Theory to Practice

I had never really considered using digital portfolios in the work I plan to do as an educator but the more I think about it the more I could see the process of building one being very useful. This could be beneficial to my students by helping them learn to build an online presence. Coming into the Master of Arts in Education Program at Michigan State University, I had very little knowledge about building an online presence. I believe it would be extremely helpful for my students to start to learn how to do this, since the 21st century seems to be heading toward more and more technology focused education and job recruitment, so it would be a great thing if they started to learn about building their online presence while they are learning about the material and documenting their work. Blogging their journal posts may be a great way for them to document how they feel throughout the course and for other students in the class to see how they are feeling about the materials well. They would be able to read each other’s’ thoughts and reflections, then hopefully gain a deeper understanding of the material they did not have before. It may also prove helpful for my students to post reflective journals (Niguidula, 2005) about the time they spend with their groups in their Google Hangout Sessions. This would allow the students to see what their group members’ feedback was and feelings were about their time spent together, as well as view members of other groups’ reflections. I would ask my students to respond to 2 or 3 of their group members’ journals, in order to assess that they are taking part in connecting with one another. By building an online presence and posting their reflective journals online, students would not only have a chance to share their thoughts and feelings with others but have a resource to reflect upon throughout the course. When they post their journal entries about their “Pre-Knowledge” and “Mid-Knowledge,” assessments, they may find that many other students may not understand certain materials they themselves are struggling with. Being a student myself, I know how damaging it can be to one’s self-esteem when they feel they are the only one who cannot grasp certain ideas or concepts and I do not want my students to feel defeated or develop feelings that they are not intelligent enough to succeed in my course. Knowing that other people may be having the same issues could help them find some type of solace in seeing that they are not alone. This could also help me see where my students are having difficulties and if a multitude of them are having the same issues, I will know where to place my focus and change my method of approaching certain material. Students will also have a chance to see the progress throughout the semester, how their thoughts may have changed, ideas they have had, or feelings they had towards certain subject matters (Niguidula, 2005). My goal is to build an online community amongst my students and have them be as involved with one another as possible. With so many different perspectives, beliefs, cultures, and backgrounds, I know that there is a bounty of information they can learn from one another.

Citation: Niguidula, D. (2005). Documenting learning wtih digital portfolios. Educational Leadership, 63(3), 44-47. Retrieved from http://p2047-ezproxy.msu.edu.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eax&AN=507839321&site=ehost-live