On Thursday, April 23rd, all DPS109 elementary schools hosted their annual Student Showcase night. This is an evening for students and families to come to school, visit classrooms and teachers, and take a look at student work produced throughout the year.

When Student Showcase (also known as Portfolio Night) was introduced to DPS109 just over a decade ago, our district was in a very different place. Our schools were equipped with one computer per classroom, and binders, pizza boxes and photo albums were the home to our students’ portfolios. Once a year, families looked forward to coming to school to see student work samples and marvel at their child’s growth over the course of that school year.

Flash forward to today when all of our students have access to their own iPad or Chromebook and suddenly our families have access to their child’s digital work without ever entering the classroom door. One of our 5th grade teachers at Kipling Elementary School who was also part of the 1:1 Learning Pilot, told me that he had an epiphany after last year’s Student Showcase night when a couple of students could not attend. “I told them not to worry about not being there since they could just show their families their Google Drive and Blog from home.”

Thanks to the 1:1 technology initiative in 109, we noticed that several teachers had similar thoughts about redesigning Student Showcase night to make it a more meaningful experience for students and their families this year. Many of our teachers found ways to combine technology with learning activities to give families a better picture of what it is like to be a student in today’s classrooms.

Take a look at how Kipling Elementary School’s 5th Grade team empowered their students to redesign Student Showcase night for their families.