The Maryland Transition Digital Portfolio

We’ve been working for months with the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Technology in Education (CTE) and the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to create the Maryland Transition Digital Portfolio. The system takes a portfolio-based assessment approach toward preparing special education students for their transition out of special education.

Portfolio-based assessment has a long standing history of being effective for creating deeper, more meaningful learning.  According to this article published in The Wall Street Journal, the approach is now gaining momentum as schools are exploring ways to move away from the current high-stakes achievement culture:

Many schools are…

“…aiming to give students more opportunities to explore their passions, work on real-world projects and collaborate and learn from other students of all ages.” Nikhil Goyal, The Wallstreet Journal

Personalized Path

The Maryland Transition Digital Portfolio application uses a personalized path system to align just the right project or task assignments with a student’s needs.  For example, a student that is working towards a career can focus on building their resume, strengthening self-advocacy, and logging their training and experience.

Portfolio-Based Assessment

Students submit artifacts (media, images, written work, etc.) in response to assignments, and then work on their project-based assignment by collecting and responding to feedback from teachers, parents, and peers.  Once the artifacts are refined, students assemble public portfolios to share with others.

Public Portfolio

A student can make selected portions of their portfolio public as a website that belongs to them.  This extends the self-advocacy benefits of using the transition portfolio by giving the student an opportunity to present themselves to the world in a way that they have control over.

Mobile Friendly

The Maryland Transition Digital Portfolio application can be accessed both on the desktop and on mobile devices.  This is proving to be invaluable as the pilot is underway with four school districts in Maryland.

For more information about The Maryland Transition Digital Portfolio, check out the Solution Overview