Implementation Plan  - Eportfolios in the Secondary Ed ELA Classroom

In today’s rapidly changing digital world, it is essential for students to develop critical digital literacy skills. An e-Portfolio platform can help students to do just that. By using e-Portfolios, students will be able to curate their writing assignments, multimedia projects, and reflective pieces, allowing them to analyze the growth and development of their writing over time. This not only provides students with a valuable digital portfolio, but it also helps them to develop valuable skills, such as organization, collaboration, and communication, which are critical for success in the 21st-century workplace (Turkle, 2011).  This would also be a tool that students would be able to use as they transition to post-secondary education.

Key stakeholders:

Administration, Director of Technology, Department Head, Instructional Coach, English 2 Team, Students

Planning Phase:

Step 1: Develop a vision for the successful launch of the ePortfolio initiative, beginning September, 2023.

-          Establish the implementation team: English 2 teachers, Director of Technology and the Instructional Coach

-          Meet to review research related to using ePortfolios and best practices

-          Identify ELA teachers who are successfully implementing the use of ePortfolios

-          Define instructional goals and identify curriculum needs

-          Identify technology needs and introduce wordpress.com as the ePortfolio platform that will be used

-          Communicate vision to key stakeholders and provide updates throughout the implementation.

Step 2: Planning (2-3 months)

-          Identify the timeline for the pilot.

-          Professional development for the pilot teachers to learn about WordPress.

-          Submit request to the district for permission to utilize WordPress as the platform.

-          Develop policies and permission requests for student participants and their parents

-          Determine technology needs of teachers and students.  Students currently have 1:1 ratio for Chromebooks, so it should not be an issue.

-          Develop Benchmarks for the pilot.

-          Develop Technology Survey for students participating in the pilot.

Implementation Phase

Step 1: Engagement of Pilot Group for the 2023-24 Academic School Year

-          Distribute Tech Survey to Students.  

-          Ensure WordPress is ready for roll out.

-          Communicate ePortfolio initiative start.

-          Introduction to WordPress.com and ePortfolio initiative and benchmarks review

-          Publish and distribute policies for student and families.

Step 2: Grading

-          First Semester:  Students will be graded based on participation during the launch of the pilot program.

-          Second Semester: Students will receive a participation grade for the semester, in addition to receiving grades based off of a rubric for assignments.

Step 3: Analysis and Reflection

-          Develop surveys for students and teachers to measure impact of the ePortfolio initiative.

-          Administer surveys 3 times a year: September, January, May

-          Analyze data from survey and reflect on the process to revise any elements of the initiative that may need revision.  

-          Compile data from the survey and share results with key stakeholders.

Extension Phase

Step 1: Review and analyze data from end of year survey.

-          Key stakeholders meet to discuss data from the surveys and discuss any changes that need to occur before the next school year.

-          If necessary, make changes to initial rollout plan.

Wuetherick, B., & Dickinson, J. (n.d.). Why eportfolios? student perceptions of eportfolio use in ... - ed. Retrieved February 24, 2023, from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1107862.pdf