4 Keeps: Moments of Growth in ePortfolios Engaging Screenagers
4 Keeps: Moments of Growth in ePortfolios Engaging Screenagers
An ePortfolio (sometimes called digital portfolio) is a great way to keep what we call Moments of Growth in the learning process.
As we look around we see that ePortfolios are becoming more and more widespread as many universities are requiring students to build some kind of ePortfolio.
Now days, are even hearing there are graduate schools that look at portfolios for admission into their programs.
As an employer the first thing I ask for from my prospective employees is an ePortfolio, as their ePortfolio tells me they have the digital skills and the creative skills to work in digital training.
As a trainer and university lecturer in the USA, I had great success in my training and classrooms by engaging my learners in ways I had learned from my Dale Carnegie Instructor Training.
After earning my Doctoral Degree researching engaging instruction in adult education and training and development, I started a training business in Hong Kong.
But something was wrong, I was struggling in this new culture (I’ve a cattle rancher’s son from Colorado, USA) to find ways to inspire and motivate my students in Hong Kong.
In the classroom, I preferred having students engage in learning activities instead of lecturing.
I struggled through trying several paper worksheets and workbooks to guide students, but I wasn’t getting the results I wanted. (junk engagement)
When the smart phone with the ability to search the internet came along, I could see my students were curating (searching, finding, collecting, commenting, changing, and sharing.)
I thought, “Why not do that for learning?”, so I started asking them to answer questions, interact with information and classmates, and go find examples of the learning content using their mobile devices.
I began searching for possibilities and I struggled testing several apps, until I found eWorkbooks, and after testing them, began to use them full time in class.
Then we used eWorkbooks (Google Forms with the training slides as well as interactive questions, curating links and tasks, example images and videos, etc. which students [Engaging Screenagers] completed using their mobile devices) as they were learning interactively.
Students used eWorkbooks to while I lead the discussion and guided them, and after they submitted their answers, they would get their responses sent to their inbox so they could review their learning Moments of Growth. (optimal engagement)
Because the students’ responses from eWorkbooks go right into a spreadsheet in real-time, as the teacher I can monitor what students are doing to give them guidance in the moment, as well as track their learning develop over time.
1st Keep: Internet/research examples
One of the activities that I have asked my students to do is create ePortfolios with the content that they curated in the classroom using eWorkbooks. (optimal engagement)
The process is pretty easy as students use their mobile devices to complete their eWorkbooks, then take the information they submitted in the eWorkbook and populate their ePortfolios to keep their Moments of Growth for later review.
As students populate their portfolios, they can update, edit, change, improve, the content for public viewing.
The key is they curated the first content while they were in the classroom with me and their classmates, and if they needed they could get support from others.
2nd Keep: Class notes/work
When students used eWorkbooks in the classroom they would answer questions about the content, or fill in their notes in answer spaces just like paper workbooks. (optimal engagement)
As not all of the classwork and notes was appropriate content for ePortfolios, the students would select the content they wanted and again edited, etc. it and saved it in their ePortfolios.
As they use their ePortfolios to keep their Moments of Growth, again the students have a place go and review their learning.
3rd Keep: Papers/Graded Assignments
In the past when a student has written a great paper what happened to that paper after it was graded? (junk engagement)
Yes, that paper was gone, but now students can keep great papers can be build into ePortfolios as confidence building memories of important Moments of Growth for learners. (optimal engagement)
I’ve seen teachers include quizzes and exams in their students’ ePortfolios. (Both teachers I saw doing this let their students re-take the online assessments (using eWorkbooks) if they wanted to improve their scores.
4th Keep: Learning reflections
Using eWorkbooks, teachers can include one or more questions to help the learners reflect on Moments of Growth and students can keep their reflections in ePortfolios. (optimal engagement)
This reflection process is used quite frequently in organizational training and development, but for some reason we don’t use it much in schools even though it is known for being quite helpful in learning.
Keep Epilogue:
Yes, these tools take a little time to set up, but when they they can make teachers and students much more efficient and effective by keeping their Moments of Growth. (optimal engagement)
Wouldn’t it be great if we could help our Engaging Screenagers keep their Moments of Growth?
Don’t you agree ePortfolios are good way to keep those Moments of Growth?
Wouldn’t it be a shame to hold back our learners’ opportunities just because we don’t know the power of keeping evidence of learning in ePortfolios?
Use eWorkbooks to keep Moments of Growth.
Remember, come join tomorrow to see more Improving Your Engagement with Screenagers and others inspirational experiences and ideas for Optimal Engagement in the ScreenAge.
Remember to engage tomorrow.
Following with you.
Keep it simple.
All the Best, Warren
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