way off, students are conscious that the skills they develop in creating Digital Portfolios will also be beneficial in high school and beyond.

How do we know what's good?

In developing digital portfolios, students at PVC are given guidelines by the teachers (Dean VanDeCarr and Jan Felt) which remind students that "the use of 'glitzy technology' can sometimes become the focus of the digital portfolio and take attention away from the student's work." The guidelines continue:

The digital portfolio is a container that stores and presents your work. The focus of your digital portfolio should be your work. A weak piece that is presented beautifully is still a weak piece of work. Once viewers are no longer impressed with the technology of digital portfolios, they will be concentrating on the work. Be sure your portfolio shows your best work.

Students know that they are going to show their work to several audiences, including peers, teachers, and parents. Knowing that there are immediate audiences for the work helps students select "high quality" entries for the portfolio.

In developing the portfolios, students have to present entry slips which describe why a particular entry belongs in the portfolio. The entries in the portfolio are assessed and approved for inclusion by one of the members of the faculty; students work with faculty members to determine what pieces should go into the portfolio. The teaming at PVC has helped all of the faculty members to have a reasonable understanding of what other team members are doing in their classes, and thus any faculty member on a team can provide advice and guidance for any of the students in a grade level.

Technology

Digital Portfolios are obviously dependent on the use of technology, but a school's effective use of technology goes beyond the use of equipment.

What hardware, software, and networking will we need?

PVC had been a nearly exclusively Macintosh school prior to connecting to the IBM-based Digital Portfolio project, but the school's staff saw that there were advantages to having two platforms -- particularly for students' learning.

The school has about 20 Macintosh computers in a lab; on the same floor, the school has also installed a multimedia area inside the "Unified Arts" room with 5 Macintosh and 5 IBM machines. The lab space is used for developing documents using the most common tools -- word processing, graphics, and hypermedia software. The multimedia machines have the additional hardware and software required to digitize audio, video, and scan graphics. The school has also received, as a donation from Continental Cablevision, a set of video equipment and editors that allows students to produce high-quality video productions.

In developing their Digital Portfolios, students primarily used the multimedia area to digitize the work they had selected. Once their work had been converted to the correct format (for entry into either their Macintosh or IBM based portfolio), the students could go to any of the machines connected to the local-area network, and enter that work into the portfolio.

The community of Croton-on-Hudson passed a bond issue that allows the district to wire its three schools into a wide-area network, and to install local-area networks in each of the buildings. This wiring work began in the summer of 1996, which was after the official end of the Digital Portfolio study. However, the technology implementation helped the school develop some strategies for using hardware, software, and networking.

The district has since installed local-area networks in each building, and a wide-area network to connect all three of the district's schools. The district network runs on an Ethernet backbone. Each classroom has at least one drop with a dedicated 10Mb connection. In addition, the multimedia rooms have 100Mb hubs for faster file transfer. Both the Macintosh and IBM servers and clients are connected to the same physical network, allowing files to be exchanged without using disks. Each classroom is wired, and each academic teacher in the school had a computer in his or her classroom that was connected to the network.

PVC received, as part of the grant, 2 IBM PC 350 computers, with 486 DX2-66 processors, 8 megabytes of RAM, and 270 megabyte hard drives. The school's 4 multimedia machines (which were the ones primarily used for developing digital portfolios during the pilot years) were IBM PC 350 machines, with 486 DX4-100 processors, CD-ROM drives, an upgraded hard drive (to 540 megabytes), 16 megabytes of RAM, and sound cards; one machine also contained a video digitizing card. The multimedia area also included a scanner and printer. The school also had an IBM PC server 86400NJ, with 16 megabytes of RAM, a 486 DX2-66 processor, and 1 gigabyte hard drive. Each machine also had an IBM 10BaseT Ethernet card, and ran Novell Netware for the network.

Who are the primary users of the equipment?

