1. Increases Student Learning: The teaching and learning process becomes more efficient and effective.
2. Increases Teacher Collaboration: Learning environments become networked, standards focus to meet clear learning objectives, curriculum becomes clear and concise, and collaboration results in integrated curriculum.
3. Increases Parent Communication: Parents become involved and have access to grades, curriculum, email addresses, and video lectures. The community can observe the learning process and may evaluate student performance for scholarship or career opportunity through the digital portfolio.
4. Fosters Curriculum Alignment: Meets building, district, state, and national curriculum standards. Units are primarily based on ELRS and GLEs per WASL expectations. Supports the district’s vertical alignment of curriculum.
5. Allows for Technology Planning and Budgeting: Meets building, district, state, and national technology standards. Computers and equipment are cloned for customized learning needs. Learning environment connect only what can be affordably maintained and remotely managed. Creates grant opportunities.

Teacher Training: Develop the skills to manage a web-based classroom. Participants will:

1. Customize a digital work environment.
2. Become organized and efficient.
3. Monitor and discard inefficient methods of working and learning.
4. Develop multiple ways of accessing and manipulating information.
5. Learn to communicate effectively through digital means.
6. Maintain knowledge of current communication trends.
7. Continually train to use new technology.
8. Utilize student portfolios as a foundation for teaching and learning.

The portfolio project provides the foundation for a team approach to technology integration, teaching, and learning. The project focuses on improving education through student and teacher training, through the use of technology, through the integration of curriculum, and through improved parent and community communication.

Students create web-based electronic portfolios representing their academic school work and community involvement such as jobs, awards, scholarships, internships, community service, athletics, hobbies, music, and academics. The electronic portfolio allows students to move through different categories of cognitive learning: application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Assignments became more concrete and product orientated. This demonstrates to students that all classes and activities fit into the totality of their education and that school is a part of their total self. Students, parents, family, teachers, and the community easily review the portfolios to examine academic and community progress. The electronic portfolio becomes the core of the learning experience.

The electronic portfolio also allows classes to combine efforts towards the creation of student work. Students learn basic technology skills to develop the framework for the portfolio by completing units 1 - 23. In networked environments students can access their portfolios in multiple classrooms. In one example of an integrated assignment, students work on cardio-vascular improvement in P.E. class, chart improvement on spreadsheets created in Technology, and write an essay in Language Arts to explain and evaluate improvement. Such integrated units can be documented in an electronic portfolio.

The original school-wide Portfolio Project was established with the purchase of 50 refurbished wireless Toshiba laptops that were acquired for under $150 dollars apiece all running Windows 98. A team purchased the machines through grant monies and assured a one to one student to laptop ratio in all 8th grade Language Arts classrooms. The wireless laptops established the hardware infrastructure from which the team-based portfolio project expanded beyond the one teacher, single computer lab model.

Once the one to one ratio was accomplished, the team immediately began looking for an upgraded notebook that would run Windows XP and that could be purchased for under $200. The team knew at the onset of the project that they were purchasing outdated machines, but the one to one computer to student ratio was more important than powerful hardware. The team tested 5 Dell notebooks, determined that they met the students' needs, acquired grant money, and began upgrading notebooks to ultimately replace the entire set of Toshibas. It was decided that the outdated Toshibas would be utilized at home by students who did not have a personal computer. The project curriculum was all placed on-line and students who checked out laptops would simply download the curriculum onto the laptop hard drive so internet service would not be required at home.

The power of the laptop was not only the one to one ratio, but students were empowered to control much of their learning environment, manage their personal files and portfolio, and work collaboratively with their fellow classmates. It was recommended that students utilize the class website or a classmate to answer their questions before they asked a teacher for help. This approach helped the student develop as an independent learner while also learning to collaborate with classmates. The teacher’s role then became that of facilitator of knowledge vs. the traditional role of controller of knowledge.

The primary computer lab was established to function as a media-technology center where students completed the 23 technology units that made up the portfolio foundation. The machines were donated Dell Pentium 133s and it didn’t take a great deal of power to finish the basic portfolio. Students who needed more powerful machines moved to a video editing station and used its advanced programs and power for higher end work.

The video editing machines were also used to view online lectures. On-line lectures became a very powerful resource because the kids could easily get caught up if they missed school or highly motivated students could work ahead on their assignments. Thus, both remediation and enrichment components were easily embedded throughout the program. Video lectures not only saved the teacher time, but they enabled teachers to truly provide individualized differentiated instruction to students.

