I really like the idea of E-portfolios as an assessment tool. It would definitely take some practice with middle school students. They are not used to this type of assessment and are always looking for the "exact" answer. This type of assessment allows for a greater freedom for the student to express that they understand the material being discussed. It will take some time for them to get used to this freedom and outrun the fear of not having the "right" answer that would probably lead to the first few responses being carbon copies of what the "smart" kids thought about the posted questions or discussion topic.
I have discussed with other teachers the problems with the ePortfolio assignments and the fact that some of the students do not have internet access at home. I still believe that with this type of assignment, planning so that students have several days to post before you check (but not too many before you check or they will get so far behind that they will never catch up) their responses, and having teams that are flexible enough to allow student access to computers anytime that they are finished with class work in other subject areas, or are in enrichment classes, or are in homeroom, or during lunch time, that this then is no longer an excuse not to do ePortfolios.
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