Having them create a digital portfolio will make it much easier for me to assess their technology skills. I created a template using PowerPoint and provided information on what skills need to be included, what applications may have been used, and instructions on how to embed/insert objects and links into the slides.
Once the students have completed their digital portfolio, then all I have to do is open up their template and check to see if they inserted the information that I required. I used PowerPoint to create my template because I feel most of the students are already familiar with this application. Plus, I do teach them new features of PowerPoint including, how to create a PowerPoint show, insert links with descriptive text to display and embed objects. In addition, they will learn how to use a screen capture tool, such as Windows Snipping Tool. I find many students are not familiar with these features of PowerPoint and/or the Windows Snipping Tool.
I will follow up on this post when the students have completed their digital portfolios. I am requiring them to complete the portfolio by April. This will give me enough time to go assess all of the 8th grade student's digital portfolios and fill out the appropriate paper for each student before my deadline in June.