GRY PH ON DA L E EDU C AT I O N SERVI C ES
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Tabl e o f Co ntents Com m u nit y o f Lear n ers
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Com m u nic atio n an d Co ll aboratio n
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Lea r nin g Ass es s me nt - A LP S a nd e -Po r tfo li o s
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R ep o r t i ng a nd Tra n sc r ipts
p age 5
S i te Cu sto m iz at io n
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I nter n et S ec ur i t y a nd S a fet y
p age 8
R ea d in g a n d R e sources
p age 10 The real driver of creativity is an appetite for discovery and a passion for the work itself. When students are motivated to learn, they naturally acquire the skills they need to get the work done. Sir Ken Robinson & Lou Aronica
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and dissemination of lesson plans, the software seeks to create a school community with a focus on learning. Because one of the primary goals of EdVillage4Me is to encourage student creation of digital portfolios, each ePortfolio entry can also be a part of the community building process. Yet, each e-Portfolio entry can also be a private, member-only, posting. While designated teachers and administrators always have access to all work, it is the student who invites others to view his/her e-Portfolio, and the student can invite guests to be viewers of the e-Portfolio. This could include parents, siblings, other members of the local or national community, college admission personnel, or future employers.
Community of Learners It takes a village to educate a Community of Learners EdVillage4Me is designed to create a community of learners within a single digital environment. The software promotes community between teachers and students as so much of the work is shared, though the decision to share work is always made by the individual. From the creation of blogs which are initially published to a "What's New" category, to the creation
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Perhaps most importantly, the creation of a community of learners provides students with the opportunity to learn the value of healthy criticism. child. Each published posting in the system has the option to receive feedback from community members. In this way, students and teachers are engaged in the process of learning - and of helping others learn.
Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together. Paul Ryan
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Communication and Collaboration Communication and collaboration features are built into the fabric of EdVillage4Me. The system contains its own messaging options, allowing users to communicate inside the boundaries of EdVillage, avoiding potential compromises with Internet based email systems. This gives students and teachers a free, open, and yet secure system of communication. Additionally, any message can be addressed to an out-of-community address by using an Internet email address. In this way, the ecosystem of EdVillage4Me preserves communication safety while allowing others to be involved in messaging. Because EdVillage is based on the concept of a student profile, the system sponsors a "Teacher's Note" system. With Teacher's Notes, a teacher can create student progress reports to update the student and the student's support group about progress and challenges. Teacher's Notes is unique to EdVillage, and teachers can use it to address a message to the student, while also copying the student's parents, advisor, counselors, and others. In this way, a number of adults are involved in the education of the child and they can all be "on the same page" regarding student achievement and student needs.
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Students and teachers can collaborate on classwork via the blog and posting system built into the software. Each blog posting contains a comment option so that teachers and other students can comment on work in progress. Students are able to work in teams to post work in its draft stages, while commenting and making suggestions on other students’ work, encouraging each other to do the best work possible.
Communication and Collaboration T h e r e i s n o “ I ” i n a l e a r n i n g “ team . ” Finally, EdVillage encourages "here and now" communication via a system of immediate online interaction. Any student or user can engage in live "chat" or share and collaborate on documents, or participate in a whiteboard session, or engage in video-based chat. This feature enables students to be engaged in their learning anytime and any place and with any device.
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Learning Assessment (ALPS and e-Portfolios) EdVillage4Me is all about learning assessment. What makes EdVillage different is our philosophy behind learning assessment. By using multiple approaches to assess learning, the resulting picture of learning for each student is more complete, rich, and detailed.
Lea rni ng A ssessment ALPS & e -Por tfolios Each student is unique and deserves unique assessment reporting. First and foremost, EdVillage encourages students to use everyday learning as well as special projects and assignments as the building blocks of an e-Portfolio system. EdVillage's original design specifications always included a primary role for e-Portfolios. Every ePortfolio can contain examples of student work in draft and in final copy, comments on that work, and student authored reflections about the work itself. In this way the intended audience for the e-Portfolio students, parents, teachers, advisors, counselors, and administers - can see evidence regarding student work and student progress. Evidence based assessment is a fundamental tenant of EdVillage4Me. We often speak about e-Portfolios as CORE - a place for students to “collect,” “organize,” “reflect,” and “evaluate their work. Gryphondale Education Services
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While e-Portfolios are core to the program, EdVillage also recognizes that daily, quarterly, trimester, or final grades are important. Because EdVillage uses component based programming, school systems can elect to use the available Assessment and Learning Profile System (ALPS) (under development).. Via ALPS, teachers can grade students in traditional methods while also encouraging the development of e-Portfolios.
Because traditional grades are stored in digital "bins," schools and teachers can allocate any customized weighted schema for bins - whether they are divided into "formative" or "summative" assessments, or whether they are divided into more traditional categories such as "quizzes," "tests," "projects," and "homework." More importantly, each assessment recorded in ALPS also has the option to be connected to a school, state, or national standard. All similar standards are grouped and tallied so that an average "star" rating on the standard is displayed. In this way, students, parents, teachers and administrators can see student progress via a traditional grading system, and proficiency development via a star rating system. When viewed holistically, EdVillage4Me gives students and the school community a complete, detailed, and informed picture about the work and progress of each student. The system provides a more complete, and a more clear picture of student achievement.
