Professional+Development

=Creating an e-Portfolio for Professional Development=

An e-Portfolio is an electronic, working portfolio containing evidence and samples of proficiency and excellence in a particular field. An e-Portfolio may include text, files, images, multimedia, blog entries, and hyperlinks. Students, teachers, and other professionals can use e-portfolios to highlight and share their accomplishments with others. An e-Portfolio can be used for multiple purposes and shared with many people.

There are different types of e-Portfolios. Three main types of e-Portfolios are developmental, reflective, and representational. The developmental e-Portfolio documents learning over a period of time. The reflective e-Portfolio includes personal reflections on specific content. The representational e-Portfolio showcases achievements and are self-selected for a specific purpose, like a career. The three types of e-Portfolios may be mixed.


 * e-Portfolios created by teachers to provide evidence of "good teaching"

Many student e-Portfolios are a collection of artifacts that provide evidence that a student can complete a serices of tasks. For an e **-Portfolio to provide evidence of "good teaching" it should be more than a collection of artifacts and should show evidence of on-going learning, reflection, and metacognition. This may include examples of: This type of e-Portfolio is a mixed portfolio and should be edited to show growth and development over time. It should reflect metacognitive practices.
 * Lesson plans and units: overview of unit goals and instructional plan, including a list of resources used in unit, learner analysis, standards addressed, consecutive lesson plans from the unit, student work examples, pictures showing students working, as well as reflections on the lessons.
 * Use of Web 2.0 Technology and evidence of acquisition of "Teacher Technology Competencies"
 * Participation in professional social networking sites, such as Tapped In, to form professional development groups.
 * Video or other multi-media providing evidence of collaboration in teaching and learning.
 * Examples of collaborative work including reflection about how the collaborative process enhanced the process and product/project. This could include:
 * Wikis used by a team of teachers at the same school to plan, share materials, post important announcements.
 * A discussion board which provides support for teachers interested in becoming more proficient in a subject area, learning new material, planning, analyzing data.
 * Using a program like //Skype// to enter into conversation with teachers/students in other states or countries to reach out to the global community.
 * Personal philosophy statement and reflection on change over time.
 * List of professional development activities, workshops conducted or attended.
 * Evidence of continuting education such as online courses or additional degrees earned.
 * Articles published
 * List of professional goals and strategies of achievement.
 * Formal evaluations


 * Representational use of E-Portfolios**

E-portfolios can be used to compile a collection of artifacts important to a teacher. Here is a list of artifacts that could be included in a teacher's e-portfolio that is representational:
 * Resume: which includes
 * Colleges/Universities attended with degrees received
 * Type and area of certification
 * Letters of recommendation
 * Professional references including contact information
 * List of professional activities
 * Published articles
 * Personal statement
 * Self-evaluation
 * Video clips or other multimedia examples of teaching and learning such as Voice Threads
 * Assessments: evaluation of student work with reflective commentary by the teacher (should be both positive and constructive at the same time)
 * Student evaluation of instruction
 * Student evaluation of own and peers work
 * Appropriate 'thank you' letters received from students
 * Substitute teacher evaluations of instructions left by teacher
 * Background information about the teacher: family, education, hobbies, etc.
 * A link to websites the teacher has created for instructional purpose
 * Digital photos of student created projects and activities, including student reflections
 * Digital photos of bulletin boards created displaying classroom environment
 * Video clips of the teacher working with the students or a video showing student interactions are ways enhance
 * If possible, the video should include a voice thread, which explains,elaborates, and reflects on the content of the videotaped lesson
 * Examples of Units including student work with reflection and possible improvement ideas for the following year.
 * Connecting content competencies and outcomes to the curriculum.
 * Academic advising

Click on the links below to see examples of artifacts, reflections and items to showcase in an e-portfolio for teachers: Kindergarten Voicethread]To read and/or join a blog about e-portfolios click on the link below.[[@http://electronicportfolios.org/blog/|e-portfolios for learning