TOP PICKS | 17 TOOLS
Student Portfolio Apps and Websites
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Artsonia Kids Art Museum
Online art museum empowers students to exhibit, explain their work
Bottom line: A well-loved digital art museum that allows students to share work and reflect on their artistic process while helping teachers assess student understanding of artistic concepts.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free
Sesame
Portfolio and communication tool makes formative assessment a snap
Bottom line: A useful way for teachers, students, and parents to monitor progress and demonstrate holistic evidence of learning.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free, Paid The Lite version is free for up to five classes. The Pro version is $120/year and includes more analytical, feedback, and customization options. The School version is $1,000/year for every 10 teachers and includes year-over-year data, single student profiles, and Google Apps and SIS integration.
Dreamdo Schools
Sleek project-based learning platform encourages global connections
Bottom line: An excellent tool for project-based learning; plan, create, and share learning around the world.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free
Seesaw: The Learning Journal
Versatile digital portfolio appeals to teachers, students, and parents
Bottom line: A powerful multimedia learning and communication tool that demonstrates student progress over time.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free, Paid Seesaw Plus is $120 per year, and gives teachers more privacy options and other features. Seesaw for Schools, which includes school-wide reporting, is priced per student.
WeLearnedIt
Digital portfolio and management tool for project-based classrooms
Bottom line: Impressive tool for individualized learning and managing projects is best for 1-to-1 iPad classrooms.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free, Paid Some features require a subscription, with prices ranging from $10 per month for a classroom to $995 per year for a school.
FreshGrade
A fresh way to capture, document, and share student learning
Bottom line: Multimedia documentation tools help communicate learning and expand assessment, and the addition of a gradebook sets this tool apart; still, student experience could use some polish.
Grades: 3–9
Price: Free Free for teachers, district pricing is available.
Edmodo
Manage classes, content, and communication with social LMS platform
Bottom line: This free platform allows for teacher-monitored classroom communication but lacks excitement.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free This website is free to use for all features, but it does contain advertisements on the teacher side.
eBackpack
Easy system to submit, review, and store digital assignments
Bottom line: This is a great way to create a paperless classroom, but its potential for enhancing learning depends completely on how teachers use it.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free, Paid
Evernote
Impressive organizational tool has limitless uses
Bottom line: This free information-management tool can help kids become tech-savvy and learn to better organize their digital lives.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free, Paid Basic, Plus, and Premium plans available. Basic plans are free, and come with 60MB of uploads per month and access on two devices. The Plus plan is $34.99 per year and comes with more features, plus 1GB of uploads per month and access to an unlimited number of devices. The Premium plan is $69.99 per year, and adds even more features, including a presentation mode and the ability to annotate PDFs.
LiveBinders
Cool organization and eportfolio tool; watch out for privacy features
Bottom line: A good tool for its organizational, storage, and digital publishing features.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free, Paid A Free account offers 100 MB of file storage with a file size limit of 5 MB. For individual educators and student accounts, the Basic Plan is $4 per month, or $25 per year with 1 GB of storage and a file size limit of 50 MB. A Pro account is $10 per month, or $100 per year for 50 GB of storage and a file size limit of 75 MB.
Microsoft OneNote
Note-taking giant built for flexible, collaborative work
Bottom line: A powerful (and free) tool for thinking and organization that's making smart strides in the education space.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
Pathbrite
Create, organize, assess sleek digital portfolios
Bottom line: A simple PBL tool that promotes digital literacy and lets kids create flexible, accessible digital portfolios.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
Project Foundry
Helpful, yet complex, management tool for project-based learning
Bottom line: A powerful, though sometimes complex, tool for providing inquiry-based, student-centered learning.
Grades: 6–12
Bulb
Slick portfolio tool has cool features, limited feedback options
Bottom line: A neat tool for publishing online, possibly better suited to teacher content creation than student publishing.
Grades: 7–12
Price: Free, Paid The basic version is free. For $9 per user per year, teachers can get more space and added features. Schools can contact the developer for district pricing.
Exibi
Comprehensive but complex tool for creating and publishing portfolios
Bottom line: This is a fantastic choice if you take eportfolios seriously; just be prepared to devote serious time to teaching the tool.
Grades: 7–12
Price: Free to try, Paid
Dropbox
Handy cloud storage and document sharing
Bottom line: Dropbox can make work and life in the digital world more efficient, but it may not be the best cloud-based solution for kids.
Grades: 8–12
Price: Free
Google Sites
Make your own website with customizable templates
Bottom line: With a few clicks, kids can design and populate a unique website, but customization requires multiple layers of directions.
Grades: 9–12
Price: Free
