For my entire life, I have been fascinated with knowledge and learning due to my parents' nurture. Learning was really all-year around, not just between August and May in a classroom. Summer months really allowed for my learning choices. During elementary school, they were filled with library reading challenges and programs, science camps, and Brain Quest workbooks, all anticipated and completed with self-motivated gusto. During middle school, my summer time was spent swinging a baseball bat and tumbling. During high school, required school readings (check out my School Shelf in my AshLee Library) were sprinkled throughout driving school, band practice, more tumbling and cheerleading, volunteering at the local rabbit sanctuary, and practicing Dance Dance Revolution. The artifacts I have from my adolescent education include refrigerator pictures, report cards, the occasional writing assignment, my flute music, and pictures galore found in various boxes through my home and my parents' house. When in college, after hours of attending lectures, experimenting in the labs, and studying with classmates, my artifacts became binders filled with notes, examples, lab data, and writing and presentation drafts, along with PDF files containing numerous pages of lab reports and out-of-date textbooks with no resale value. My first three years of teaching 6th grade science, my portfolio modeled my college structure. My binder contained my teaching philosophy, resume, lesson plans, appraisals, student artifacts, and letters of recommendation from my assistant principal, Critical Friends Group mentor, students, and their parents. I brought this collection into my interview for high school mathematics, and I firmly believe that my portfolio solidified the decision to recommend me for hire. They could see and experience my classroom beyond my responses to their questions because more of myself was expressed in these visuals. Questions they did not even know they had about my teaching style and perspective were answered and they saw potential in what I could bring to their campus that sets me apart from other candidates. As I settled into my new high school classroom, I continued to collect some artifacts here and there, throwing them into a folder where the only descriptor was the year. There wasn't any need or desire to organize another binder, not only because a lot of my documents were now digital, but also because I had no plan of leaving anytime soon unless God directed me down a new path. My resume spruced up every so often when applying for leadership roles on my campus and in my district, but the people interviewing me had literally stepped foot into my classroom on multiple occasions, another opportunity to see who I truly am as a teacher. When my Dean of Instruction and I spoke about getting a master's degree (Masters in Education Does Not Mean Administration...) and I found the Applied Digital Learning program, it really was not what I was expecting but in the best way possible. Without the requirement of an ePortfolio for the program, I probably never would have actually sat down and built this platform. At first, it started as making sure I checked all of the boxes our professor mentioned, but what it is becoming is a living museum of me, math, and more. I have another blog post, Exploring Worlds through ePortfolios, where I mention some things I have learned through the ePortfolio building process.
The biggest idea of what I have learned so far is that for others to really see me and know who I am as a person and as an educator, investing in this labor of love is worth it. I have had the opportunity to connect with people from all over through their ePortfolios (Community in Collaboration) and witness growth in myself and others as we build our innovation plans (Teaching 21st Century Skills in a Blended Learning Environment). As I progress in my career and my calling in life, I will now have a platform to capture the steps along the way, as though I am walking through the halls of a museum, where the displays encompass different perspectives or different time periods. If I can help others grow and learn through my stories and perspective, then what a blessing it will be to do so simply by being vulnerable and open. References Adopt Sari on Petfinder. (n.d.). Petfinder. https://www.petfinder.com/rabbit/sari-65034929/tx/garland/north-texas-rabbit-sanctuary-tx780/
Noble, B. &. (n.d.). Brain Quest Workbook: 3rd Grade|Paperback. Barnes & Noble. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/brain-quest-workbook-janet-a-meyer/1138044755
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My husband lovingly teases me when I reflect on my day with him and say "I learned something new today!" because he would be surprised if I didn't learn something new.
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