Naturally my curiousity got the better of me and I clicked on over to his blog to discover that he was referring to ePortfolios. On another post he put it this way: “the new buzz, is a style of portfolio assessment that integrates into the teaching, learning, classroom, school, and community cultures.”

He goes on to say that during NECC 2009: “My group was assigned to look for ways to make learning more engaging.  So what would engaging assessment look like?  What kind of accountability scheme might we grow into, that is fun to participate in, both for students and for teachers?  How might we make assessment and accountability an integral part of the formal learning process — a learning process that comprises fun and engaging hard work?”

You can follow this link to his post where he identifies a range of features he would like to see in an ePortfolio. I was particularly interested in the following feature he identified: “It will have elements of social networking, featuring personal profiles and a variety of communication devices, such as blogging, micro-blogging, discussion forums, and commenting.”

From my short experience I support the idea of incorporating social networking applications as I have found them to be a key attraction and one which gives students a stronger sense of ownership. This is important in establishing a working, up-to-date student operated and driven ePortfolio. They love receiving messages from peers that include photos and links. It has also given me as the teacher a deeper insight into my students as I have had a number of messages that have expressed gratitude, concern or a genuine call for help. This has enabled me to connect at a deeper level and better meet the needs of my students.

The social networking feature however must have features that enable it to be moderated, kept secure and if need be locked from students if they mistreat it. The Teacher must have control and oversight of the social networking.

Who else uses social networking to support the development of communication and collaboration within ePortfolios?

Social Networking picture author = http://www.icis.com/blogs/icis-chemicals-confidential

A blog I would encourage you to watch is an independent educational consultant by the name of Angela Maiers. Angela lives in Iowa and has a PASSION for education. Passionate people do a good job of what they are passionate about and this is what caught my eye when I first read her blog. Have a read of one of her latest posts entitled “Passion – A Difference Maker“.

What bloggers would you recommend?

From time to time you come across a post that is worth sharing and collecting for future reference.

Today I was catching up on my Netvibes account (as you do) and Durff’s post “Who Do You Want To Be?” caught my attention.

According to research there are three types of teachers: expert, experienced, and novice. They each focus on different aspects of classroom culture.

Expert teachers are more effective scanners of classroom behaviour, make greater reference to the language of instruction and learning of students, whereas experienced teachers concentrate more on what the teacher is saying and doing to the class and novices concentrate more on student behaviour. (Hattie, 2003).

Reference: Hattie, J. (2003). Teachers make a difference: What is the research evidence? Interpretations, 36(2), 27-38, Retrieved November 23, 2007 from http://www.acer.edu.au/documents/RC2003_Hattie_TeachersMakeADifference.pdf

Hmmm now which one am I?

Thanks Durff (and Hattie) for challenging us with your work.

Picture Author: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Blue_flag.svg