Blogging/Portfolio platform

Greg Port
Oct 14, 2016
2 min read

Image: @sylviaduckworth

The idea of students regularly writing a blog is a recent one in education. Up until recently we just didn't have the tools to support this idea, but now we do!

Our current assessment paradigm in schools does nothing to enhance student creativity, innovation or collaborative skills. Yet these are the very skills most educators would agree are fundamental to a good education. Indeed these are the precise dispositions that glossy school brochures espouse "this is what we are all about" whereas the reality is often different. The main culprit is assessments. Schools test students gratuitously - in one school the leadership counted 88 tests in one year for the Year 7 group. Is it any wonder these students were fatigued by the constant and unrelenting pace of learn, cram, test, learn, cram test...

I recently heard some research where a large group of students who had a B+ average on an exam were given the same exam (without warning) 3 months later. Their average grade was an F! What does this say about the depth of their understanding and learning in that subject? I don't doubt results would be similar across a wide range of subjects.

So how we do we help students to learn more deeply, to understand rather than just scratch the surface? One way could be to reduce and rethink assessment. Imagine if students, instead of having to cram knowledge and skills were given time to work on something they were actually interested in (more about this another time!) and were able to document their learning online for an authentic audience that would include peers, parents and friends in addition to the teacher. They would be asked to document and reflect on their learning, to think deeply about what they are doing, to seek feedback and make adjustments. Wouldn't this be a better way of assessing the quality of a students work?

Here is a video that goes into this:

A digital portfolio that included a blogging component would be a truly different way of assessing mathematics, but its worth a try!

Some of the criteria for the tool I wanted students to use included:

Web based, able to be managed on a range of devices.
Ability for students to add any kind of media from any device.
Something that allows blogging in addition to just a content curator.
Student managed, so students have freedom to design and present their work and take ownership of their portfolio.
Transportable so they can leave school and take their work with them.

Here are some tools: