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Education Grads Prepared With E-Folios

By Charlotte Muenzenberger
UW-RF News Bureau

APRIL 29, 2005--This spring the UW-River Falls College of Education and Professional Development will graduate the first group of aspiring educators who will have developed electronic portfolios, or e-folios, as part of a new state graduation requirement. The new technological requirement and UW-RF students and educators are featured on Wisconsin Public Television's "Teaching Through Technology" on May 17.

Mary Manke, associate dean of the College of Education and Professional Studies, believes that technological skills provide a real asset to students in a tight job market. "River Falls has familiarized students with classroom technology making them well-known to employers when arriving on the teaching site," said Manke.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction requires education majors to maintain a teacher certification portfolio of their work. In order to be licensed, students must submit this portfolio to DPI, complete all relevant coursework including student teaching, and receive a qualifying score on the Praxis II assessment.

Manke and Mike Martin, academic advisor in the College, reviewed the first wave of graduates' e-folios. Both were impressed with the hard work put into these new showplaces for students' skills. "These are the most effective way to ensure students know hot to use technology," Manke said.

Students may either publish their e-folio via Internet or on a CD. The portfolio requires students to use artifacts to demonstrate 10 teaching standards specified by DPI's PI-34 law.

Students must also include a reflection on each artifact. The College's Technology Leadership Cadre, a group of students who serve as technical consultants to students and staff, provides access to the technical support students need in order to complete these portfolios.

In March, the award-winning public television series "Teaching through Technology" produced by the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board came to campus to film the TLC helping students develop their e-folios.

"We're one of three campuses in Wisconsin that will be included in the documentary," said Karen Ryan, director of the UW-RF Educational Technology Center. The program airs on Wisconsin Public Television May 17 and nationwide on public television stations throughout the year.

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Last updated: Tuesday, 03-May-2005 16:07:21 CDT