In order to demonstrate completion of all MD400 projects as well as mastery of course content, I have created a digital portfolio. These portfolios help to showcase student work and development as well as extend lessons learned in the classroom to include a much more vast digital world. Further, this allows for ongoing conversation between students, teachers and even parents based on student work. The digital portfolio not only provides a place to display student work, but student reflection is an integral component in order to take the information to the next level and encourage higher-order thinking skills.
My digital portfolio is in the form of a website which contains the projects required within the course, resources helpful to the study of technology integration in the classroom, and my own philosophy of education. Some of the projects I created include a 2.0 wiki site, a Photoshop image, an Inspiration concept map, a photo story, a non-linear PowerPoint and a podcast. Each of these projects has a page devoted to it on the website so that a reader can view my reflection and the completed work.
Please feel free to check out my digital portfolio and let me know what you think!
Review of Kristin’s blog & website-
ReplyDeleteBlog- I like the background and colors of your website. It is very easy to read. I like the point you made in your MP3 post about how the new craze in reading is the electronic book and how now the MP3 is trying to expand from music into “reading” material. I think it’s great how you incorporated hyperlinks within our posts. Your postings were well thought out and you provided tons of examples about the postings use in the classroom and even gave personal experiences when necessary. I like the digital divide comic you found! I was looking for a comic to post in my posting as well but there were too many funny ones to choose from. You chose some really great pictures to use throughout your blog.
Website- Very professional and well put together website! I loved your philosophy of education. It is so important for student directed / hands on activities and to give students real world knowledge and to connect the learning to the community that they live in. Nice wordle- the most important words are highlighted! I never heard of letter pop… your wiki did a good job conveying to me the basic information that I would need to know to make me interested in wanting to use the site. Your photoshop is so good! I had such a hard time doing mine. Your niece is adorable and looks perfect for the beach scene- hope you showed her the picture. Looking at the finished product, I think it would also be perfect for a birthday party invitation for her! I really liked the organization and simplicity of your Inspiration project. It was clear and easy to follow. Your photostory was so good! The kids are adorable. I really enjoyed that you made a social story that you could use with your future classes. It’s just perfect for the preschool level. Good job! I liked your Rhyme Time non-linear power point. It is totally something you can use in your classroom. My only suggestion would be to have a quiz link on the main page- other than that, it was great and very easy to navigate through- no “bad” links. I enjoyed your podcast- very inspirational and upbeat background music! Your voice was nice and loud and clear as well. Great links page! If anyone wanted to see the different things we read in class/ learned, your links page is an excellent place for them to look. Just as with your blog, your website had in-depth and thoughtful reflections that were related back to the classroom. You included links when necessary and all the ones I tried out worked. Great job!
I think you did an excellent job on your digital portfolio. I love that you included your love for your job on the home page. I also work in Special Education and it is a rewarding career choice. Each page of your portfolio is well written and it is apparent you took time to research all the topics. I am particularly impressed with your blog. Your addition of relevant pictures to the different posts is a great idea and they really look good. Your attention to detail is evidenced by the work you did for this class.
ReplyDeleteAdding the wordle to your educational philosophy helped bring something extra to that page. The LetterPop wiki is another example of your dedication to your work. Including pictures of completed LetterPops lead me to look into the resource and now I am interested to try it with my class. I also struggled to fit my outline into the Inspiration map but your looks great. I like the color choice and your final product is well organized. Since you work with younger students you may want to look into Kidspiration, a program from Inspiration for younger students. We use it in my classroom and there are a number of great templates for different subjects that my students enjoy. Your social story digital essay was great and I liked your choice for background music. I was not able to take the quiz on your non-linear PowerPoint. I could get to the quiz page but none of the answers were hyper linked, a minor issue you could fix in no time. You had a great idea including a links page on your website. Copying a number of the links from this course is on my to-do list this weekend. Overall I think you did a great job on your digital portfolio. Best of luck to you in the future.
Wow, I am very impressed with your e-portfolio. I wish I had the opportunity to incorporate some of the ideas into my own. First and foremost it is very pleasing to the eyes...the colors, the font, the simple text and design. Very nice! These aspects made it very desirable to read. I think you had just the right amount of text vs. pics and links so that the reader wasn’t overwhelmed. And you also included some great ideas for incorporating all the projects into the classroom. Lastly, the last page of links and attachments was great and nicely organized. Great job!
ReplyDeleteReview of Kristin’s Blog and Website
ReplyDeleteBy Amanda Stote
Kristin, you did a fantastic job on both the blog and the website. I liked all the hyperlinked text on your blog. I also liked that on every blog posting you found an image to go along with the posting. Those images helped attract attention to the postings. I read through your blog about “Computer Delusion,” and I agree that technology “should be used in conjuncture with a highly qualified teacher.” It is very helpful that in your posting about IConn you hyperlinked all of the databases you found helpful. The reader is much more likely to explore those databases when they are hyper linked.
It is obvious from your blog that you are a very good writer. All your ideas and the programs you talked about were well explained. For example, I liked how you explained what a podcast for someone who may have never heard of that technology. You wrote, “A podcast is a digital media file that one can create to play for a listener.”
You website looks very professional. The black background and white text made everything really easy to read. Your Photo Shop project looked great and you did a good job explaining the process behind what you did. I am sure your niece was thrilled to see herself in “Hawaii.” I liked how you made your Nonlinear Power Point and Photo Story lessons that you could actually use with your students. It is hard to think of ways to incorporate technology with very small children, but you were very creative. Overall, I was very impressed with your website, blog, and your ideas about teaching!
Kristin ~
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed navigating through your website and blog! I greatly enjoyed viewing your photostory of your preschool class. I interned this year at an elementary school that had three preschools located in the building. I was placed there to help out on days and absolutely loved it! I think the children would love to see this photo story creation. Using “safe bodies” was something I liked and will incorporate into my classrooms. I also thought your Photoshop manipulation was very cute! I like how you incorporated a poem into the top. That would make a nice gift for your niece.
Overall very nice website design and ideas! I can tell that you are very passionate about your career in special education.
Have a nice summer!
Kristin, I love both your blog and website! I love the colors you used for the blog and how you incorporated pictures with your posts. Your hyperlinks make it easy to navigate and go directly to the projects/websites wanted for viewing on both the blog and website. I love how you included all the links with a brief description on your website; what a great idea. Your reflections of each project are greatly detailed. Someone reading it could use it help them guide through the program and create their own project. I agree with you that as educators we need to understand the student’s life outside of the classroom in order to help them succeed and feel safe in the classroom. I absolutely love your photoshop. It was a nice touch including the original pictures to show how they looked before the final product. I know how hard you worked when cropping out your niece. Sitting next to you, I was able to see how you took your time and were careful to crop out as much as possible. It shows--she looks as if she is really on the beach! You did a wonderful job.
ReplyDeleteI think your photo story is amazing; what a wonderful idea! As a special education intern I worked in a resource room this year. A couple of the students had social stories they needed to read every day or during certain situations. It’s so personal and real when you make a video instead, actually include the students in the story, and have them demonstrating the skills. I think it would have been a great idea for the students I worked with and it’s something that I will definitely try when I’m a special education teacher.