Portfolio Presentation #1

What a great night! I must admit that I have been dreading this e-portfolio presentation since January The uncertainty of what this "should" look like had given me many sleepless nights and upset tummies. I had finally got to a point where I was tired of looking at it … this is what it was going to be. The idea that this was a "baseline" portfolio helped me finally get this back into perspective. I was as ready as I was ever going to be … now lets get it over and done with! Betty emailed me the day before the presentation with some very positive feedback on the eportfolio that I had posted on my website - I had forgotten that I had given her the address earlier. Its amazing how a few positive words from her finally squashed the last of my insecurities. I was ready … she had seen many portfolios before and mine looked good … ahhhh.

The time arrived with our group of eight and Elaan, and as is my nature I volunteered to go first. I prefer to jump right in and get it over with no matter what … I've always been like this. Hopefully my cohort group will continue to let me do this … so much less stress. Things went well except for the 3/4 screen displaying once again and one of the links not working (I'm sure that I tested it all). This screen things drives me crazy and I HAVE to figure this out sometime over the next two years! The group whom I was presenting to were incredibly supportive. As everyone had their turn to share their learning, it was so reassuring to hear that they too felt the ups and downs that I experienced. The not knowing what exactly to do, what was expected etc. This was a shared experience and I no longer felt alone in this uncertainty, though I was surprised by how many contemplated not continuing in the course. Everyone was so candid and honest that I think we all came away from the experience feeling more confident that we could be successful in this course and more comfortable with our learning struggles. I think through this sharing we have created a relationship of sort, we are a team. I'm already looking forward to our two weeks in the summer where we get a chance to work together and bond even more as a cohort.

With sadness I wished Betty good bye. I have really enjoyed working with her over the past months and her enthusiasm and passion has really helped me handle the uncertainty I was struggling with along the way. I feel that even though she is stepping back to spend time with her family, that she will very much be apart of where I will be at the end of the program. I can only hope that I bring the same amount of passion to my classroom … even in May and June!