I have been very interested in the High Tech Portfolio to showcase my students’ abilities and to show to my school’s extended community that there is a high quality art program in each of elementary schools in Laramie Country School District #2 and for inspiration. For a district like mine that have school communities that extend miles from each school and that have a transient school population, having High Tech Portfolios can be a vital form of communication. Here are my top three High Tech Portfolios that teachers and students can use or for inspiration and are appropriate for K-6 students.
1. Artsonia
Why choose Artsonia? I chose Artsonia because it is user and viewer-friendly, its security features and its storage features. It took me a few minutes to create an account for each school. I can create students roster per grade level. It also does not take long to post student work and it is easy to navigate through the site. One thing I like about this site is that you do not need to publicly post. You can use it for private activities to show progress through grade levels but if you want to publish your student work publicly there are some security features I like. One of the features is that only the work and first names are displayed and parents have to give permission for work to be shown publicly. Having work public allows relatives to view your students work. I know one of my colleagues loves this because she can see her grandkid’s art and buy items with her grandkid’s artwork on them.
2. Creative Connections International Art Exhibit
Why choose Creative connections? I chose Creative Connection because it allows students to view artwork of other students like themselves around the world and to become inspired by the artwork. I feel that students can often get greater meaning or inspiration from other student’s work than by looking artwork of artists of the past. It gives them a reason to work hard and strive to do their best because they know that there are students like them doing the same thing. Do to the cost of the programs that Creative Connections offer, I cannot have my students fully participate. One of the programs cost $600.00 per student so with 500 students it is cost-prohibited. If you have the money it is a great opportunity for your students to experience the world around them. Like many of you, I will just use this site to inspire my students and me.
Why choose Saatchi Gallery? I chose Saatchi Gallery for the reason that with this portfolio elementary students and schools can participate in the prize program. Students have an opportunity to win cash prizes for their work and win money for their school’s art program and the winning art will be displayed at the gallery in London, UK. There are little to no opportunities for 4-18 year olds to have their artwork displayed in a major gallery or museum so when opportunities like this are available it can be plus for your program. If you do not want to have all your students work publicly displayed it is not for you but it is one of the best high tech portfolios to share and communicate what is going on in your art room.
There are few barriers of using the above sites and similar sites. One barrier is the privacy of students and many schools and districts do not allow student artwork to be displayed on these sites because of the privacy issue. I am very lucky that my district does allow me to showcase student artwork on these sites. The privacy of my students is very important to me especially when I showcase their artwork on one of these types of sites , on my blog, and my classroom sites. Another barrier is the time that is required to use these sites. It does take time to photograph the work, post and describe the work, and get parent permission to publically publish the work if you use Artsonia. When you do not have time to spare you are less likely to use these High tech portfolios. The benefits of these sites such as a way to advocate for art programs and to showcase your students’ abilities may outweigh the negative barriers.