A learning portfolio that is flexible in design, goals, and outcomes; easily adaptable to a variety of disciplines and purposes; and available for constructive feedback and generous mentoring is a strong model. John Zubizaretta
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Reporting and Transcripts
R e p o r tin g a nd Tran sc ri pts
Students, parents, and Shar i ng wh a t w e educators all want to know about student work and progress. Because EdVillage4Me is built largely around a philosophy of evidence based assessment, the evidence on student progress is always present. The system creates reports about student work in several dierent methods. Whenever a student participates in a "Learning Activity," the results of that work are reported in the student profile and teachers can examine those results easily. The student learning profile contains not only learning activity results, but also links to the student blog and the student ePortfolio, so it can be a very quick and easy way to evaluate student work. Because EdVillage contains an active parent communication module named Teacher's Notes, the teacher or administrator with system permission can examine all the teacher notes for any student. This allows the teacher or administrator to see a history of teacher commentary and observation. Additionally, because teacher notes are tied to standards, behaviors, or habits of mind, the teacher or administrator can sort and display those teacher notes based on a series of criteria.
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h a ve lea r n ed i s h a lf th e ch a l l e n ge i n l ea r n i n g. The evidence of learning found in the e-Portfolio provides the student, parent, teacher or administrator with a great look into student work, displayed in a variety of multi-media formats. As students complete assignments, special projects, reports, mentorships, or internships, they have the opportunity to record their experience and reflect on their learning. This system of evidence based assessment creates a rich panoply of insight into student learning. Because students can invite others to view their e-Portfolio, it can became a way to demonstrate learning and expertise. Upon graduation, e-Portfolios can exported to Gryphondale’s college implementation - EdCampus. The Assessment and Learning Profile System under development provides what we call both a "right brained" and a "left brained" assessment of student progress. ALPS records both traditional grades and proficiency based assessments and so creates a unique way of seeing student work from two perspectives. On the one hand, ALPS generates what we traditionally know as grades - but it also generates reports based on the tallied average of proficiency accomplishments. The ALPS program generates a two part transcript to reflect both the "numbers" of grading and the "narrative" of proficiency based assessment.
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Site Customization Every school or school district is unique. Every school and school district has its own unique culture and its own unique needs. Gryphondale recognizes the need for each local educational agency to establish both standards and expectations for learning - even when those standards and expectations are based on state or national standards.
Site Cus to miza tio n Every school is its own unique culture.
For that reason, every school or district has the opportunity to customize the services and interface for EdVillage4 Me. The "4Me" is real. We work with each school or district to customize not only the graphic user interface, but also the standards and modules used. The various modules are listed below. Student Blogs e-Portfolios - Portfolios4Me Learning Activities Teacher's Notes Messaging Calendaring - School and Individual Curriculum, Unit, and Lesson Planning Learning Profiles Assessment and Learning Profile System - ALPS Gryphondale Education Services
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It is also possible for more than one district or school to share an EdVillage4Me installation, permitting and encouraging teachers and students to share learning across classrooms and across districts. The possibilities really are - endless.
e -Por tf ol io s - “ A s ystem whi c h a l l ows users to r e co rd a ny a bi l i tie s, eve nt s o r pl a n s w h ich a re p e rs o n al l y si gnifica nt; wh i ch a l l ows these re co rd s to b e l i n ke d, a ugm ente d o r ev i de n ce d by o ther da ta s o u rces, a nd w h ich pr omo te s r ef l e c t i o n on these ent ri e s. I t a l l ows the use r to i n teg ra te in stituti onal d a ta w i t h p erso na l da ta, re co r d e d a n d revi ewe d ove r t i m e, w h ich ha s b e e n en ri c h e d by com m enta r y a n d fe e dbac k fro m t he re c i pi ents o f s h a re d a ss et s” S te fani, Lorra i ne, e t a l. (2 007) The e d ucat io na l p otenti al of e -Por t fo l i o s. Londo n: Taylo r an d Fran c ies.
Because EdVillage4Me is created via this series of interlocking and interdependent modules, the implementation in any single district can be unique. We can adapt and alter programming modules to meet user needs, creating a fundamentally unique program for each district. We use your standards, your pictures, and your input to create a customized implementation, while also helping you achieve district and state goals. Some districts, for example, may only want to implement Teacher's Notes; while other districts will want to implement Teacher's Notes in combination with e-Portfolios. Another district for example may want to implement the Learning Activities module in combination with e-Portfolios. EdVillage4Me recognizes and celebrates the unique qualities of schools, school districts and the students who learn in them.
Children have a powerful, innate ability to learn. Left to their own devices, they will explore options and make choices that we can’t, and shouldn’t, make for them.
