ABSTRACT
Literacy professionals across the United States have transformed their classrooms into
more dynamic social environments through innovations with computer-based technology,
collaborative learning, and portfolio assessment. New technologies have revolutionized
the ways students work and think, making classroom activities more interactive,
collaborative, and learner centered. Knowledge construction in classrooms has become
more aligned with expression, communication, and information access (Cochran-Smith,
1991; Daiute & Dalton, 1988; Dickinson, 1986; Dwyer, 1994; Kinnamon, 1990).
Concurrently, the concept of a portfolio, that is, creating systematic collections of work