Most of the equipment in the school is designated for student use. The machines used primarily for working on digital portfolios are in two labs. During the years of this pilot study, members of the faculty needed to go to the computer labs to see digital portfolios. This was because of the lack of a network; the faculty already have computers on their desks. As the school completes its wiring, the faculty will then have immediate access to files on the network, such as student portfolios.

Who will support the system?

The success of the Digital Portfolio system at PVC can be attributed to a number of faculty members. Dean VanDeCarr has been the technology champion at the school, developing a curriculum to both teach specific technology skills as well as integrating those skills into the rest of the students' curriculum. Jan Felt, a teacher on PVC's eighth grade team, has coordinated student portfolio work, helping students collect and select the works that best demonstrate their abilities. Together, and with the support of their colleagues, and the school's principal, Gerrie Paige, they created the system that allowed eighth graders a block of time at the end of the year to create their digital portfolios.

As the students develop their Digital Portfolios, they first need to organize their work, as described in the section on logistics. While students know that they can turn to either Mr. VanDeCarr or Ms. Felt with help on just about any area of the portfolio, they also know that each can provide particular help on certain areas. (It also helps that this portfolio is constructed at the end of the year, so the students have already established relationships with the teachers, and know their specialties.)

Some of the support issues are specifically divided among the teachers; Mr. VanDeCarr teaches the specifics of using the software and hardware, and Ms. Felt teaches the students about selecting and organizing work. Students need to go to Mr. VanDeCarr for permission to use a multimedia computer, and to Ms. Felt to have their work approved for the portfolio. Dean vandeCarr writes that "this is a critical part of the portfolio. If the work is not selected before they sit down at the computer, they tend to focus on the technology and not the content." The support structure requires that the two teachers, and indeed, the eighth grade team, work together, so that students see the Digital Portfolio not as an isolated technology project, but a culminating experience to their work at PVC.

Logistics

The creation of a school-wide digital portfolio requires that a school consider its use of time and space.

When will information be digitized? Who will do it?

During this pilot project, a group of about seven eighth graders volunteered to put together Digital Portfolios. Each spring, every member of the eighth grade class puts together an electronic portfolio using HyperStudio, and has regularly scheduled "unified arts" class time to work on this portfolio. The students who volunteered used some of their time in this class. They also worked on their portfolios when they had free time (before or after school, or during lunch or other breaks); PVC has a policy for allowing students to use technology when a machine is available and the student has work to do. Usually, students come from a "project" period, but sometimes they will come from an academic class.

Who will select the work?

Students are responsible for selecting their own work, but are given guidance on how to make those selections. For eighth graders, who have become used to collecting work, selecting the particular projects is a matter of reviewing what they have done, and ensuring that the work covers all of the designated areas of the portfolio. In other words, the process of creating exhibitions during their time at PVC has helped students understand what each work tells a reader about him or her.

Students also receive a set of written guidelines for selecting pieces. Essentially, the teachers guide the students in three ways. First, they continually reinforce the idea that the Digital Portfolio needs to be (according to the Guidelines), "a good presentation of quality work and not just a flashy show of technology."

Second, teachers help students understand the medium of multimedia. An audio recording of a speech is not the same as a live presentation; what will help the reader of the portfolio best understand the gist of the speech? There are technological limitations to consider. Students understand that the school's hard disk space is finite, and multimedia files can easily occupy all the space on a server. The teachers help the students to select the excerpts that will best convey the appropriate idea to the reader.

Third, teachers help students organize the work. Students need to complete a worksheet (see IBM Portfolio Entry Worksheet), which asks them for all of the information that they are going to need (including titles and file names) before they place an entry into the portfolio. A completed Digital Portfolio looks well organized, but it takes a concerted effort on the part of the student to make sure that all of the pieces are in place.

Who will reflect on the work?

The Digital Portfolio at PVC is a culminating experience for students at the end of eighth grade. The construction of the portfolio is, in many ways, an opportunity for students to reflect on their work for the past three years, as well as being a new learning experience. Students review their work, and select those that show the range of their skills, as well as the work of which they are proudest. The reflection can be a help for students in preparing for high school.

