| Sample of initial student comments from the Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Secondary) "The MyPortfolio software has been invaluable to me as a Pre Service Teacher as it provides a great medium to store lessons, evaluations, and thoughts. It is also a great way of reflecting on my progress so far and allowing my lecturers to view my ongoing learning. The user-friendly service provided by MyPortfolio could be used by those not so technologically inclined, but also when used to it's full potential, can be something that aids in securing future employment by showcasing a students' potential to be a critically reflective teacher." Ben Horne - Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Secondary) - Physical Education "My Portfolio is a useful tool for keeping in touch with class mates and sharing ideas while we're away from campus: on placements at various schools across Auckland. It's great to be able to share ideas on assignments and general teaching practice. As students we often feel as if we're expected to work in isolation, but as teaching professionals collaborating and sharing ideas is vital. My Portfolio bridges the gap. The interface is clunky and unintuitive. There is a time investment required to learn how to use it, and I think many Students haven't spent the time getting to know the program and aren't aware of many of the features or its potentials. The low uptake by my fellow students means there isn't a great deal interaction going on or shared material available." "My reactions to the software itself are very positive- there's heaps I have not yet tried or created but I will do i.e. creating more views. Overall it is good to have a space to collate things. I only wish other people would add to things like the practicum forum more because I think it's a great space to share experiences and get to know what other schools are like and I'd like to read some! My thoughts are that it's basically like a professional facebook specifically for a learning area/course. I know that at least one person has benefited from sharing a file I posted on Solo taxonomy- the more people that post and share the better for all of us! The trouble is getting into the habit but given how many of us use online profiles like facebook I can see it becoming more and more useful and accessible. " |
The update above outline the preliminary findings from the roll-out of the e-Portfolio to the Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Secondary) programme.