Bill MacKenty

Blogging and eFolios

Got this great question about eFolio today…

I am not sure but I think your level of blog might be used with students instead of efolio?  Do you have any knowledge of these and/or suggestions? I’d like to pilot these with the 9th and 12th grade classes I teach.

For reference, here’s some stuff I’ve written about blog. Blogging is a tremendously valuable tool, but we need to deliberately design a lesson around the instructional goals…

Blogging and education part 1
Blogging and education part 2
How do I use blog in my classroom

Beginning blog does not allow for really dynamic content, which is necessary for good efolio management and presentation.  Blogger, for example, allows uploading pictures and sound, but there aren’t any galleries or file management tools.  If I wanted to add powerpoint presentations, videos, and lots of “zing”, I would be limited to simple expressions and site organization.

More advanced blog solutions (Expression Engine and Movable Type) offer tons of plug ins and extras.  These extras make blog an exceptional tool to use an eFolio.  Keep in mind it’s ease of use which really makes blogs a good choice.  If I want to add or edit to my eFolio (blog) it should be as simple and straight forward as possible.

The advantage blog hold over eFolio is RSS. Anytime my blog is updated, it is automatically propagated to aggregate sites, and to whomever is subscribed to my RSS feed.

The value of eFolio and online portfolios cannot be understated; we have a “live” constantly updated assessment record.  With multi-media, we have a tremendous opportunity to showcase learning!