PVC's teachers, in helping students reflect on their work for inclusion in the portfolio, also get a chance to help students look at how they can build on their skills and knowledge. Should the school start using Digital Portfolios throughout the three years that students are enrolled at PVC, they may become a tool for modifying and individualizing instruction as well. As the district wires its buildings together, it will become technically possible for ninth grade faculty at the high school to review PVC students' portfolios -- and for sixth grade faculty at PVC to review portfolios developed by students in elementary school. Over the next few years, the district faculty will have a chance to determine how and when portfolios can be useful in those transitions among schools.

The open house for parents is also an opportunity for reflecting on work. At the open house in the spring, parents can review the portfolios developed by the students. The parents have an opportunity to look at the work they have done over the years, and also see their technology presentation skills on display. Many of the parents are initially impressed by the hypermedia display, but they also like the opportunity to look at students' work accumulated over time, and to see their growth and development.

Culture

For digital portfolios to be taken seriously as a school-wide endeavor, the school's culture needs to allow for regular conversation about student work and about the school's standards.

Is the school used to discussing student work?

Since becoming a middle school in the mid-1970's, PVC has divided its faculty into grade-level "teams" and has had common planning time for teachers. As the school and the Croton-Harmon School District spent more time focusing on assessments in the 1990's, the faculty and the teams have talked about student work in new ways.

The school has looked at student work in two related ways: through the integration of curriculum, and through the use of alternative assessments. The teams have made conscious efforts in the last half dozen or so years to map the units of their curricula into common themes. The common themes then result in a project that provides a demonstration of skills and knowledge that goes beyond traditional paper-and-pencil tests.

These projects have required the faculty to examine how student projects can be assessed, so that the faculty can examine the project as a whole, as well as demonstration of each of the individual discipline's knowledge and skills that students need to possess. The school and district has spent most of its professional development time in recent years on alternative assessments and rubrics.

Students in English classes throughout the school create portfolios; while the portfolios are generated in one class, the portfolio entries also include interdisciplinary pieces. During each quarter of the eighth grade, students are asked to fill a complete portfolio, showing different aspects of work, and preparing for the creation of the Digital Portfolio in the final quarter of the year.

Is the school open to tuning standards? With whom?

The team structure at PVC allows the faculty to collectively examine their expectations of students in each grade, and daily common planning time allows the faculty to review those expectations, and student achievements.

The school's faculty (as at the other schools in the district) had regular conversations about its work with students, parents, and community members. Some parents and community members have served on school committees to help develop the portfolio plan and to provide feedback on the progress of the plan. Others have become involved through their professional connections; for example, some parents who work for IBM and other high-tech firms have provided advice and service in putting the technology in place. In other words, parent involvement goes beyond helping with bake sales; there is a conscious attempt to inform parents of what is expected of students at each grade level.

One particularly interesting attempt at tuning standards came in March, 1995. Each of the three schools in the Croton-Harmon district was preparing to implement Digital Portfolios in the following school year. During one of the annual "superintendent's days" (a professional development day for the district's faculty), the three schools tuned their plans with each other. First, a committee from each school was designated to present the ideas developed at the school. These were all clearly works in progress, and the presentations were not so much to present finished ideas as to get some input as to how to proceed.

Each of these groups then worked through a "tuning protocol." In the protocol, a group presented its work to a set of colleagues. After taking a couple of "clarifying questions" to make sure that all the facts were correct, the presenters stayed silent while the listeners provided some feedback about the presentation. (The feedback was explicitly divided among "warm" and "cool" comments, allowing the commentators to provide feedback that showed both the areas of strength and the areas that needed improvement.) Finally, the presenters responded to some of the listeners' comments. (For further details on tuning protocols, see David Allen's paper "The Tuning Protocol.")

