From Idea to Iteration: Honoring the Process of Learning #IPDX16
One of my favorite books to read aloud, to staff and students, is What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada and Kae Besom (Compendium, 2014). According to the summary posted on Barnes and Noble:
This is the story of one brilliant idea and the child who helps to bring it into the world. As the child’s confidence grows, so does the idea itself. And then, one day, something amazing happens.
This is a story for anyone, at any age, who’s ever had an idea that seemed a little too big, too odd, too difficult. It’s a story to inspire you to welcome that idea, to give it some space to grow, and to see what happens next. Because your idea isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it’s just getting started.
It's been a year and a half since I published my first book on digital portfolios for students. In the time between then and now, my beliefs regarding the smart use of technology to provide authentic, connected assessment for students to showcase their understanding and skills have largely stayed the same. I continue to reference this resource in my workshops, such as the one I facilitated today at AcceleratED.
The consistency in the concept that learners require access, purpose, and audience for this type of learning to take place gives credibility to what I've shared today and in the past. This is what I knew at the time:
Source: Digital Student Portfolios: A Whole School Approach to Connected Learning and Continuous Assessment (eBook, 2014)
The visual was designed to locate access as the cornerstone for all of the other work we might engage students in with regard to digital assessment. The purpose of the learning task and the audience for this work would envelope the access students require to share their learning in ways that best meet their needs and preferences.
My thinking has not changed in these three tenets of engagement with digital assessment. However, I am wondering if this visual is the only representation for this framework. As I was flying over the Rockies from Denver on my way to Portland for the excellent AcceleratED experience, a new visual coalesced.
This graphic was not rendered with the same production quality as the previous graphic, but the difference is hopefully clear. By provide access to students with multiple ways to represent their learning (audio, video, image, text), they can feel more successful as well as better inform the teacher about the next steps (purpose) in their learning journey. Motivation is increased when there is an authentic audience involved in viewing student learning, namely their family through digital tools such as FreshGrade (www.freshgrade.com). One tenet of engagement informs the other, which informs the other, and back again. Kind of like learning! :-)
In my subsequent experiences as a school principal who visits classrooms regularly since writing this digital resource, I have found that the digital portfolio assessment process is as much of a cycle as well as a framework. Was I wrong in my initial thinking? I don't think so. It was my paradigm at the time. I think the premise still holds true. What I've realized since then is, what I imagine as a mental model doesn't necessarily translate to reality. As a lifelong learner, I've received a lot of feedback from other educators and explored different perspectives on this topic. The more I learn, the more questions I have.
The main message from What Do You Do With an Idea? is that when we share something new and possibly innovative to the world, it is hard to predict where the idea might lead. Others start to own it, put their personal stamp on it, and eventually make it their own. This is okay. I have given digital portfolio assessment "some space to grow, and to see what happens next." It wasn't my original idea anyway. The initial framework has evolved due to other educators' perspectives and from my own reflections. Who am I to stop these continuous iterations? I look forward to what the framework might look like in 2017.