7 Important Questions Before Implementing Digital Portfolios

Below is a post by IMpress author George Couros! Check out his books Innovate Inside the Box and Innovator’s Mindset for more from George.

Digital portfolios have been something that I have been work on for over ten years, and I am very passionate about not only the product it can create but, more importantly, the process. Having a space to share my learning and reflections has been powerful during this time in our world.

In this post, I share some of the questions districts, schools, and individuals need to consider for implementation. I address all of these questions in my most recent course on creating your digital portfolio, but hopefully, the items below will give you some food for thought!

Digital portfolios are something that is starting to take off in schools. Different software programs will make “portfolios” easy to share, yet do we truly embrace the power that a digital portfolio can bring into our schools? Since it is “digital,” we need to go beyond a collection that only represents one year of learning, but can show the progression over time.

Here are some questions for you to consider as you look into the process.

1. Is this a learning portfolio, showcase portfolio, or a combination of both?

Does this show the student’s progression over time (learning), or just the best stuff (showcase)? There are considerable benefits to both over time and a combination, from my experience, is the best path to pursue.

2. Who owns the learning?

Is this a portfolio that only shows “school” work, or does the student have the opportunity to display what they are passionate about, or is it merely for items to be displayed based on what the teacher wants? Is it a combination of both? If the student feels no ownership over the process and product, the results will not be as powerful as if they do.

3. How will it be exported after the process?

For starters, see the question above. Secondly, if there is no plan to ensure that students have the opportunity to put all of this learning into their own space, eventually, you are missing another opportunity that digital provides.

4. How will you make the audience eventually go global?

A lot of parents and educators are worried about the work of a student getting “out there” (for various reasons). Still, if the portfolio is only available upon request, we are taking a very “paper” mentality to a “digital” platform. This does not mean the whole world has to see everything from the beginning, or the student needs to share it with the world if they do not want to, but the progression plan to share it with the world should be there. Will the audience be limited long term?

5. What brings people to the portfolio?

Is there any mechanism that brings people to the portfolio other than telling people to come? Simple things like email help to build an audience. Is the space more likely to be seen and more valuable to the learning if it goes out to an audience, other than people coming to the portfolio?

6. What impact will this have on the learner’s digital footprint?

Will Richardson suggests that by the time kids graduate grade 12, you should be able to google them and find “good” stuff about them (see image at the top of the post). Does the portfolio help in this endeavor when every student we work with now will be googled for jobs, university, or a myriad of other things.

7. What about next year and other classes?

This is a HUGE question. If the portfolio only lasts for one year, then you are missing a great opportunity. What professional learning is in place for teachers to support a connection of learning over time for the students? What will the students work look like over time, and how will they be able to google or search for their learning? If the plan is not in place to grow this over time, we lose so much from the process.

If these questions aren’t considered, I am wondering if we are just doing a digital version of “school” or rethinking the empowering possibilities that a digital portfolio can truly provide for learning in and out of school? This is more than just thinking about “what software we should use,” but envisioning the potential of what this process can bring to our students and ourselves.

***If you would like to learn more about this process, here is the introduction to my latest course on creating your digital portfolios.

August 28, 2019August 28, 2019

UDL Implementation Rubric

Below is a blog post from Katie Novak, author of UDL Now! and best selling book Innovate Inside the Box written with George Couros!

If you’ve had a chance to review the UDL Progression Rubric, you probably recognize that UDL isn’t a framework that you can implement overnight. It takes years – not weeks or months – to reach expert level and it’s easy to see how anyone, even the most experienced teachers, could get overwhelmed. For those just getting started, evaluating where you are in the UDL implementation process on a checkpoint by checkpoint basis might simply be too much.

When Melissa Toland of Ocean View School District reached out suggesting a simplified version for the time-strapped or overwhelmed teacher, I was totally sold. I love collaborating with others who are equally inspired by the promise of UDL and loved her quick-start UDL Implementation Rubric so much that I wanted to share it with you all.

This rubric is a great tool for self-evaluation and self-reflection in regards to big picture UDL implementation and also serves as a fantastic reference tool for remembering overall themes of UDL. When you are ready to get a little more granular, the UDL Progression Rubric builds upon this one.

When Melissa introduced the rubric to her district’s middle school educators, she encouraged them to use the tool as a road map for next steps to incorporate the principles of UDL into lessons and units.

As you review the tool, Melissa recommends thinking about:

What are your next steps in terms of implementation?
Based on your current level of practice, what is one goal you have for today?

