TechPlay

Portfolios come in a variety of forms, from physical notebooks including hand-written notes and graphs to digital media and websites, but as Professor Dondlinger described in her video, "there are many more similarities than differences because learning is about what we have students do rather than how they do it." When we compare a portfolio to other forms of assessments, we see that a portfolio demonstrates how a student grows over time, displaying the varied processes and collection of work rather than just a grade on a single assessment. As a learner, it would certainly be more beneficial to me to be able to articulate what I have learned about EdTech and sharing experiences I have had rather than answering general knowledge questions. I think this would be more meaningful to my learning processes because having something to come back and reflect on helps me grow. I often forget what I wrote last week, but having the ability (literally at any time and at my fingertips) to access my previous writings and creations would certainly bolster my learning.
As shown in the above-mentioned video, the "Collect, Select, Reflect, Connect" process of demonstrating learning excites me when I think about the implications this could have in my classroom. While I still have much to learn about building this tool into my teaching, I can see clearly the benefits that my students could have by learning to use portfolios in their educational journeys. 

I love pen (or pencil) and paper. There is just nothing like taking out your favorite writing tool and getting to work. The crisp paper, the smell of the ink or lead ... think of the possibilities. One reason I might lean in this direction of having my students complete physical "notebook" portfolios is that a lot of our students struggle with handwriting. None of the kids in K-12 schools today know what life was even like before cellphones were the norm, and most of them have the handwriting to prove it. For me, this is a huge reason to have a paper portfolio. At the same time, I can see the value of eportfolios, namely that it takes opportunities for creativity to a whole new level. Even if your handwriting is sloppy, you can create a streamlined, well-organized eportfolio. Many of the tools I explored were as simple as opening a template, dragging and dropping, and uploading with a click. It really doesn't seem complicated. And I daresay most of our students already know or would quickly learn how to handle those things and therefore, learning would occur more quickly. 
Overall, I think eportfolios might be better for my students in the long run. If they can start as Freshmen and build it up so that they can literally watch their work grow over time all in one place, goodness that would be beneficial! Oftentimes, our leveled classes are not integrated and so we aren't sure what learning skills students have really garnered below or above us, and eportfolios might be the perfect tool for us to help show that, which would be beneficial for students, but also, teachers.

I love the idea of Prezi. It's so creative and innovative. Every student could put their eportfolio together in ways that represent them uniquely and that is certainly something that today's teens want to be able to do.
During our drama study, there are a lot of TEKS that we must cover. A Prezi might be the perfect way for my students to demonstrate their learning and also be able to see their growth over a lengthened period of time. For the first example of Substitution/Agumentation: their Prezi could include a section on stage direction, one on dramatic action, and another on character development with the wealth of information in those areas we find throughout the plays. (C) We would use this in conjunction with the selected scenes we are reading from Romeo and Juliet because we know that it's too overwhelming for Freshmen for them to read every word of every scene and every act.* (P)  In support of this, eportfolios would be allowing us to meet standards collectively and aiding us in giving our students the tools they need to more easily maintain a record of their past work, which would certainly help build a growth-mindset in them. (T)
For the second example, on the Modification/Redefinition levels: These things could be completely redesigned to be even more interactive than a simple "click" of the topic. They would include specific writings and projects over the levels of Shakespearean study - from Freshman to Senior - with their build-up through each play: Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, and Macbeth, where it would not simply be about labeling those things, but describing and demonstrating them as well, and this would carry over throughout their high school careers. (C) We also know that as students build their own knowledge, they learn more effectively. For this example, we would take the learning to a deeper level by having the students act out parts of the play because in doing so, they are taking part in active learning, and this garners more knowledge. (P) To a more intimate level, students would be more equipped to be life-long and life-wide learners. (T) 

*We know this from our own experiences, and also, it's demonstrated here - https://www.weareteachers.com/teach-shakespeare/*

(https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/09/study-shows-that-students-learn-more-when-taking-part-in-classrooms-that-employ-active-learning-strategies/)