In this case, the schools went through the protocol twice. First, the audience of respondents were teachers from the district's other schools -- that is, the elementary school team presented to a combination of middle and high school teachers, while the rest of the elementary school faculty was listening and reacting to the work done at the other schools. Then, the schools did the protocol with their own faculties, allowing the presenting group to get feedback on the school's plans in the light of what the other schools in the district were doing.

The district protocol provided an opportunity for the faculty at each school to modify their ideas for the portfolio, and allowed the research staff of the project to incorporate those new ideas into the Digital Portfolio software.

The Products: Sample Digital Portfolios

The PVC Digital Portfolios begin with an introductory screen, showing the student's photo. There are two buttons, corresponding to the two parts of the vision established by the school. Click on either of the two buttons, and you will see a corresponding menu (seeFigure 2).

This figure shows the Skills menu for this student's portfolio. Along the left side are buttons that correspond to each of the areas that a student needs to demonstrate prior to leaving eighth grade. Click on any of those buttons, and a description of that area appears in the bottom right corner, and a list of entries that this student has completed for this area are shown in the large window on the right.

Clicking on the title of an entry in Figure 2 leads you to the student work. The work is shown on the left side of the screen; text, graphics, audio, and video components will each appear in different windows. The right side provides information to help put the work in context (see Figure 4).

The command box shown above appears in the upper right corner of the entry screen (see Figure 3). The left side of the box lists a set of information that helps to put each entry in context. The right side of the box contains buttons that allow you to arrange the components of the entry, or to navigate to another part of the portfolio.

The command box allows the user to viewfour pieces of information that help to put the work in context:

The Entry Slip allows the student to describe why this entry belongs in the portfolio.

The Prompt describes what the student was asked to do.

The Comm's / Skills window lists the commonalities and skills that are demonstrated by this particular exhibition.

The Assessment contains assessments from the teachers, or others, about the work. When you view the assessment window, you will note that multiple assessors could add their work to a student's portfolio; over time, this could include peer assessors, teachers, or parents.

The right side of the command box allows the user to control views of the portfolio:

A user may move the windows around the screen, and under the Edit menu, choose the "Set Layout" option to store the current layout of windows. The Revert button goes back to the last saved layout of windows.

When a user opens an entry, not all of the components may be immediately visible. All of the components are listed in the box labeled Click for more... ; clicking on the arrow shows the complete list, from which the user may choose one to display. (To save time loading the portfolio, multimedia components are initially hidden, but may be made visible by clicking on the Click for more... list.)

The Menu button returns to the menu of entries, and the Exit button leaves the portfolio.

Further Information

Contact
Pierre van Cortlandt Middle School 3 Glen Place
Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520 914-271-2191 Gerrie Paige, Principal Dean VanDeCarr, Technology Teacher web site: http://www.computer.net/croton-harmon

Publications
Allen, David, "The Tuning Protocol," Studies on Exhibitions, No. 15, Coalition of Essential Schools.**

Cushman, Kathleen, "Tools of Tomorrow Spur School Success Today," Performance, Number 23, November 1995 (Providence, RI: Coalition of Essential Schools).**

New York Assessment Collection, a CD-ROM and print publication produced by the Coalition of Essential Schools in collaboration with the New York State Education Department, 1996.**

Niguidula, D.; Riconscente, M.; Horan, S.; VanDeCarr, D.; Felt, J.; "Looking at a Richer Picture of Student Achievement," Proceedings of the 1996 National Educational Computing Conference, June 11-13, 1996.

VanDeCarr, D.; Felt, J.; "Digital Portfolios: Product and Process," Proceedings of the 1995 National Education Computing Conference, June 17-19, 1995.

Dean VanDeCarr was named New York's Teacher of the Year by Technology & Learning. See "1996 Teacher of the Year Award Winners," Technology & Learning, September 1996.

**(These publications may be ordered from the Coalition of Essential Schools, One Davol Square, Providence, RI 02903.)

Supplemental Material

The following content contain the information handed out to students as they worked on their Digital Portfolios.

