Well readers, hard to believe but Brian is now running downhill towards the finish of his Master's of Education in Instructional Technology at Cardinal Stritch University. The time has come for me to put together a
Digital Portfolio describing my courses, evidence of work and how it relates to teaching standards. The last bit caused a lot of consternation on my part as I am not a public school teacher. I thought about creating a
Career Portfolio for potential employers and job reviews but I do want to document how my coursework and activities mesh with teaching standards. At a later date I may want to pursue a teaching license and the MEIT Portfolio will help me prove that I have met some of the requirements.
I took a look at over 15 portfolio sites this week including those suggested by my study team. It was really hard to find one single portfolio that did it all for me. Some were quite technical and hard to read while others were cluttered with widgets and background templates that detracted from the author's message. I think back to
Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds and the ones that were most appealing had a simple yet cle
ar design to them. Solid backgrounds, easy navigation and a minimalist approach where
less was more.
There were 2 sites that really stood-out for me in my quest for the ideal. Although both do not meet all of my requirements I feel that they have qualities worthy of emulation. Bruce Richards is an Instructional Designer. Bruce’s site is free of clutter and when one selects a heading from the navigation pane it gently scrolls to the appropriate section. If you browse through Bruce Richards site one gets a sense of what he’s about, educational experience and approach to his work.
Dr. Roland Bolender's site contains so much information but it is cleanly laid-out in a way that it is not overwhelming. From the Mission Statement and Role as a Teacher one can easily navigate to the resume, awards, curriculum and other headers. Dr. Bolender’s site contains a full list of curriculum, online classes taught and evaluations. Overall, I like the design and how Dr. Bolender substantiatesof his work with specific detail that demonstrate a prolific career as an educator.
I have a better idea now of the design and layout I will use for my MEIT Portfolio. The CEDO555 course requires us to use Google Sites from our student Wolfmail account. I browsed various templates and selected a format. Now, all I need to do is figure-out what my content will be and how to organize it using Google Sites. Ah, yet another Web 2.0 application to master. The MEIT program has had me use so many that it's a good thing I'll be listing them in a portfolio so I don't forget!.
You do have a challenge ahead of you because you’ll need to work the portfolio within a business context, but that’s one reason why your portfolio will be interesting and I’m sure look very professional. Your blog has been great all along the way.
ReplyDeleteI too have seen some terrible portfolios. Orange text on a blue background, very personal information on a site that is supposed to be professional, and not very much information or links are just a few examples. In fact, these were so bad that I did not even want to use them as portfolios I to comment on.
I am in a similar situation. While I work in a school, I am not a classroom teacher. I am an administrator. I have little contact with students and, as my position changes in the coming months, will have even less teaching time with teachers. I am not sure what kind of focus my portfolio will have. I am trying to come up with a mission and vision that will help me as I move into upper administration. Over the coming weeks I am sure it will come together but for now it is causing me a little stress. On the other hand, it is exciting to look back at what we have accomplished.
ReplyDeleteI am impressed that you are going to make your portfolio multi-purpose, for business and school. I am planning to keep adding to mine and use it as my professional teaching portfolio, which, unfortunately, no one looks at, but still, I like to know what I've done :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the less is more. I saw some pretty awful portfolios on my quest. I wonder if they even know how unasthetically pleasing their site is.
I think you will have an easy time with google sites. The WYSIWYG editor is great and you can keep it real simple and not mess with the gadgets. I look forward to seeing what you put together!
I like your focus on clean and simple to navigate. I think that this makes the content shine through and keeps the reader unencumbered by the packaging. I think that if we are to continue using the site and add to it over time, we need to be careful to keep our links and content active and current. Some that I looked at were outdated or links were not working correctly. This is especially easy to have happen in the technology environment. Can't wait to see what we all come up with.
ReplyDeleteHi Brian,
ReplyDeleteI'm reflecting on some of the same questions you have about the portfolio and it's purpose. Thanks for bringing back Presentation Zen...it grounds me and helps me to focus on what is important! Sometime I forget to KISS (keep it simple stupid)!
I agree that listing all of our accomplishments from this program is important and will be quite extensive. Are you adding all the other stuff you have done and are doing? It seems pretty huge! I have some pondering to do yet as well!
As always, I really enjoyed reading your blog posts!
Thanks~M
Brian,
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to seeing how you mesh business and standards as it pertains to creating your portfolio.
I also saw some terrible portfolio examples. Why some of these people put pictures they did is beyond me. Why put a picture of you at a party on a portfolio? Why have text that is hard to read? I guess they need to read Presentation Zen or take this class!