Brightspace Spotlight: Portfolio

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 Brightspace Spotlight

Portfolio: Your New Filing Cabinet

by Darren Towers, Office of Instructional Technology LMS Specialist



If you have been around a while like me, you probably had a box or filing cabinet drawer to collect those key student samples throughout the year to create a portfolio. You know, the writing samples, art projects, or math and reading assignments from the beginning, middle, and end of the year. These samples were shared with parents, drove your instruction, and even influenced how you grade your students. This process was also used to show student growth - an essential part of the teaching and learning process. 


As we grow as instructors we often adopt new ways of doing things...sometimes by choice, sometimes by necessity. I am not here to discourage the collection of those hard copies, but to suggest a way to enhance how they are stored, shared, and used in your process. The filing cabinet still has its place, but just as we backup our music and photos, we should also backup our students' key educational artifacts. Brightspace Portfolio is the perfect tool to backup these artifacts and enhance how we use portfolios in your classroom. 


Enhance what you collect...

Brightspace Portfolio allows for the collection of those  classic artifacts, but also allows for the collection of videos, audio recordings, and multimedia presentations.


Enhance portfolio organization…

Teachers have options when it comes to organizing the Brightspace Portfolio. Class categories can be created to organize artifacts and can be used later to filter evidence for easy retrevial. Teachers can also add reflections for students and leave feedback. Other features include the ability to align the artifact with standards and teacher-only notes about each artifact.


Enhance student involvement...

Depending on the setting you choose, students can have as much control over their portfolios as the teacher. Students can decide what artifact they want to add and what they say about that artifact. Students also have the option to spotlight their favorite artifacts.



Enhance how and when you share...

Parents have access to the portfolio widget in their Brightspace for Families account. When an artifact is ready, teachers can easily share with parents. No more waiting until conference time or composing separate emails for each student.


This tool has many more ways to enhance the collection of student artifacts. Artifacts and portfolios stay with students as long as they are enrolled in our district. For more information on using Brightspace Portfolio to enhance your artifact collection process, visit our Intro to Digital Tools site > Brightspace > Portfolio.


Happy collecting!





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