Future Applications of Digital Portfolios

Digital Portfolio Purpose.
As we move further into the 21st Century things are becoming more apparent that computer orientated solutions in the classroom like "Digital Portfolios" are moving towards being more accepted and preferred choice by schools and education authorities both state and nationally to use for a wide range of learning  and data collecting purposes.(Queensland (Department of Education and Training), 2008)

Student ICT Expectations
The Queensland Government through the Queensland Education department is promoting the "Smart Classroom" as its ethos which incorporates policies that expects teachers to be implementing Information Communication Technology into the classroom opportunity as part of the learning process to further develop ICT skills for students from Prep to Year 10. (Queensland (Department of Education and Training), 2010)

Their expectations are largely based on the findings by Queensland Curriculum Assessment and Reporting
Essential Learnings and National Statements of Learning for Information and Communication
Technologies.(Queensland (Department of Education and Training) , 2010)

Therefor it is imperative for experienced and new learning Managers to engage the future of the new learning style of document and record keeping like "Digital Portfolios" as they provide the following benefits:
  • Create regular classroom opportunities for students and Learning Managers to learn, build, support,implement and develop their computer skills to a higher level.
  • "Present the learners with many more decision-making choices for recording and presenting artifacts that demonstrate their achievements and growth". (Barrett, 1997; Hartnell-Young & Morris, 1999) Can be in the form of sounds, images (still or moving) and words.
  • Create engagement and self-motivation in students to produce, promote and publish "their own work in ways that promote outcomes of greater self-confidence".(Armitage,1998)
  • Provide opportunities for learners to collect, document, record and preserve special moments for reflection - recording individual and group session that can later be used for class discussions.
  • Make opportunities for Learning Managers to assess students ICT skills as they develop their portfolios themselves.(Woodward & Nanlohy, 2010)

The desired motivational purpose and outcomes for implementing digital portfolio's into 21st century classrooms becomes evident as they can:
  1. Endorse student success as it can be documented and recorded in real time.(Current)
  2. Make provisions for students to achieve ICT integration in a real life context - by using their own academic record
  • The futures oriented advantage of digital portfolios is that they become the foundation for authentic, school wide, integration of ICT's thus embedding learning in a context familiar and relevant to the generation of digital natives.
  • Within this context a digital portfolio both now and in the future can become much more than an evaluation tool for storing, documenting and recording digital work samples and profiling data and information. It can become an interactive platform for learners to display locally, nationally and globally their abilities and accomplishments using a range of media types.
(Woodward & Nanlohy, 2010)

A digital portfolio promotes, supports and encourages;
  • Learner ownership of their learning
  • Student self assessment and reflection
  • Integration of assessment, reporting, pedagogy and curriculum
  • Opportunities for teacher/student collaboration
(Brady & Kennedy, 2005)


The Future of the Digital Portfolio Product

  • A whole school implementation of a digital portfolio system would efficiently and easily accomplish the tasks that a hard copy folio currently provides, the variety of info stored can be sorted into folders easily accessible to the appropriate stakeholder. In the digital format all of the relevant information can be efficiently stored, accessed, transferred, compared and updated.(Queensland (Department of Education and Training) , 2006)
  • A digital portfolio organisational system can be as simple and compact or as elaborate and broad as required, a school wishing to implement a digital portfolio system can begin using a simple format such as a Wiki for student exhibitions or a relational database for academic transcripts and profiling information.
  • In the future a  "Digital Portfolio"system will slowly over time develop into a fully integrated whole school system with features, benefits and capabilities only limited by imagination of the Learning Manager and the students and available technologies. (Barrett, 2000)
  • It is at this advanced stage of development that the full benefits of a digital portfolio system will be fully realised and appreciated. To reach this point however requires confidence and commitment from the whole school community, which in itself fosters community spirit and ownership amongst stakeholders, furthermore it provides a common platform on which all can contribute to and benefit from an integrated system of assessment curriculum and reporting. (Balanskat, 2005)
  • A digital portfolio system can be developed using a range of software packages to suit the various applications. Education Queensland and their Smart Classrooms initiative provide templates and professional support for Queensland teachers.  (Queensland (Department of Education and Training), 2010)
In conclusion digital portfolios will be able to make learning very versatile that allow students to personalise, collaborate, manage, access, access, report, connect, was not just their own school were other students throughout the world.
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