To Whom it May Concern, 

 

As your 4th grade Reading Language Arts  (RLA) teacher, a big problem I have noticed throughout my time here at Odem Intermediate is writing samples not following the students when they come to me or when they leave to go to the next grade level. I am sure English teachers after me want to know how much their writing has grown or if they've always had those writing difficulties prior to a certain grade level. I am also aware and very sure this is a concern we always run into as we use Response to Intervention (RtI) a student or want to compare their work from the year prior; we want to see growth or view problems that may be of reoccurrence. Artifacts we obtain from student work is one of the many pieces to the puzzle we do our best at comprehending. 

 

Therefore, I would like to propose a disruptive but innovative idea: an electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) where writing samples are kept digitally to follow students from grade level to grade level for their future English teachers. I would like to begin with a survey to gather information from teachers about needs pertaining to this area. Next, I would like to meet with you and our technology director to discuss the cybersecurity side and review potential platforms teachers can utilize. It would also be an excellent idea to choose Odem Intermediate as the campus to pilot at as the teachers are very knowledgeable and efficient with technology utilization in the classroom. That said, it would be beneficial to develop a committee with the Reading/Language Arts of the campus the program shall be implemented. The cost will be time consuming as we go through various phases of the implementation outline. However, an e-portfolio could be of great use to us teachers and our students. According to Troy Hicks, Anne Russo, Tara Autrey, Rebecca Gardner, Aram Kabodian, and Cathy Edington from Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, digital e-portfolios are “a driving force in teacher education. Portfolios 1. Measure authentic assessment related to professional standards; and 2. Involve a technology-rich process that benefits teachers personally and professionally. (Hicks, Russo, Autrey, Gardner, & Aram Kabodian, 2007) I know we have always discussed integrating technology in our classes, and to have our students be more involved within that process, this could really take us to the next level of innovation.This type of integration will allow for all parties involved: teachers, parents, and administrators to view authentic student artifacts. 

 

The benefits would be huge for this solution when teachers need to address concerns in a(n) Response to Intervention (RtI), 504 Meeting, or an Admission Review Dismissal (ARD)  meeting. This type of innovation could also be for parents to view their writing throughout the years, especially if they are concerned they are not seeing the progress of their child. According to David Niguidula in an article with Educational Leadership, teachers in a school he studied in Rhode Island, used e-portfolios “to communicate better with parents. At a parent conference, the teacher calls up the student’s portfolio, which displays samples of the students’ work in reading, writing, and math from kindergarten through 5th grade. Because the goal is to show growth over time, the portfolio contains only two or three samples in each subject area for each year.” (Niguidula, 2005). Niguidula discussed very good evidence on how one school uses e-portfolios. Since we have parent-teacher conferences every fall and spring this would be a very good time to show the writing samples of how their child is progressing which makes it a meaningful purpose. In order for us to implement a platform to showcase the student progress, we will need to make a plan together to develop a professional development plan to have the teachers train with this program in the summer. 

 

That said, can I have your full support to begin piloting this program and implement this innovative idea? As I’ve said before, a digital e-portfolio can benefit us as a campus and a district by showing students authentic learning through writing artifacts. I look forward to further discussing plans for this disruptive, but innovative idea with you and the rest of the leadership team. This can really make a difference not just on our campus, but the district and will push us in a new direction of technology innovation. 

 

Sincerely,

Ann Zastryzny

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References

Hicks, T., Russo, A., Autrey, T., Gardner, R., Kabodian, A., & Edington, C. (2007). Rethinking the purposes and processes for designing digital portfolios. Journal of adolescent & adult literacy, 50(6), 450–458. https://doi-org.libproxy.lamar.edu/10.1598/JAAL.50.6.3

 

Niguidula, D. (2005). Documenting learning with digital portfolios. Educational leadership, 63(3), 44–47. https://doi-org.libproxy.lamar.edu/https://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.459dee008f99653fb85516f762108a0c/