ARTefacts: Managing children's art portfolios

Abstract

Increased access to tablet and mobile technology within the early childhood classroom can allow for new approaches for creating, capturing and presenting children’s art. Not only can the use of iPads in the early childhood classroom allow young children in the pre-literacy stage of development to engage with the devices, it can also offer a robust and flexible ‘ePortfolio’ option of children’s learning. A digital collection of children’s work − including examples of literacy, numeracy and visual art works − can be collated in clearly navigable and shareable folders which can be added to over the teaching period. In this paper, we present one example of a syncing service, Evernote, and how it can become an easy-to-manage repository for various types of learning artefacts. These artefacts can be gathered during children’s participation in less formal, exploratory free play, intentional teaching moments, or more structured lessons. Artefacts can be created directly by the child from other interactive iPad apps or through using the iPad to record images, audio or video, of more traditional forms of art and creative play. An ePortfolio of children’s work can show progress throughout the year, and be an opportunity for reflection by the children, parents and educators. It can also be added to during future years while the child remains at the service. In this example, technology can help create a sense of belonging and community within the classroom and a sense of ownership by the children over their own work and the way in which their progress is captured and presented.