Understanding by Design
Unit Title: Understanding and Exploring e-Portfolios
Grade Level and Subject: 9th Grade English
Duration: Every Friday during the 1st Marking Period (6 classes)
Stage 1 Desired Results
ESTABLISHED GOALS Transfer
- College and career awareness and Students will be able to independently use their learning to…
readiness create and develop e-Portfolios to gain college and career awareness and readiness, take
ownership of post-secondary planning while developing the skills that will help them
- Ownership of post-secondary planning become more digitally literate.
- Developing post-secondary goals Meaning
UNDERSTANDINGS ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
- Developing skills to become more 1. What is an e-Portfolio?
Students will understand…
digitally literate 2. How can an e-Portfolio help
1. how e-Portfolios can effectively
connect their education career with connect learning within the
their post-secondary exploration, classroom to post-secondary
planning, and goals. planning and exploration?
2. the various components of an 3. What goals should be established
efficient and successful e-Portfolio. during post-secondary planning?
3. what their own post-secondary 4. What does college and career
planning and exploration goals are readiness mean?
and the steps needed to achieve 5. What is COVA?
those goals. 6. How are the principles of COVA
4. various platforms used to create and significant learning
e-Portfolios and the many environments important in
technologies used in creating an learning and post-secondary
e-Portfolio. exploration and planning?
5. the concept of COVA and begin to
implement it in their everyday
learning.
Acquisition
Students will know… Students will be skilled at…
1. the concept of COVA and why it is 1. creating, developing, and building
essential to their learning. a functioning and effective
2. the effective uses of their e-Portfolio.
e-Portfolio beyond high school. 2. using various technologies and
3. the importance of voice and modalities associated with their
ownership of educational e-Portfolio (i.e. blog, constructing
technology. pages, embedding videos,
uploading images, etc)
3. collaborating and discussing with
their peers.
4. understanding what type of
artifacts should be included in an
e-Portfolio.
5. uploading/embedding pieces of
evidence of learning onto their
e-Portfolio.
6. connecting their learning to their
post-secondary planning and
exploration as well as linking their
post-secondary goals with their
overall future goals.
7. understanding and developing
their interests into appropriate
future goals.
Stage 2 - Evidence
Evaluative Criteria Assessment Evidence
PERFORMANCE TASK(S):
English class collaboration and discussion The class will hold discussions on what an e-Portfolio is and the benefits that they
provide. Students will have access to several examples of effective e-Portfolios to
support them in their planning and development.
Students will upload their relatively new e-Portfolio to their English class Canvas page.
Students will be given five goals that they will be assessed on; four of those goals will
be the creation of different pages and one goal will assess the organization, site
navigation, and orientation of those pages. Their first page will be an about me section
where students will include any pertinent information they’d like; they are required to
include their name and high school but can add interests as well. Their second page will
be a professional page where they will include work and voluntary experiences as well
as contact information. The third page will be their goals page which is broken into two
sections: long-term and short-term. Finally, students will create a blog page where they
will write one post reflecting on their experience with creating an e-Portfolio.
Students will be broken into small groups and present their e-Portfolios to their peers.
These groups will aim to discuss the process of creating e-Portfolios, problems they ran
into, and the information that will be included on various pages.
OTHER EVIDENCE:
Reflection posts on their e-Portfolio as On their own blog page, students will write one post reflecting on their experience with
well as their peers' creating an e-Portfolio. They will discuss COVA and how it has or will reflect in their
e-Portfolio. Students will then be assigned to two other students’ e-Portfolio. They will
provide written feedback on those students’ blog pages and give both positive feedback
as well as constructive criticism. Moreover, the English teacher will also be posting
collaborative feedback on each student’s e-Portfolios. Both the self-reflection post as
well as the peer and teacher feedback will be held in a discussion-based manner.
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Summary of Key Learning Events and Instruction
Students will develop an understanding of how their learning and education will connect and assist in their post-secondary planning
and exploration. They will explore and develop their understanding of COVA prior to planning and creating an authentic,
individualized set of short-term and long-term goals. They will read various articles such as Dwayne Harapnuik’s blog titled
“COVA” and an article called “The Value of E-Portfolios for Students and Educators” that provide a plethora of information for the
students to digest. This introduction is significant as students need to fully understand and “buy in” to this long-term assignment.
Once students have a foundational understanding of how an e-Portfolio can benefit them, and what components an effective
E-Portfolio is comprised of, they will be tasked with exploring various platforms that can be used to create their e-Portfolio.
Because our school district uses Google/Gmail, Google Sites will be the platform that I suggest. Some students will be more
familiar with online platforms while others may need more time to create the foundation of their e-Portfolio.
Each English class that is designated solely to e-Portfolios, will consist of little instruction but rather focus on developing,
discussion, reflection, and collaboration. The teacher will provide students with exemplary examples of effective E-Portfolios to
provide a visual of what an e-Portfolio can look like. After reviewing the examples, as a class as well as in small groups, students
will collaborate and discuss components of the e-Portfolio as well as artifacts that have been included. This discussion will give
students a better understanding of how each e-Portfolio is unique to the owner. This will encourage them to effectively engage in the
process and apply that ownership that they have discussed to their own post-secondary planning and exploration.
The six Fridays that are dedicated to peer discussion and teacher collaboration will help students share their authentic learning
experiences and learn from each other. Their group experiences as well as creating a rapport with their teacher will make their
learning environment more significant and meaningful. Peer and teacher feedback will provide a different perspective and allow
students to revise, edit, and continually improve their e-Portfolio. Students will individually meet with their English teacher twice
during this allotted time and discuss their short-term and long-term goals and how they will align with their e-Portfolio.
Furthermore, the teacher will provide various articles regarding
Providing freedom and encouraging high school students to take ownership of their own unique e-Portfolio will allow them to
represent themselves as an individual, a learner, and a member of Owen J. Roberts High School. Giving students autonomy to
design their sites will increase their engagement and create a meaningful significant learning environment for them.
Resources -
Blogs/Articles:
1. “COVA”
2. “The Value of E-Portfolios for Students and Educators”
e-Portfolio Platforms:
1. Google Sites
a. How to use Google Sites
2. Weebly
3. Wix
4. WordPress
My e-Portfolio Example:
1. Mrs. Millison's e-Portfolio
