Nocking the Arrow

Our digital footprints should not be left to chance. Will Richardson recommends that all students become " well-googled " by high school graduation. As the accompanying graphic suggests, students should build a positive digital footprint as they progress in their education. My contention is this is sound advice for all educational stakeholders. As our lives become more digitized, more connected, and more cloud-based, where should we be keeping our evidence of learning? Where should we be keeping our evidence of professional growth? "One answer is digital portfolios."   Learners of any age need a place where curated information can get chewed up, broken down, and reassembled into new artifacts of learning. When our children were younger, the refrigerator, their bedroom cork boards, and our under-bed bins, were the final resting places for their shining examples of creativity and learning. To quote Dr. Helen Barrett, "we collect and share what we v...

There are many, in fact countless, articles and posts trumpeting the educational benefits of blogging. I have written a half-dozen of them myself. But are there compelling reasons why all learners should consider writing blogs? I offer you these three compelling reasons why all learners should be blogging; becoming well-googled, telling your story, and sharing your passions. Compelling reason #1 - become " Well-Googled " , a phrase popularized through the writing of Will Richardson and frequently used to describe the process of building a positive digital footprint. I typically ask the participants in my social media workshops to " Google " themselves and each other, and then report back through a class discussion board. Go ahead and give this a try now if you would like. What did you discover? If you're like most folks, you likely found information that surprised, and maybe even left you feeling vulnerable, or that your privacy is threatened. People can ...

Riddle me this Batman; When is a blog more than just a blog? Blogs can, and in my opinion, should be an essential component of connected learning. Your blog can become more than just a blog when it becomes a digital portfolio, or a podcast, or an eBook. I just provided the " what ", the following three resources will help you get started with the " how ". Blog as ePortfolio -  Using Blogger Pages to Create an ePortfolio  - Dr. Helen Barrett Blog as Podcast -  Podcastomatic  - Convert your favorite blog into a podcast Blog as eBook -  3 Easy Ways to Turn Your Class Blog into an Ebook  - Educational Technology & Mobile Learning Why would you want to use or change your blog in these ways? There are several reasons, including; greater accessibility, an ongoing project, a culminating project, reflective practice, learning new technologies, and sharing learning in new ways, How do you see these features helping your learners grow? Rela...

Congratulations on considering student ePortfolios as part of your transformative learning package. Electronic Portfolios are, in my opinion, the most effective way for students to authentically document and share their learning with an authentic audience. My suggestion is that you recommend one of these three platforms to your students as they begin creating their positive digital footprints: Google Sites , Evernote , and my personal choice,  Blogger . Fresh off an outstanding ePortfolio workshop presented by Dr. Helen Barrett , I became motivated to share some thoughts, and a few resources on this topic. What, how, and why are certainly important questions to address new or improved learning opportunities. My hope is that your focus will be on the " WHY ", as the "what" and "how" can, and should, be left to student research and development. Although it may not be appropriate in some cases, I would let the students experiment, and then choose th...