Digital Portfolios

Having a portfolio, of any form, for each student in a classroom is extremely important. Portfolios are a way to guide students, with teacher guidance, to link academic learning with future planning and goal setting. Through the portfolio process, students develop the self-awareness, goal-setting, and decision-making skills essential for lifelong self-determination and achievement.

Here is a video of business men discussing the importance of a portfolio for their careers: 

http://youtu.be/YmvsEvsz_j0

This video does an excellent job at showing how relevant a portfolio is for student growth in the classroom and self-reflection. Here are some points that the professionals in the video touch on to explain why portfolios are helpful: 

• examine a broad range of their own work collected over time
• analyze and assess their own progress
• plan and manage their time to complete the work
• integrate diverse experiences in and out of the classroom
• make decisions about future goals based on evidence and criteria

These points can be utilized and in some cases, enhanced through an online eportfolio. When this information is in an online environment it is more easily accessible by student, teacher, parent/guardian, administrator, etc. and is very unlikely to be misplaced or lost. 

This is an excellent website that goes into depth about the benefits of an eportfolio and uses helpful visuals and charts to explain:

http://www.academia.edu/1039941/The_Electronic_Portfolio_A_Benefit_to_Quality_Learning_and_Higher_Education