Documenting meaningful learning experiences with Digital Portfolios

The thoughtful crafting of meaningful experiences and the use of digital portfolios to capture and share student learning and progress “open the doors” of the classroom to parents and shift the ownership of learning from teachers, to shared ownership between students, parents, and teacher.

Meaningful samples of student progress take many forms and encourage learning as a personalized and ongoing process. Examples provide authentic, specific, and descriptive evidence of the learning journey aligned with clear learning standards. In documenting their participation and learning through the Young Entrepreneurs program, students activate and develop many competencies:

Communication: 
I can present information and ideas to an audience I may not know.
I give, receive, and act on feedback.
I can represent my learning, and tell how it connects to my experiences and efforts.

Creative Thinking:
I can get new ideas or build on other people’s ideas, to create new things.
I generate new ideas as I pursue my interests.
I have interest and passions that I pursue over time.
I make my ideas work or I change what I am doing.

Personal Awareness & Responsibility
I can show a sense of accomplishment and joy.
I can celebrate my efforts and accomplishments.
I can persevere with challenging tasks.
I can implement, monitor, and adjust a plan and assess the results.

So, who owns the learning in your classroom? Your school?

How is learning captured and shared in order to “open the doors” of your classroom and school to parents?