Dear Teachers and Administrators of Crowley ISD,

 

Currently, at the high school level, students are expected to show their knowledge of content and standards through various assessments, projects, and assignments. The things done in core classes don’t get seen outside of being graded.  Mostly, students do not see the value in these class assignments/projects and are not taking ownership of their learning. The assignments/projects that are done in the various CTE classes are, for the most part, only used in that respective class. Still, the documentation or certifications earned are not being utilized after high school.  And I believe that is the main goal of the Bill R. Johnson Center.

 

There is a solution to this: giving students choice and ownership while valuing the importance of documenting their successes in class via certification or experience in that field of study.  The solution is digital. Students can create an ongoing, ever-evolving ePortfolio for use throughout their time in CISD and display work from every class. This empowers students to recognize their learning and take control of it.

 

I am proposing to pilot the use of the ePortfolio in my classroom in which:

 

• Students will create a portfolio utilizing a free platform such as Google Sites or a Wix (already vetted for instructional validity by the district) portfolio with their personal email to access after graduation. They will have a choice in the design and content of their ePortfolio and can use it for job acquisition.

• Students will initially use the district-provided computers in my classroom (Bill R. Johnson room B127) to create the portfolio, adding content created in my class and other classes to show evidence of their learning. However, they can continue curating their ePortfolio on any computer. 

• Students reflect, connect, and learn by posting evidence of their learning with a write-up. This can be done for any subject (cross-curricular) and can be a project on its own (e.g. a writing in Google Docs), a picture of an assignment/project (e.g. a picture of a three-dimensional solar system model), or a description (describing a learning experience that cannot otherwise be documented, such as a conversation).

• Students would use their ePortfolios to document things done in every class and used throughout their time in CISD and beyond graduation.

 

This ePortfolio will travel with the students throughout their years of schooling. This allows students to revisit their learning and make connections to current learning. Additionally, teachers are able to see what prior knowledge students enter their classes with, which creates connections between grade levels, classes, and the education system as a whole. Because the ePortfolio belongs to each unique student, each one will be unique in its design and contents. Students can show ownership of their ePortfolio and their own learning process, creating intrinsic motivation and developing twenty-first-century skills.

 

I look forward to creating an ePortfolio revolution while empowering learners to reflect, connect, and learn through the use of ePortfolios. I ask the CISD teachers to be open to this exciting opportunity and inquire about my findings in my pilot program in my classroom over the next 18 to 24 months. I am hopeful to share my results so that together, we can build lifelong, twenty-first-century learners through the use of ePortfolios.

 

Sincerely,

 

Thaddeus Ryan Komorowski