When students were ready to have their assignments graded, they contacted the teacher and went through a grading conference. Because the hardware infrastructure was networked, teachers and students could utilize any computer in the district to hold a student conference or complete student work. If the assignment met the grading criteria then the student received a pass, if it did not, the student received feedback and then continued to work on the assignment until it met standard.

What was unique about the Portfolio Project learning environment was that teachers acted as consultants to the student. It was not uncommon for a Language Arts teacher visiting outside his or her classroom to get stopped by a student working on his or her portfolio. Students saw the teachers as a resource and requested help even when the teacher was outside of his or her classroom. This open philosophy created a truly integrated learning environment.

The pilot project was based on the belief that teachers needed to provide enriched opportunities to students who met basic class expectations. Students were personally motivated to work ahead and learn more. Advanced media students, for example, produced a live daily school news broadcast and student webmasters worked together to publish news stories on the school’s web-site. Beyond the portfolio and basic assignments, teachers were able to provide enriched learning opportunities that included collaboration and team work.

The culminating experience for the student was to present their portfolio to their classmates. Students worked with their teacher preparing for the speech prior to the class presentation. Once the student completed the presentation the teacher would then review their performance and give feedback to the student. The presentation was also recorded and students embedded the final video presentation into their portfolio.

Once the student completed all 23 units of the core training and gave his or her presentation, a certificate of completion was awarded. The awarding of the certificate marked a commencement and the student moved into the enrichment units and expanded the portfolio beyond the basic design.

Benefits to Students, Teachers, and Parents

The entire eighth grade class (approx. 150 students) and eighth grade team of staff directly benefited from this project. The project improved student learning, impacted teachers, parents and community because: 1) the digital portfolio directly focused eighth grade schoolwork on concrete student production, 2) the teaching process became more efficient through true collaboration between teachers who become curriculum facilitators of integrated assignments, and 3) parent and community communication and involvement improved.

Student learning improved because students saw how academics directly impact their own lives through the digital portfolio. Teachers believed this caused the students to make a greater effort towards their work.

Teachers completed needed technology training themselves, collaborated on integrated assignments, and helped students create the digital portfolio. The training the teachers completed included: creating a unified grading system that allowed for on-line posting of grades informing students, teachers, and parents of students’ real-time progress, digitizing units and integrating them into the learning process, and collaborating and integrating units across content areas.

Through the school web site, parents and involved community members accessed school news and related activities, reviewed class curriculum, and checked student progress through coded account numbers. The digital portfolios became a selling point to the community showing concrete examples of student work and community involvement.

Hardware, Grants, and Community Partnerships

A combination of two Port Angeles Education Foundation Grants, a local Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year Award, a Jordan Fundamentals Grant, 2 ING Innovative Teacher grants, and funds from Stevens Middle School’s Gates Grant totaling $14,000 bought the original purchase of 60 refurbished wireless Internet access laptops each for $150. Two Language Arts classrooms acted as wireless labs with 28 laptops in each classroom to serve 150 students in eight sections. Those classrooms also had two digital cameras and networked printers to facilitate portfolio production. Teachers also equipped the P.E. training room with five laptops, five heart rate monitors that record the total workout for each session, and a network printer. The Intro to Technology classroom also was equipped with 25 networked work stations for student technology training, critical to portfolio production.

Conclusion and Expansion

The Port Angeles School District supported the project by making Stevens Middle School Wi-Fi’ed for wireless access to student accounts throughout the building. This support, along with district server space, school email access, and the teacher/school websites enabled the project to grow to its full potential.

There was definite motivation as the students saw their academic and resume based performance unfold visually in the digitally portfolio. Upon completion of the pilot phase, new goals were established to establish clear benchmarks and reward all students for reaching exceptional levels of performance. It was also a goal to develop business partnerships to grow the project into a first-class dynamic program that would allow the Portfolio Project to be showcased and local businesses to be recognized for leadership in the educational field.

The team was also looking to showcase student work at the end of the school year assembly and utilize corporate recognition incentives. The corporate recognition would demonstrate that the students’ work was innovative with real world implications. Students completing their portfolios to 8th grade standards would be professionally recognized for their efforts.

The pilot phase of the 8th grade portfolio project clearly proved itself a success. At the time of writing this report teachers were working on expanding the project with additional units, integrating additional content areas into the project, and partnering with the business community to provide student incentives for the successful learner.

Overall the Portfolio Project resulted in a paradigm shift in the way teachers taught and students learned. The scope of the Portfolio Project has local, national, and international potential and could be expanded to include schools throughout the world.