Guidelines for Digital Portfolios

Digital portfolios provide an efficient way to store and view student's work. The use of "glitzy technology" can sometimes become the focus of the digital portfolio and take attention away from the student's work. These guidelines may help you when creating your digital portfolio.

Content

The digital portfolio is a container that stores and presents your work. The focus of your digital portfolio should be your work. A weak piece that is presented beautifully is still a weak piece of work. Once viewers are no longer impressed with the technology of digital portfolios, they will be concentrating on the work. Be sure your portfolio shows your best work.

Selection

Digital portfolios make your selection of work both easier and more difficult. The technology enables you to place work in a digital portfolio that is not possible in a print portfolio. In the digital portfolio, you can have a recording of a musical performance or a speech, display 2D and 3D art work without having the bulk of the pieces or include a short video tape of your work. The down side is that long printed essays are not easy to view on the computer screen. If a long written piece is essential, then you should write an overview of the piece so the reader can get the concept of your essay without having to read the entire piece. Another good technique is to divide the piece into separate parts similar to chapters in a book. This way the viewer can easily skim through you work.

Organization

Organize your work so it is displayed in the most effective manner. If the focus of your entry is a piece of writing, then that should be the first thing viewers see. If there were illustrations with the writing they should be included but, behind the main work. If the focus of the entry is the art work, then the illustrations should be viewed first and the writing should be secondary.

Audio

The use of recorded sound in your portfolio should support your work and improve the presentation of your work. A short recorded speech, musical performance or narration of your work as appropriate. Be careful about long messages. More than 30 seconds of sound becomes boring, so try to keep this as your guideline. Remember, this is your portfolio and it contains your work. Therefore, recordings of your favorite music for background or for special effects is not appropriate and is violating copyright laws. Only put your work in the portfolio.

Video

Video use in a portfolio should follow the same guidelines as audio use. Digitized video takes a lot of disk storage and should be kept to a minimum. Video clips should show action during the length of the clip which should be a maximum of 30 seconds and preferably 15 seconds. Good use of video would be for student performances such as catching a touchdown pass, a passage from a play, detailing a piece of 3D art or documenting an process such as a science experiment. Student speeches do not make good videos. A still picture of the student making the speech accompanied by a recording of the speech is more effective and takes a lot less disk space.

Digital portfolios are on the cutting edge of technology. Soon digital portfolios will be common and people will no longer be impressed by the technology. Set clear standards and make your portfolio last the test of time by creating a good presentation of quality work and not just a flashy show of technology.

Developed by Dean VanDeCarr

Call 914-271-6194 or email vandecarr@aol.com for more information

This is the set of due dates for the digital portfolio project.

Digital Portfolio: Calendar

Directions: There is a due date for each of the steps below. Please have the appropriate line initialed by either Ms. Felt or Mr. VanDeCarr on or before that date.

1. Set Up Folders in your file for each of the required areas: the Arts, English, History, Math/Science and Interdisciplinary Studies.

Due 4/15

2.Collect the work you've done this year which you feel has potential for inclusion in the digital portfolio. Put it in a manila folder and divide it according to categories for the digital portfolio.

Due 4/ 22

3. Select the works you think should be included in your digital collection. (This is probably a good time for some conferences.) Make a list of the pieces you want to include and the media used of each piece.

Due 5/6

4. Store the works you have chosen in the appropriate folders.

Due 5/1 3

5. Creation a hyperstudio stack for each category.

Due 5/20

6. Design a title page for your stack using the required format. Be sure to use the worksheet designed to guide this work. It is important that the stacks all be accessed in the same way .

Due 5/27

7. Rehearse your presentation so that you are ready to share your digital portfolio with a panel of responders.....

During the week of June 6th

Created by Janice Felt (jfelt8332@aol.com)

This sheet helps students to keep track of the entries for the portfolio.

Digital Portfolio Planning Sheet

This worksheet should help you organize your work. Fill in the titles of your pieces below each topic heading and check off the media options.

