Hi Allison,
I highly recommend the Seesaw digital portfolio. I first learned about it at a CASL Conference a few years back (at Aquaturf!) and it is among the biggest take-aways I've had from any conference.
You may keep the portfolio open from year to year. I'm not sure about moving students to a new class though, but if you set up your portfolios by year of graduation instead of grade or classroom teacher, that could work. Families also get the option to get a file of their child's work at the end of the year. They could do this at the end of their time in your school instead.
Seesaw is amazing- so easy for kids to use and so many options for uploading work- camera roll, photo, or creating videos, drawings, and recordings within the Seesaw app- all work equally well. Teachers do not have to use it for it to be effective, but you will probably have a few who want to join once they see the potential.
Seesaw is also compliant with the CT privacy laws so you can even allow students to use their names, which makes it even easier for them to find their own portfolio.
I send home the directions for families to connect to their child's journal and many do. I also send home QR codes for each new posting so even if they have not connected to the journal they can still view the posting.
We print out several copies of the QR code in page protectors for student login so these are always handy. Our IT teacher uses Seesaw as well and she laminates the codes and has a bulletin board for easy student access if you have the wall space.
Good luck, and feel free to contact me if you have additional questions!
Anne
Anne PorierSchool Librarian
Moses Y. Beach Elementary School
340 N. Main St.
Wallingford CT
203-294-3950
Twitter: @APorier