The Value of Portfolio Assessment in Nursing Education

The use of portfolio assessment as a means of assessment is increasing within the field of nursing education. Portfolio assessment allows both students and teachers to evaluate the learner’s progress over the course of study. The value of using portfolios as a mean of evaluation is further increased for adult learners, as it encourages self-directed learning and self-reflection. Furthermore, as it is a means of formative assessment, the portfolio can guide future learning once potential areas for improvement are identified. In order to achieve this, the student should use his/her portfolio to set goals for future learning, and can subsequently utilize new portfolio contents to evaluate progress towards identified outcomes. Additionally, if various types of data and materials are exhibited within the portfolio, measurement of multiple dimensions of student progress is possible.

In addition to measuring student progress, portfolios can further be used to measure program effectiveness. School program administrators should periodically assess the materials contained within student portfolios, in order to evaluate whether program learning objectives have been met. If program learning objectives are not illustrated, then curriculum revision may be indicated.

Edited Video Presentation

The Process of Critiquing Yourself

Critiquing your own work is not always a fun process, as people tend to overly critical of their performance. However, the various benefits that can result from doing so are well worth the slight discomfort. Upon first perusal of my presentation, what first struck me was how much I use my hands when I talk. To me, this was a distraction, although others who watched my video stated that they viewed it as a positive, so it appears that it depends on the learner whether the use of hand motions during instruction is a pro or a con. The following is a list of benefits that can result from critiquing one's own performance:

-Educators can observe whether learners are engaged in the presentation
-Educators can subsequentyly improve instruction methodology based on the level of learner engagement
-Improved instruction will promote greater content mastery/student achievement

As improved student achievement is likely the goal of all educators, it is in their best interest to occassionally critique one of their own learning sessions, in an effort to continually improve their instruction and curriculum development. The recent opportunity to review my own teaching instruction proved to be a beneficial guide that will assist me in creating future lesson plans.

What Does Video Editing Mean to Me?

At the present point in time, the concept of video editing does not mean a lot to me. When I thinking of video editing, I envision the Hollywood process of taking raw video, choosing desirable parts of the raw footage, and molding those desirable pieces into one comprehensive film. I have never attempted the process of video editing, and I anticipate the process to be time consuming, requiring basic knowledge of software that I have yet to learn. I am excited about the opportunity to learn how to utlize such software, as it will enable me to explore its potential use in nursing education.

Using Technology in the Educational Setting

The available technology that can be used to influence educational instruction is rapidly evolving. From virtual worlds and simulators to whiteboards and personal response systems, the technology is ever-changing with increased implications for our educational system. Moreover, not only can instruction be impacted by technology, evaluation of instruction can be impacted as well. Instead of using traditional testing methods to assess content mastery, technology can be utilized to determine the problem-solving steps that were taken which resulted in students arriving at a certain conclusion.

With all that being said, the use of technology in the academic setting is highly influenced by financial and time constraints. For instance, while I am passionate about the use of personal response systems for formative assessment purposes, they will not be available due to financial constraints. Teachers must therefore become creative in how they use technology that is readily available to them in their academic environment.

One technological resource that is currently available to me for a limited time is a PowerPoint extension called Articulate Presenter 09. Articulate is an e-learning software that aids users is easily transforming PowerPoint presentations into Flash content. A Presenter 09 overview demonstration of the key features can be found on the company's website:

 http://www.articulate.com/community/tutorials09/presenter09/Overview/player.html