UDL Implementation Rubric by Melissa Toland

Making commitments to yourself after you self-evaluate is a wonderful way to get started with the process. Remember, UDL implementation is a learning process, one that takes engagement, motivation, grit, resourcefulness, and creativity. You are not alone on this journey. You deserve the same tools, resources, and support that your students will get from you as you implement UDL.

We are always open to sharing new ideas and tools for UDL, so if you have something like this to share, please reach out!

Download the UDL Implementation Rubric

Ready to take your UDL game one step further? Enroll in one of our online courses and experience UDL first hand from UDL experts.

Don’t forget to grab your copy of Innovate Inside the Box to further your learning in the areas of UDL and the Innovator’s Mindset!

July 16, 2019

What does “better” mean to you and your students?

Below is a post by IMPress author George Couros whose book will be available on amazon on August 14th, 2019! For now, you can check out his first book The Innovator’s Mindset.

I have been re-reading the book “Empower” by AJ Juliani and John Spencer, and I loved this portion from John:

Here’s a quick confession: I (John) used to hate the word “innovative.” See those quotation marks right there around the word? Those are actually air quotes that I would use whenever I used the term. “It’s a buzzword,” I would say. “It’s overused,” I would point out.

But the truth is, sometimes a word becomes trendy because it’s tapping into something we all agree is important. Is it misused? Sometimes. Is it overused? Often. But so are the words “love” and “awesome” and “friend,” but I have no intention of ditching any of those words. I think I reacted poorly to the word “innovation” because it had a certain overly glossy, high-tech connotation to it. It made me think of the EPCOT Center and of the Astrodome and of the Flowbee (a true innovation in haircutting that combined a hair trimmer and a vacuum). But that’s not innovation. That’s novelty. That’s disruption.

I have been discussing innovation for probably the past ten years, and I agree with John here, 100%. When people use the word “innovation” to describe something new (usually technology related) than it does become a buzzword. This happens a lot in education where a term becomes “trendy” and is used without thought of what it means, which in turn makes the word a buzzword. It is not saying that the word in itself is terrible, but it is in the way that it is used.

In my book, “The Innovator’s Mindset,” I defined the word innovation as the following:

I’m defining innovation as a way of thinking that creates something new and better. Innovation can come from either “invention” (something totally new) or “iteration” (a change of something that already exists), but if it does not meet the idea of “new and better,” it is not innovative. That means that change for the sake of change is never good enough.

The “better” part of the definition is the most crucial. The word “better” is vital when it comes to traditional practice or innovative practice. Some traditional methods work better for our students in learning, and that is crucial to understand. If we gravitate toward the “new” only because it is trendy and lose our students along the way, it is not innovation; it is bad practice.

Blake Harvard discusses this idea in his post, “What if Better isn’t Better?“:

But what constitutes ‘better’? How do I know when a new way is a better way? For me, better is equivalent to students learning more. Whatever the ‘better’ is assists my students with learning/remembering/retaining more information in a more efficient and/or effective manner. What does ‘better’ mean to you? I think this is a vitally important question to consider and I’m not sure all educators sincerely know what their ‘better’ is.

The question I have bolded is essential, not only for individuals but as schools and organizations. What does “better” actually mean? If you are looking for an answer from me, I won’t give it to you directly. Here is why; what is often measured as “better” in schools is all about higher scores. But understand, this doesn’t mean it is better learning. For example, a lot of studies that discuss “effective practice” totally correlate it to test scores, but in your experience as an educator, have you ever seen students that could ace a test but not truly understand the content? I will admit that I have taught that way in my career because the sole measure of my effectiveness what was if kids did well on a test. We promote the importance of scores in education, yet many organizations that scores are not an accurate indicator of someone’s ability. I am not against students doing well on standardized exams, but I also know that some of our smartest kids in our schools are weak academically. There is more to learning and understanding than we could ever possibly measure on a standardized test.

We also need to understand that people other than the students often define the “better” for our kids. This is why I have often discussed the importance of having students define what “success” looks like for them. Do we genuinely become as passionate or resilient in achieving goals that are solely set by others? I struggle with the thought that sometimes the “scores” are placed at the forefront because it is an easier way to show the success of the adults than it is to show the success of our students.

I believe that as a school if we are talking about “best practices” or “innovation,” or anything else, we have to figure out what “better” means for our students, and from our community. How we assess this “better” will drive practice, not the other way around.

June 25, 2017November 20, 2017

George Couros

Biography

George Couros is a leading educator in the area of innovative leadership, teaching, and learning. He has worked with all levels of school–from K-12 as a teacher and technology facilitator, school and district administrator, and is the author of the book “The Innovator’s Mindset; Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity ”. He is one of education’s most sought after speakers, and speaks on the topic of innovative student learning and engagement and has worked with schools and organizations around the globe. George is also the creator of connectedprincipals.com, an initiative that brings educators and leaders together from around the world to create powerful learning opportunities for students.

