Reflecting on how I will continue to use my ePortfolio to help me become a digital leader involves integrating several key concepts and principles. Firstly, COVA (Choice, Ownership, Voice, and Authenticity) will guide my approach. I will ensure that my ePortfolio reflects my choices in terms of content, design, and presentation, allowing me to take ownership of my digital presence. By incorporating my voice authentically, I will share meaningful insights, reflections, and experiences, contributing to the authenticity of my ePortfolio.

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Additionally, I will cultivate a growth mindset, embracing the power of yet. This means acknowledging that my skills and knowledge are constantly evolving, and I am capable of learning and growing from challenges and setbacks. This is evident in reflecting on my original post about my Growth Mindset Plan  and my more recent reflections on Growth Mindset.  My ePortfolio will showcase my journey of continuous improvement, demonstrating resilience, perseverance, and a positive attitude towards learning.

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Creating a significant learning environment for my students involves creating content that reflects my authentic learning experiences in this course as showcased in my posts for the course 5313 Creating A Significant Learning Environment. The ePortfolio  will exhibit projects I created in my learning journey, and reflections that arise as I continue to learn and collaborate with my peers.  Including class discussion and personal posts like: 

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• ePortfolio - Getting Started

• Creating a culture of helpfulness & growth mindset

• Why use an ePortfolio?

• Reflecting on the learning manifesto

• Who owns the ePortfolio?

• Reflections on the COVA ebook

• Show me yours and I'll show you mine

• Switching Platforms

• Helping each other

• Reviewing other ePortfolios

• Creating a project with COVA in mind

• How QTalk improves learning

• Waning Motivation

 

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Reflecting on my original Learning Manifesto, I've witnessed a significant shift in perspective, particularly in valuing the role of voice in authentic learning, especially concerning ePortfolios. Initially, my focus was on combating fixed mindsets and leveraging technology for better learning outcomes. While these aspects remain vital, I've come to recognize the importance of empowering students to discover and express their genuine voices throughout their learning journeys. I updated my viewpoint on the Learning Manifesto in a reflection post. Learning Manifesto Reflection.

 

Previously, my emphasis was on effort, repetition, and using technology for engagement and feedback, all of which are essential yet part of a broader narrative. Authentic learning's voice encompasses students' personal narratives, insights, and perspectives, creating a more meaningful learning environment beyond mere assignments or gamification. This shift in perspective not only fosters a sense of ownership and confidence but also deepens my understanding of teaching Digital Natives, where technology serves as a facilitator to amplify student voices, foster connections, and ignite a lasting passion for learning.

 

The innovation plan is significantly impacted by the ePortfolio journey as it reflects a shift in perspective. Initially, the focus was on leveraging technology to deliver content efficiently and engage students. The COVA principles have significantly influenced my proposed innovation plan. The ePortfolio journey has underscored the value of these principles in educational practices, especially in creating a meaningful and student-centered learning environment. This deeper understanding of authentic learning, with its emphasis on student voice, personal narratives, and insights, has directly impacted the plan. By incorporating the COVA principles, the innovation plan aims to provide students with choices in their learning journey, foster a sense of ownership over their education, amplify their voices through authentic experiences, and ensure that the learning environment reflects real-world contexts. I am in the process of revisiting my innovation plan.

 

The ePortfolio and this course have significantly influenced my professional work. I'm not only incorporating the course content into my classroom practices but also leveraging my website creation skills to bolster my application for a school-sponsored grant. I developed a dedicated website to exhibit the activities and progress in my classroom. The SACS Spanish Classroom website, accessible only to the school community, acts as a platform to showcase our initiatives. I’m choosing to host my grant proposal on this platform because it highlights our achievements, which will potentially increase the chances of securing the grant for my classroom.

 

Despite all I have accomplished and learned using the Wix platform to host my ePortfolio, I’ve come to the decision to migrate my content to WordPress after listening to the class discussion regarding the difficulties with Wix in this course as well as the number of tools available to WordPress.  Since I am going to continue using my ePortfolio beyond this course, I thought it best to go ahead with the migration. The new L2 Acquisition Blog located on WordPress is in the beginning stages. I will be working on the migration during the break between courses. 

 

In addition to all the experimentation I’ve done with creating new sites, I have learned quite a bit on Wix mostly from visiting the ePortfolios of my peers.  It has been very beneficial to me to be a part of a learning community where we share ideas, and help each other understand not only the details of assignments  but also get ideas on how to structure the ePortfolio and add elements that I was not familiar with prior to beginning this ePortfolio journey.  From Samara Marin, I learned how to embed a document into my ePortfolio.  It only took one additional piece of learning to make me curious about what else I could do.  I have now embedded a spreadsheet into my eP. I'm excited to see what else I will be learning how to do in my eP as I go along in the courses. Samara also offered advice on how to migrate my Wix eP to Wordpress. Sadly I haven’t been able to make that work yet.  I have included screenshots of how my ePortfolio began as far as aesthetics are concerned. I’ve made many changes to the look of it because I wanted it to reflect who I am as a professional.  You will even see where I learned to create and use AI  images. 

 

I hope that my ePortfolio will serve as a tool that represents my digital leadership, incorporating the COVA principles, fostering a growth mindset, creating significant learning environments, and promoting authentic learning experiences. It will be a reflection of my educational journey and a platform that will give voice to my reflections on education.

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