Digital Portfolios in the Classroom: Showcasing and Assessing Student Work

Assessment is messy. Day-to-day, in-the-moment assessments not only reveal information that drives future instruction but also offer a comprehensive picture of students' abilities and dispositions toward learning. As teachers, we might know what this looks and feels like, yet it can be hard to put into action—hence the messiness.

Say hello to digital student portfolios—dynamic, digital collections of authentic information from different media, in many forms, and with multiple purposes. Using digital portfolios to capture student thinking and progress allows us to better see our students as readers, writers, and learners—and help students see themselves in the same way!

Matt Renwick's Digital Portfolios in the Classroom is a guide to help teachers sort through, capture, and make sense of the messiness associated with assessment. By shining a spotlight on three types of student portfolios—performance, process, and progress—and how they can be used to assess student work, Renwick helps educators navigate the maze of digital tools and implement the results to drive instruction.

Matt Renwick is an elementary principal in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. He is married to Jodi and the father of Finn and Violet. Prior to this position, Matt was a teacher and school administrator in Wisconsin Rapids. He is the author of Digital Student Portfolios: A Whole School Approach to Connected Learning and Continuous Assessment (2014) and the ASCD Arias book 5 Myths About Classroom Technology: How do we integrate digital tools to truly enhance learning? (2016).