Although George is a leader in the area of innovation, his focus is always the development of leadership and people and what is best for learners. His belief that, meaningful change happens when you first connect to people’s hearts, is modelled in his writing and speaking. His keynotes are known for making you laugh, cry, and think, and will inspire you to become a better educator. You can connect with George on his blog, “The Principal of Change” or follow him on Twitter (@gcouros).

Keynotes and Workshops

Create, Innovate, and Voice

Description: In this talk, George will highlight some of the trends that are happening in education and the world and how we create a learning environment that is engaging for students. By giving them the ability to create meaningful learning, be innovative, and empower them with a voice, we will see students succeeding long after their time in school.

5 Questions You Should Ask Your Leader

Description: The role of school or district administrator has changed dramatically and instead of people serving the leader, it is more important that it is the other way around. In this talk/workshop, I discuss five key questions that we need to be able to answer as leaders and the innovative ways that we need to look at our role as administrators.

The Networked Leader/Educator

Description: The role of school/district administrator is essential to what happens in the classroom, yet we often are unaware of some of the amazing opportunities that social media is not only providing our students and teachers, but ourselves as well. As school administrators, we need to be the “Learning Leader” for our organization and social media gives us the opportunity to connect, openly learn, and humanize our organization. When we learn together first, only then can we effectively lead our schools to continuous improvement.

Leading Innovative Change

Description: Although schools are moving forward, change is always something that many struggle with. Focusing on an innovator’s mindset and our “why”, this workshop is meant for leaders to help others within their organization not only accept change, but embrace it, to create better powerful learning opportunities for our learners. It is not focused on the “how to” of technology, but is more focused on the conversations that will help staff move forward in a way that they will be excited yet feel supported in their journey.

Learning By Design

Description: We know that the role of school has change, but it is important for people to understand why it needs to change. Once that can be established, then we are more likely to embrace this change, and move forward with the learning of ourselves, and more importantly help our students move forward as well. In this talk, George will discuss the “why” of change, and then using the ISTE Nets, give examples on “how” we can make this happen.

The Myths of Technology and Learning

Description: This keynote helps to address some of the “myths” or pushback that many organizations go through in moving technology forward in their organizations. With many powerful and personal stories of how technology can improve learning and relationships, this has been a great opportunity to help those reluctant move forward in their thinking and adopt a growth mindset.

What to look for in Today’s Classroom

Description: The focus of the classroom has, for the better, shifted from a focus on the teacher to a focus on the learner. In this talk, I will share several elements of what we should be looking for in today’s classroom, knowing that focusing on only a few at a time, can start the move towards a transformational learning environment.

Your Digital Footprint

Description: We all have a digital footprint, as do our schools and organizations. “Googling” ourselves makes this apparent whether we have had any say in it or not. As individuals and as organizations, what can we do to actually shape this footprint? With open sharing of our learning, a digital footprint can easily be developed for either an individual, school or organization. This is not about branding as much as it is about modelling for our students that we are learners along with them.

Involving Parents in the Process of Learning

Description: Parent involvement in the learning process of schools is the number one factor for student success. As schools look forward towards using social media to improve learning in their schools, many parents are fearful of what this means. Social media provides an opportunity for parents to have meaningful engagement in the learning of their child. This can greatly change the conversations not only at school, but also at home with the child. This talk provides peace of mind to parents while also engaging them in considering the unique opportunity they have to participate in their child’s learning.

From Digital Citizenship to Digital Leadership

Description: We often tell our students that what they do online can affect their future, but do we share or teach them how their online presence can also provide them opportunities that we never had as kids? There are many great examples of people and students doing things to not only improve their own opportunities, but to improve the lives of those in their school, communities, and around the world. Kids have an opportunity to make a difference and we need to focus on giving them both the opportunities and tools to make a difference in their world through the effective use of technology and social media.

Workshops

When working with groups, I encourage discussing the “why” through a keynote then following up with hands-on workshops. This pushes learning forward, having participants leave with ready to use tools and educators ready to implement their new learning immediately. Examples of workshops on specific ideas and tools that I provide are:

What is innovation in education and how do we move forward?
Twitter for administrators/educators/parents
Blogs as a portfolio
Google Apps in the Classroom
Web 2.0 Tools for learning/communication
Creating a Digital Footprint for our Students
Digital Literacy
Digital Identity
Creating Blended Learning Environment

Tag: Innovator’s Mindset