Learning Together

Our new Digital Portfolio platform Learning Together has started this year and sees every student in Year 5 and 6 having their own online presence as they learn the importance of media literacy, citizenship and developing a positive digital footprint. With the pervasiveness of the web, the importance of learning how to navigate the internet in safe, effective and ethical ways has never been more important.

Under the guidance of their teachers, students in Year 5 and 6 this year are essentially managing their own website, and in the process developing skills of web design, writing, reading, communication, collaboration, confidence and cyber awareness all whilst showcasing their learning to authentic audiences. Having their own online digital portfolio supports students in the process of goal setting, student-led conferences and in a variety of their classes. The meta-cognitive benefits of reflection aside, portfolios provide learners an opportunity to critically examine their own experiences and thoughts and to interact with others as they develop an understanding of the technologies that underpin the Web. Their digital portfolios can be used for blogging, archiving work that they are proud of, showcasing artwork, videos that they have created and a myriad of other uses only limited by their imaginations.

A staged roll out has us anticipating that by 2017, each student from Year 4 to Year 10 at our College will have a digital portfolio that follows them throughout their time at the College and has a unique identifier accessible on the web. Ensuring parents are on board has been key as has students managing their own privacy settings and personally maintaining the look and feel of their portfolio. The ability to export their content easily when finishing Year 12 to be used in the tertiary admission process or in future work endeavors has also been a key point in communicating with our parent body.

It’s only in it’s infancy but I warmly welcome you all to visit Learning Together and maybe leave a comment for one of our students.