Erica discusses her electricity project on this slide. She enjoyed the homework portion of the unit.

Jamie chooses a background colour to enhance her portfolio.

To help students learn the program I trained a few students during class time then had them teach others in the class. I wrote on October 12, "I have taught two students, David and Ray, how to use the digital camera. They were very impressed. Teaching them how to use the program and all its features is tiring, yet enjoyable and rewarding. I wish I had more time to spend with each student to appreciate his or her work...I have booked a computer time for the lab everyday next week. The class is loving this project. I should have the students start dating all entries."

I gave the students a handout to help them begin which explained which topics should be covered in their portfolio (see Appendix 1). I would give suggestions about topics, but also reminders on using PMIs or similar organizers to reflect on their own learning.

Access to a computer lab allows all students to work at the same time on their portfolios. this fosters a cooperative learning environment.

Erica uses a PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting) to discuss her "best" art project of the term.

Ray highlights our class trip to a museum with a PMI. Notice his thoughtful "Interesting"

Heather and Breanne help each other add photographs and special effects to their portfolios.

"Portfolios have helped me to type better because you have to write about a lot of things that you did." (Emily Lewis)

"The best thing about doing electronic portfolios is they help me do better on my computer skills." (Jacob Cerson)

Sandie and I were aware of the many skills being taught, but we were unsure of which skills to evaluate and how to go about evaluating them. I wrote in my journal on Nov. 1, "I have been thinking a lot about how to evaluate these portfolios. Students can't include traditional samples in them, so samples can't speak for themselves, meaning a student can't include a great story that can be looked at and read as in a traditional portfolio. For one, our scanner doesn't work and second, the story wouldn't fit [into a Corel Presentations page]. Thus, my evaluation will need to focus on student reflections. After last day's meeting with Diane and Sandie, I really like the idea of a PMI reflection. Students are familiar with these because of our school's work with Jan McClelland.... I think for this evaluation I'll look at the way EQAO assesses English compositions [using] Reasoning...Communication... Organization.... [and] Conventions. I'll explore this idea with Sandie." After much thought and discussion, we decided to revise this evaluation approach slightly. I wrote on November 9, "I have been doing much reading on portfolios....I'm changing my evaluation criteria. I can't make EQAO's criteria fit. I'm going simpler - Completion, Depth of Reflections, Creativity and Conventions."

I shared a draft copy of the evaluation and discussed it with the class (see Appendix 2). I asked students for feedback on the evaluation and for any other ideas to include. As students completed their first portfolios, I conferenced individually with each student on the technological aspects of his or her portfolio and asked questions such as: "Did you animate all photos? Did you experiment with slide transitions? Did you leave enough time to read the page before a new slide appeared?" I would also conference to encourage students to think about their reflections and goal-setting.

Findings and Conclusions

To state that students enjoyed the process is an understatement! As with all computer projects, students were highly motivated to use technology. I gave my students a more formalized opportunity to express in writing their personal views about the process of creating electronic portfolios. Each student had something positive to say. Here are a few sample student responses:

"I think the best thing about doing electronic portfolios is getting your say on the units you do in school." (Ray Balberman)

"The best thing about doing electronic portfolios is in the future I can look at my portfolio and see what I did at school and show my kids (if I have any)." (Anonymous)

"My favourite part is actually getting to notice all the things I have worked so hard to complete this term because when I work so hard to finish and do a good job, I always forget about it and start something else and never look back at it again to appreciate it." (Jacob Burleigh)

Students were also insightful about how portfolios helped in their own learning:

"Portfolios have helped me to highlight the term so I [will] remember it in years to come." (Ray Balberman)

"Portfolios have helped me to write down all my thoughts and add more detail." (Anonymous)

"Portfolios have helped me to learn about what I have done in all the subjects and helped me to understand..." (Jacob Burleigh)

"Portfolios have helped me to write more descriptive sentences because I need to start using them in school more often." (Anonymous)

Teacher consultant Lori Barkans discusses student portfolios.

Ray discusses his strengths, weaknesses, and next steps. Summary slides were used as a starting point for student-led Parent-Teacher conferences.

Some students had even figured out how to include music to enhance the presentation. The response from parents was very positive. I gave each parent an opportunity to express in writing their views about the process (see Appendix 3). Here are a few sample statements:

"A feature of this portfolio that I particularly like is that it makes Ray reflect over the whole term...Thanks for teaching this to the class." (Loraine Balberman)

"I think it is a great idea!" (Joanne Motheral)

These parent comments could also be included in the actual portfolios. I wrote about this on November 16, "I met with my Principal today [Jane Foerter]. She too is excited about this project. We discussed the reflective process. She would like to see a parent slide and feedback. I had drafted a letter to go home with the CDs. We could scan this or students could retype it into a final slide."

