An integral part of service-learning is sharing the service with the community. Sharing gives the work meaning for the student, strengthens the bond with the community partner, and advances academic objectives, like improving writing and critical thinking skills. But many times, sharing work in an interesting way—both inside and outside the classroom—is difficult. Through E-portfolios, the opportunity to publish what students are giving back and learning about for a mass audience, and in a colorful and thoughtful way, is a remedy to what is one of the biggest challenges in service-learning.
Here is one of my reflections about the effectivness of E-Portfolios as tools for sharing:
One of the initial attractions of E-Portfolios to me was their affinity to service-learning work, and the expectations have been met. As students did their presentations, I saw what a powerful tool portfolios are in sharing the results of service-learning, in terms of the impact on both the learner and the community. In particular, seeing pictures of students with the children and adults they were working with at schools, summer camps, parks, hospitals and homes for the elderly and all over the city was moving. I was also struck by the power of the taped interviews and reflections. One popular soundbyte, for example, captured Mr. Rolle, a crew member at an Overtown gardening project who is a lifelong resident of the neighborhood, discussing the changes it has undergone and the fear outsiders feel toward it—now a valuable resource for future discussions and portfolios. Until sharing happens, service-learning is not complete, and I’ve found an excellent vehicle for this final stage of the process in E-Portfolios. The other important observation I made was that in presenting their portfolios, students must search for connections between the essays they post that may not otherwise be made explicit during the semester. The process of building a well-designed portfolio encouraged students to explore how disparate readings, research projects, images and experiences fit together into a larger picture. It was interesting to see students vary the order of the assignments they discussed to smoothly weave these connections.
