One of the three goals of our PT3 grant  was to "Develop electronic professional portfolios, which challenge  students to use pre service increasingly complex levels of technological sophistication."  The State of Vermont requires portfolios from pre service teachers for initial certification and converting these to an electronic format offers added value.    The construction of electronic portfolios is closely aligned to new findings about learning identified by the National Research Council in 2000. There is a growing body of evidence that portfolio assessment is a good way to understand what learners know and a useful tool to help them organize information as they build new knowledge. We have learned from our students who have built web-based portfolios for the past five years, that electronic portfolios have been of benefit in addition to the demonstration of technology skills inherent in creating e-portfolios.

Templates Developed: Although most students and faculty create their portfolio format themselves, some need more guidance with design and structure. Templates have been created to support those students and faculty that require more structure.

• Pre Service Students (Elementary http://www.uvm.edu/~pt3/template)
• Pre Service Students (Early Childhood)
• University of Vermont Faculty
• K-12 Faculty

Student Created Electronic Portfolios

• Gretchen Ide Elementary Education Fall 2002, individually designed/password protected
• Allison Gersten Elementary Education Spring 2002, adapted template/password protected
• Emma Waldo Secondary Education, Spring 2002, individually designed/password protected
• Laurie Gelles Elementary Education, Spring 2002, individually designed
• Amy Hook Elementary Education, Spring 2002, adapted template

Presentations about Electronic Portfolios

• Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) March 2003: Albuquerque, New Mexico. Long Paper: Portfolios as an Assessment and Learning Tool. Published in Proceedings. 

• American Association of College Teachers of Education (AACTE) January 2003: New Orleans, Interactive Session: Do Portfolios Illuminate Learning?

• Vermont Fest November 2002: Killington Vermont  Electronic Portfolios Illuminate Learning

• PT3 Directors Meeting, July 02 Washington DC: Street Fair Poster Presentations: Strategies that have worked featuring our Mentor and Electronic Portfolio Successes

• Ed Media 02: Denver Colorado, International Conference, June 02. Evolving Electronic Portfolios. Received Outstanding Poster Award

• VermontFest November 2001: Killington Vermont.  Electronic Portfolios Light up your Life,

• Dynamic Landscapes: May  2000 Invited Presenter: Burlington Vermont, Champlain College: Electronic Portfolios: turning on the power.

Electronic Portfolio Resource Page

• Resources For Higher Ed Faculty 
• Recommended Readings
• What is an Electronic Portfolio
• How We Learn with Portfolios
  
• Why Develop an Electronic Portfolio?
• What programs should I use?
  
• K-12 Portfolios
• K-12 Teacher Portfolios
• Pre Service Portfolios
• Higher Education Faculty Portfolios

Web Sites linked to PT3 Electronic Portfolio Resources: An array of Colleges of Education, Technology Centers, K-12 School Districts and Commercial Web Sites have linked to our Electronic Portfolio Resources.

Courses on Electronic Portfolio

• UVM Faculty (http://www.uvm.edu/~jmorris/faculty/facsyllabus.html)
• K-12 Teachers Level One and Level Two
• Online Portfolio Courselet

Feedback on Electronic Portfolios

• From Secondary Education Professor  UVM regarding Electronic Portfolio Presentation
• Technology Specialist, Burlington High School after summer 2002 Electronic Portfolio Course
• K-12 Art Teacher Edmunds Elementary School, participant in 2002 Electronic Portfolio Course
• Valdosta State University, Georgia, USA, Education Professor
• Elementary/Secondary Science Education Professor at UVM
• Physical Education Professor at UVM
• Elementary Education Student (NEED  notes from Laurie and Rebecca)

Data Collected on Senior Portfolios

• Questionnaire 
• Student Responses
• Changes to Senior Portfolio Class
• Faculty Wintersession Evaluation
• Evaluation Results
  

Continuing  Our Work with Electronic Portfolios

We are continuing our support of electronic portfolios by offering professional development to our K-12 partners using NCLB funds and through a new partnership with IBM, the Vermont Department of Education, and the State  Colleges. We are helping to develop a web-based tool that will help create developmental, showcase and assessment portfolios for pre service teachers, new inductees,  inservice teachers applying for recertification and organizations responding to NCATE and INTASC accreditation.  This RE3 Grant  (Reinventing Education 3),  is seeking our input as well as those from 8 other sites to develop a comprehensive portfolio tool that will  assess all facets of a teacher's educational experience.