In class last week, we heard from the lead Instructional Technology teacher at a local high school. He is currently spearheading an initiative to create curriculum sharing sites and student portfolios using Google tools. The initiative is in its early stages, but the goal is for every discipline area to use curriculum sharing sites and for every individual student to maintain a digital portfolio throughout all four years of high school. I was really intrigued by what they have accomplished so far and what they envision for the future. While listening to the presentation, I learned of some very clear benefits of both, but I was also left with some reservations and questions.
Having each student create a digital portfolio as a freshman and maintain it throughout high school is promising in so many ways. On a basic level, the digital portfolios cut down on the amount of paper used and make it easier for students to stay organized with less loose-leaf paper floating around in their backpacks and lockers. Using Google tools can allow for easy collaboration on group projects and efficient turnaround of teacher feedback on assignments. I was particularly struck by the speaker's point about how the digital portfolios help the students maintain ownership of their work since they are in control of who they share it with and who maintains sharing privileges at the end of each term. Not having to hand over the only copy of a paper that took three weeks to write is pretty nice. What I consider to be the biggest benefit of these portfolios is that they help prepare students for a digital world. The students will be using these types of tools in their professional lives and any further education, and it is important for them to be experienced and comfortable.
I do have a few concerns about the student portfolios. First, it is pretty clear that every student needs to spend time on a computer or tablet every day. Not every student has a computer or tablet at home, so that means they would have to use the media center before or after school. This could be difficult for students who depend on the bus to get to and from school and for students who have after-school clubs or sports. These portfolios would also be next to impossible to implement in school districts that cannot afford to furnish their schools with enough computers and tablets to support the students. Another concern I have is about how reasonable an all digital format is in a subject like math. Are the students supposed to get rid of pencil and paper work altogether? That is not very conducive to a math class.
Maintaining curriculum sharing sites for each discipline area seems like a pretty obvious win to me. Not only would the sites make it easier to spread work across all of the teachers within a discipline and leverage resources, but they also provide a perfect forum for sharing positive and negative experiences with different pieces of the curriculum and suggestions for changes. With curriculum sharing sites, it seems easier to create and maintain a common curriculum within a discipline area and to make sure that it continues to evolve and improve based on the experiences of various teachers every year. These sites could also be visible to teachers in other discipline areas, which could provide a nice opportunity to get fresh ideas and different perspectives. One other important benefit of these sites is that, by using them, the teachers become familiar with the same technology that the students are expected to use. My only concern about the curriculum sharing sites is that they may encroach on each individual teacher's freedom to make their own choices about what they do and teach in their classroom.
