Position Paper

Writing and Research Project

Technology and Portfolio Assessment

http://www.nea.org/cet/BRIEFS/brief4.html

Submitted by: Ladd Kocinski

The article discusses paper based and electronic portfolios and their use in the educational process as it is structured at the present time. These portfolios are used to set goals, show progress, record information, give examples of accomplishment, and to express a realistic view of a students abilities and talents. A much broader picture is presented than by using just a letter grade.

The issue of debate in this article involved the process of setting up, building maintaining, and storing the portfolios for their useful existence. Add to this the time, effort, space, and expenditure for equipment needed to carry our the process. Will the result of these be cost effective and produce a better means of assessment than the traditional system used without portfolios?

The authors give valuable information about how to set up and use portfolios to meet the best interests of everyone involved and yet be cost and time effective.

As one reads through the article the authors give four major, helpful hints that show how to proceed with instigating the portfolio system. 1. Start small, 2. Develop a system, 3. make portfolios accessible and 4. help build portfolios. These four basic tips when elaborated on, give a clear picture of how to begin. ( NEA Tech. Brief No. 4 paragraph 4) If you want to take advantage of technological tools to create electronic portfolios, you should consider several factors, however, before you make a change from the traditional system. ( NEA Tech Brief No. 4 paragraph 9) With this quote as a beginning, the NEA gives five important points to consider when considering the electronic portfolio. 1. Access, 2. High end tools, 3. Space, 4. labor, and 5. administration. The assessment portfolio - whether electronic or paper based - it intended to document student learning and progress, as well as allow students to identify their own goals and accomplishments. Technology can be a powerful tool in your use of this instrument. ( NEA Tech. Brief No. 4 paragraph 15 )

Close attention to the authors four basic tips for beginning the use of portfolios, makes the task much easier to accomplish. This information combined with the use of their five major points to consider with electronic portfolios gives a very convincing argument that the portfolio is definitely the future tool to use in student learning and evaluation.

-- Anonymous, May 12, 1999