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Sir Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica
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Internet Security and Safety A good school is a safe school. EdVillage4Me takes great care and precaution to guarantee the digital health and safety of all of its participating institutions by creating Internet independent directories. Each installation of EdVillage is an individual installation, and all users must be registered on the site. Because the prime directory is locked, EdVillage4Me uses the Internet as a vehicle of communication, but a vehicle into which only registered passengers may enter. In this way, every installation of EdVillage4Me is safe from Internet intrusion; and all users can feel protected and secure.
I nte r net S ec u r i t y a n d Safety Everyone benefits from knowing they learn in safety and security. Because each installation is a safe installation, digital privacy is maintained and students can learn the skills of digital citizenship in a protected and nurturing environment. Local administrators, trained by Gryphondale, can administer the site, approve and disapprove content, permitting students to engage in a safe community of learners. Local administrators determine groups and levels of access so that student privacy is maintained while teacher oversight and guidance is guaranteed. Gryphondale Education Services
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Additionally, each student can govern the degree to which they participate in the larger community of the school by self-determining when to "publish" posts and assignments and when to retain those posts for their own private use. All users have the ability to use EdVillage as a digital archive as each user has a private folder for notes, drafts, and resources. Students and other users make the choice concerning when to publish blog entries to the school-wide forum. Similarly, students can determine, with the help of adults, when to invite others to view their work. In this way, students can invite their parents, college counselors, employers, or college entrance personnel to view their work. This process of invitation is an important one for EdVillage, as we believe that guests are invited into the community of learners.
“The aim of constructivist principles as applied to e-learning is to engender independent, self-reliant learners who have the confidence and skill to use a range of strategies to construct their own knowledge” Excerpt From: Lorraine Stefani, Robin Mason & Chris Pegler. “The Educational Potential of e-Portfolios.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/
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R e adi ngs an d Resources T h e se m a te r i a l s a r e hy pe r l i nked w he ne v e r possi bl e. B a nt a , Tru dy ( 2003) . Por t f ol i o as s essm ent : Use s, case s, scor i ng and i mpac t. S an Fran c is co : Jo h n Wi l e y a nd S o n s B a r ret t, Dr. H e le n. El ec tron i c Por tf ol ios We bsi te. Ca m pb el l, J o hn , “Th eori z i n g h abi ts of ,mi nd as a frame wor k for le ar ning.” D ow nl o a dPD F Co s t a, Ar t h u r L an d B e n a K a l l i ck , “Ha bit s of mind in t he cur r iculum. D ownload P D F Ful l a n , M i c h ae l ( 2 0 01). Le a di n g i n a cul t ure of change. S an Franc isco: Jossey B as s. D ow n l o a d PD F N o te s Ful l a n , M i c h ae l ( 2 0 06) Breakth rough .Thousand Oaks, C A: Cor win. D ownload P D F N o te s G ard n e r, Howard.( 2006) Fi ve m i n ds for the fut ure. B oston: Har vard Business R e vi e w Pre s s. D ow n l o a d P DF N o te s. K ee l e y, M i ch ael.( 21004) The trouble with transformational leadership: toward a federalist ethic for organizations. Ethics, the Heart of Leadership. Westport, CT: Praeger. Download PDF
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Kimball, Miles A.(2003) The web portfolio guide: Creating Electronic Portfolios for the web. New York: Longman. Amazon Link. Kug el m a s s, J u d y ( 200 6) “Sustaining cultures of inclusion: The value and limitation of cultural analysis,” European Journal of Psychology and Education. 21:3. Download PDF Lo re n zo, G e o rge a n d J o h n I tte l so n (2005) . D eomonstrating and asse ssing studen t le ar n i n g w i t h e Po r t f o l io s. E L I Pap er 3: 2005. D ow nl oad P DF M ar z a n o, R o be r t et a l. “D i men si on s o f l ear ning. D ownload PDF Pa p e r t, S e y m o ur. ( 1993 ) Th e c h i l dren’s machine. New Yor k : Basic B ooks. I nter net Arc h ive L i n k S ave r i, An d re a . ( 2013) 5 f uture tren d s t ha t w ill impac t the le ar ning e cosy ste m. Edu to p i a Bl o g. Webs ite M uel l e r, J o h n . Authe nti c A s ses sm en t To olb ox. Web si te Tho m a s, D o u g la s a nd J o h n S e e l y B row n.(2011) A ne w cult ure of le ar ning: Cultiva t in g t he ima g ina t io n f o r a wo rl d o f c h a n ge. N P:Create Spa ce I nd epe nd ent Pub lishing Plat for m. Am azon Li n k Wi g gin s, G rant. ( 1998)Educative assessment: Designing assessments to inform and improve student performance. San Francisco: Josey Bass. Download PDF Notes Wyat t-S m i t h , Cl a i re. ( 2009) Educati ona l ass e ssme nt in the 21st ce nt ur y : Conne c t in g t heor y and p rac tice. N ew Yo r k : S p r ing er .Ama zo n L i n k Zu bi z a r re t a , J o hn . ( 20 09) “Th e l earn ing p or t folio: Re fle c t ive le ar ning for improv in g s t ud ent learning. S a n Fra n c is co: J o s e y- B ass. D ow nl o a d P D F Notes Gryphondale Education Services