Athy College selected for EU Portfolio project

Athy College is delighted to be working with a number of partners - NCCA, State Examinations Commission, POST, Microsoft Ireland, and H2 Learning on a European e-portfolio project which is led by the Department of Education and Skills. This European project will see seven countries - Ireland, Slovenia, Austria, Spain, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Lithuania - work concurrently on piloting e-portfolios in classrooms and investigating current e-portfolio practice in teaching and learning. Through a network of pilot schools, the project will design and test potential e-portfolio models for use in teaching, learning and assessment.

In Ireland, twenty-six post-primary schools are involved in the pilot project.  Athy College is one of these selected schools.   The initial phase will run from January to May 2014 with two English teachers from each of the pilot schools involved. The teachers will receive training in the use of the two e-portfolio platforms chosen for the project - Mahara and Microsoft. Our pilot schools will use the portfolio in a variety of ways to support teaching and learning and will work on a number of English assessrnenLtasks throughout the pilot process. Pilot schools will have the support of an e­portfolio mentor and will have the additional supports of an online community of practice and a trans­national online peer to peer network.

From our work to date, it is clear that the e-portfolio model will provide teachers of all subjects with a myriad of opportunities for formative assessment and rich student assessment tasks.

The findings of the EU Folio project and the potential for e-portfolios in the Junior Cycle classroom will be disseminated through CPD sessions for teachers and school leaders throughout the Junior Cycle reform process.

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