Aesthetics

• Title:______
• Mentor Teacher:____
• Entry Slip:____
• Text:____
• Scanned Pictures:____
• Still Video:____
• Sound:____

Problem Solving

• Title:______
• Mentor Teacher:____
• Entry Slip:____
• Text:____
• Scanned Pictures:____
• Still Video:____
• Sound:____

Research

• Title:______
• Mentor Teacher:____
• Entry Slip:____
• Text:____
• Scanned Pictures:____
• Still Video:____
• Sound:____

Communication

• Title:______
• Mentor Teacher:____
• Entry Slip:____
• Text:____
• Scanned Pictures:____
• Still Video:____
• Sound:____

Beyond Class

• Title:______
• Mentor Teacher:____
• Entry Slip:____
• Text:____
• Scanned Pictures:____
• Still Video:____
• Sound:____

This form was completed by students prior to adding an entry to a portfolio.

IBM Portfolio Entry Worksheet

Student Name:____________________________________

Entry Title: ______________________________________

Date of Completion: __________

Descriptive title of text:______________________________

Text File Name: _____________________________

Entry File Name: ____________________________

Prompt File Name: ___________________________

Are pictures or audio to be included as part of this entry? ____

Menus

Commonalities

__ Life Cycle: Birth, Life and Death

__ Symbols

__ Aesthetics

__ Time and Space (Perspective)

__ The Social Web

__ Producing, Consuming and Conserving

__ Nature

__ A Larger Purpose: Convictions and Commitments

Skills

__ Problem Solving

__ Written Expression

__ Take and Support a Position

__ Research a Topic

__ Observational Skills

__ Response to Written Text

__ Artistic / Kinethetics Performance

Check off the commonalities and skills that apply to this entry.

Created by Dean VanDeCarr (vandecarr@aol.com)

This page is the form used to evaluate the digital portfolios.

Digital Portfolio Evaluation: Collection and Presentation

Each of the following areas is evaluated on the following scale:

• Needs Improvement
• Satisfactory
• Good
• Excellent

Collection

___ Met quantity and category requirements

___ Included appropriate best works for subject and format

___ Demonstrated concern for proofreading

___ Used graphics and sound to enhance original work

___ Presented a broad range of work but established individuality through choices and by focusing on special interests or strengths when appropriate

___ Balanced a concern for the "container" with a concern for the content

Oral Presentation

___ Established a context for each stack through an explanation of the assignment

___ Explained why each assignment was chosen for inclusion in this project

___ Discussed skills learned through the construction of this collection

___ Answered questions about how individual stacks were constructed

___ Answered questions about how and why specific video and or audio clips were chosen for stacks

___ Spoke about construction of this portfolio in a clear, articulate manner

Comments________________________________________

Created by Dean VanDeCarr (vandecarr@aol.com) and Janice Felt (jfelt8332@aol.com)

Summary of processes for the portfolio project.

IBM Portfolio Project

Beginning your portfolio

1. Write a short (one paragraph) biography to enter into the student info section.

2. Bring a photo to scan or have your picture taken with the still video camera.

After you have selected your work.

1. Make sure you work is proof read and corrected. Only your final copy goes in your portfolio.

2. Type and proof read the Entry Slip and Prompt for the assignment. The prompt is what you were asked to do.

3. Once all your work is finished and approved by your teacher (Mr. Defino, Ms. Hirshmugl or Ms. Felt) , see Mr.VanDeCarr about getting started.

Entering your work into the portfolio.

1. Be ready to answer the following questions:

A. Title of performance

B. Date of completion

C. Descriptive title of text

D. Commonalities that relate to your entry

E. Skills that relate to your entry

2. Digitize and pictures that will be included in your entry.

3. If audio is part of your entry, have your script typed and ready to record.

Created by Dean VanDeCarr (vandecarr@aol.com).

Original material, Copyright 1997.

David Niguidula
Coalition of Essential Schools
Annenberg Institute for School Reform

>> printer version

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