I also had the pleasure of sharing, with my students, their portfolios with our Director of Education, Mr. Peter Moffatt during his visit to our school. He also included us in his Director's Report to school administrators. He wrote, "Goose Honkings.... Alignment and Accountability: To George Neeb and his Grade 6 students at North Ward for the creation of electronic student profiles on CD-ROM. Each student will be able to maintain a permanent record of progress on the single CD."

Mr. Moffatt also invited us to share our portfolios at a School Board meeting as part of 'his Directors report. We brought a student, Ray Balberman, to present his portfolio and share about the process, his own learning, and answer questions. Our Superintendent, Mr. John Bryant attended the presentation and wrote the following note to me: "Thanks for an outstanding presentation on Monday evening. Your students are fortunate to have you as their teacher. You are an asset to your school and the Grand Erie District School Board."

As a follow up to this presentation, The Brantford Expositor contacted us to do an interview for afeature story about the portfolio process. The article ran on Thursday, March 7, 2002 titled, "Students use computers to show off school work. Some North Ward pupils create electronic portfolios." (see a copy of the article in Appendix 4).

For Term 2, the process continued on similar to Term One, except I wanted to work on further developing students' reflective writing (see Appendix 5). I wrote on January 11, "I want to work on making their reflections have more depth. I will try using statement, example, elaborate..." One suggestion from my meetings with my Action Research colleagues was to have students orally discuss their reflections first, then write them (e.g. Think, Pair, Share).

I also took into account feedback from parent and students about what else to include. Parents wanted problem solving in math, gym, drama and dance. Some of these were included in Term One and Two expectations, but the option was always available to include a page of your choice. In Term Three, the options of what to discuss were much more open-ended for students (see Appendix 6).

Next Steps

"I would like to do portfolios again in Grade 7 too." (Anonymous)

As Sandie and I began to feel comfortable with the electronic portfolio process, the momentum to expand the project started to build within our own school. The North Ward staff has expressed much interest in making these portfolios a school-wide project. We believe that electronic portfolios are adaptable to varying grades and easily able to be personalized by different teachers. In this project, approximately 60 students were involved. Our plan is to include all Grade 5 and 6 next year, plus three Grade 7 classes (approximately 210 students). The year after, our intent is to have all North Ward students from Grade 1 - 8 involved (approximately 500 students). Including every student would mean that students in each grade would be creating a portfolio and saving them on their own personal CDs, which would be filled by the end of Grade 8. Upon graduation, students will have a memorable record of their years at North Ward and an impressive record of their own learning.

Sandie and I planned and implemented an after school PD session for our staff on using Corel Presentations. Sandie taught them how to use the digital camera, and I had staff creating their own slide show.

Our Computer Committee has already approved funds being used to begin in-servicing teachers on the technological aspects of electronic portfolios. We have decided to begin using the program Hyperstudio, which has more useful functions for the portfolios than Corel Presentations. Hyperstudio has a free download that can be copied onto student CDs so they can easily run their portfolios at home without needing Hyperstudio installed. Other advantages of Hyperstudio are the capability to include website links and scrolling textboxes. A Hyperstudio workshop is planned for April for the entire staff and a follow up session in May for those teachers beginning portfolios in the fall.

In order to further facilitate electronic portfolios being incorporated into daily classroom practices, my Principal and I submitted a proposal to our board's "Technological Innovation Pilot Project" grant with the hopes of securing funds to purchase more technological equipment for our school (e.g. digital cameras, CD burner, CD's, etc.) . Now, as the year comes to a close and I sit in the Spring warmth, I think back to that cold, grey December day that I first heard about electronic portfolios and realize how much I have grown in my own learning from this process. I have learned of the importance of giving students a chance to reflect and appreciate their work. Before doing portfolios, I would finish a unit and then begin another, leaving little or no time for students to think about their own learning. Portfolios have helped me to focus on evaluating fewer assignments, but in a more meaningful way. I give students the opportunity to choose their best work, and from that I can evaluate. Having students state what they have learned is a powerful assessment tool. Who knows better about what people have learned than the people themselves? I am proud to have given my students an opportunity to have a voice and permission to critique. I have also gained much more confidence in using technology. I hadn't touched the digital camera or used a CD burner before this project, and now I'm taking digital photos and burning CDs daily, and teaching others to use these technologies. Lastly, Action Research has encouraged me to use a journal and keep track of my own reflections, so I too have a permanent record of my own learning.

In conclusion, I believe strongly in the effectiveness of electronic portfolios. They are an effective motivator for student self-improvement, as students are inspired to produce quality work to include in their portfolios. The computer is a natural motivator and allows much personal creativity. Parents enjoy viewing highlights of their children's work and like storing a CD (as opposed to a collection of paper work). I also believe that the possibility is real that electronic portfolios could become a permanent means of student assessment throughout Grand Erie, once teachers and students understand how useful this multi-faceted assessment and evaluation too can be.