Children growing up in the early decades of the 21st Century need the essential literacy skills associated with lifelong learning. The Tech Learning Tools website provides resources and a jumping off point for understanding and developing new digital literacy skills. The information and tools provided here focus on three basic topics:

ePortfolio Development - how the use of digital technology changes the way we teach and learn. The eportfolio has emerged as a new genre for a global community. Developing eportfolios is part of building a digital identity, an essential skill for the new era, and one that can and should begin at an early age. Necessary skills include understanding and working with hypermedia, relational databases, and single source publishing. New digital technologies enable us to document and communicate ideas in ways that were not possible until very recently. Visit: Understanding ePortfolio Development

Self-Regulated Learning - understanding what motivates us and others to seek out new learning experiences; Check out: "Fairhaven:A New Vision for Learning"

Validity Issues in Web-Based Performance Assessment - Assessment is MESSY. It involves people, and that makes assessment a complicated and often frustrating process. In higher eduation there is a growing awareness of our ethical responsibility to ensure that our scores are accurate and our scoring practices fair.

Validity is SCARY. Electronic portfolio assessment systems have made the storage and manipulation of massive amounts of assessment data a far easier process than it was just a few years ago. Yet the process of proving that the scores are TRUE and that our assessment processes have not negatively impacted students and faculty...that our assessment is FAIR...is not so easy.

Have a closer look at what "validity shape" your assessment system is in. Check out:

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Student WebQuests

When we first began working with WebQuests more than a decade ago, they were in their infancy. Emphasis was on searching for information and resources on the Internet. This was before the development of the newest communication and media processing tools.

Today, the effective lesson plan has evolved into a multimedia experience. Effective learning environments involve blended learning and collaboration with others in global settings. Learning activities engage students in authentic, relevant 'real-world' issues that become the foundation for building one's digital identity.

Lifelong learning skills develop as we learn how to understanding our own learning preferences and how others learn as well. We contribute to the learning of others at a personal level by developing literacy coaching skills and at a less personal level through creating social navigation resources.