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ASSESSMENT & TECHNOLOGY FORUM June 19, 2004

2004 Gallery Walk Projects Title: Digital Portfolios in the Elementary and High Schools Organization: Bristol-Warren (RI) Regional School District Web site:  http://www.bw.k12.ri.us and http://www.ideasconsulting.com

Contacts / Presenters:	Lee Rabbitt – rabbittl@bw.k12.ri.us Diane Morris – morrisd@bw.k12.ri.us David Niguidula - dniguidula@att.net
What purpose does your assessment tool serve?	We are using electronic portfolios at the elementary level to improve instruction, inform parents, inform teachers and document literacy and numeracy improvement over time. At the high school level, electronic portfolios are being used to improve instruction, inform students, parents and teachers of proficiency, as a second form of official assessment (with the report card) and, ultimately, as a culminating assessment of high school achievement. Electronic portfolios will also be used at the middle school as a second form of assessment.
Please indicate the category that best describes your project:	Technology as an Assessment Tool: ___ NCLB Statewide Assessments (Preparation, Delivery, Analysis) ___ Classroom Assessments (tests, quizzes) __X_ Electronic/Digital Portfolios ___ Computer Scored Essays ___ Information Management Systems ___ Tools for Observation of Student Work/Behavior ___ Special Needs/Alternative Assessments ___ Other:________________________   Assessing Technology Skills (NETS * S and NETS * T): ___ Digital Transcript ___ NCLB 8 th Grade IT Literacy ___ High School IT Graduation Requirements ___ IT Certifications (Cisco, Microsoft, etc.) ___ 21 st Century Skills ___ Other:________________________
How long has this assessment tool been in use within your organization?	We have been using electronic portfolios at the high school level for two years. This is our first year implementing elementary and middle school portfolios. We will be demonstrating the elementary portfolio during the Gallery Walk. We can also demonstrate the high school portfolio.
Who is the audience for this assessment tool?	The audience is K – 12 educators – both administrators and teachers. It may also be of interest to post secondary institutions that educate preservice teachers. .
What technology is used? (Please indicate hardware, software, and networking requirements)	The electronic portfolios are web-based. We use our district web server as well as a web server being provided by our consultant, David Niguidula of Ideas Consulting. We have an ATM T3 coming into our district and a robust wide area network as well as local area networks. However, the program is web-based and works with any computer that has access to the Internet. The software was designed by Ideas Consulting. We use simple digital cameras to upload video into the portfolios.
Approximately how many people are currently using this system?	100 K-12 Students (current year) Please indicate grade level(s):_2-4_ 300 K-12 Students (current year) Please indicate grade level(s):___9__ 6 Teachers (Grades 2 – 4) 20 Teachers (Grades 9)   Teacher education students   Teacher education faculty   Other
What professional development (for students or assessors) is required to use the tool?	Initial sessions on how to use the software can be done in half-day sessions. However, we have found it more beneficial to extend these professional development sessions to include issues of assessment and designing tasks for the portfolio. Thus, teachers often come to a two-day session in the summer or a series of events over the school year.   From there, we embed professional development where members of the district's portfolio team learn about specific details. The p.d. team (which includes members of the district's technology staff, participants in the schools, and our consultants, Reina Quintero and Hilarie Davis) regularly visits with teachers in their classrooms, and help create the portfolios and work with the students. During this time, teachers become more comfortable with the system, but also begin to take responsibility for pieces of it. As things go to scale, we want to grow teacher-leaders as part of the team, since they provide insights on how the portfolio works best in their environment.
To use the tool effectively, what else should the school have in place?	To get started, we picked classrooms and schools where there was some interest on the part of the principal and faculty, and places where there was the greatest chance for success. There needs to be a commitment to thinking about things differently. In the beginning, the portfolio process can take out a large part of several days, but eventually, we hope it becomes part of the routine. A supportive administrator is a key; the person does not have to be directly involved with all of the technology, but can provide help with things such as finding time and resources. At the same time, we don't want to be dependent on a single administrator, since positions can change over time. We want to meet a need that the school has identified; in one case, it was helpful to show a particular population's skills that were not being demonstrated on the traditional assessments.
If you haven't already addressed it, how does your tool help students or teachers demonstrate that they are meeting standards?	The portfolio systems at both the elementary and secondary levels are organized around standards. When a piece of work is entered into the portfolio, the student must select which of the standards has been addressed.   More importantly, students have to reflect on how they are meeting the standards. Even at the youngest grades, students talk about their goals, and how well they can reach them. The end-of-year assessment at the high school asks students to discuss their growth against the standards during the year.
What questions would you like participants to address?	How can we take projects like the digital portfolio to scale? What are the keys to other people's success? How are other places using the data? Who will have access, and for what purpose? How do you ensure that the evaluation is fair? Who sets the bar?