Next Step Portfolios

If you've been following on with this blog, you might recall a few posts that have mentioned journalling, portfolios, and "archiving" evidence of your learning.

1. Digital portfolios - looking at different ways to organize and display your work online -- some of you have done this, some of you have not.

2. Journalling - writing about what you are reading -- past and present

3. Topophilia - the 2nd writing activity was meant for your portfolio -- your first experience in nature (the 1st writing activity was shared on the blog)

The next step is to actually start organizing what you've been doing in the Language and Landscape program so far (including #2 and #3 above) and thinking about how you want to display it for others to see (including your teacher for assessment).  It is possible to do this in hard copy (e.g. a physical journal, portfolio, or scrapbook) but each one of you needs to find a way of making some version of this accessible online.  For example, maybe you might keep a beautiful journal of some kind with drawings and ideas, works-in-progress, etc., and then take pictures that you post on a microblog or tweet using a particular hashtag (e.g. #llport). Who knew that Social Media can be used from more than just weird outpouring of teenage angst? Ha ha... I thought that was funny. #srsnotsrs Actually, educators use it to vent and express, too, but I have found great teacher stuff my following hashtags the same way one eavesdrops on a conversation, for example #bclearns. For those of you that despise twitter, there are many other options.

FOR STARTERS (especially if you haven't picked any other way to do this), when you log in at school, make a new folder inside your home folder (the one with your name, e.g. mine is called gthielmann). Call this new folder public_html (exactly) -- this is now a public folder that others can see.  Use this to place portfolio items that you wish to show to others such as your teacher for assessment.  This could be writing samples, web links, screenshots, pictures you have taken, pieces of you are working on.  This doesn't need to be ALL of your work, just the parts you are willing to share plus a few required assignments (e.g. see #2 and #3 above).  Keep it organized -- use appropriate file titles and subfolders for big categories.

Remember to follow general guidelines for web safety - don't put too much personal information online. While your digital portfolios are meant for you, each other, your family, and your teacher, other educators and members of the public can see what you place online.

Leave a comment below indicating what you think you will do in terms of making and sharing a digital portfolio.