ePortfolios

Writing a Resume

Directions for 2009 AP Students

Last year, students created a standards-based portfolio. Their objective was to evidence their progress toward learning standards (NETS for Students and Arkansas ELA Standards).

This year, we are going to create portfolios for a different purpose and audience.

• Purpose:  Showcase your academic, extracurricular, and individual interests and strengths for college admissions officers and scholarship providers.

This means, you get to be creative! You may include any appropriate info in any format in addition to these core required components:

1. Resume
2. Academic Highlights, particularly from AP English Language
3. Extracurricular--community service, clubs, leadership...

Today's task is to explore the portfolios of last year's AP students and the links below to other portfolios. Your goal is finding INSPIRATION! Consider these questions as you explore the portfolios:

1. What information will you include in your portfolio?
2. How will you organize the information? How will readers navigate the portfolio?
3. What theme or metaphor can you use to create a compelling, unified portfolio?
4. What tool will you use to create the portfolio? A blog? A website (with a free host like Moonfruit or FreeWebs or Google Sites)? A wiki? Something else--like an online magazine created with Issuu (this is too cool!)?
5. How can you WOW your audience and give yourself an edge on the competition?
6. How can you show you are both a critical, logical thinker and a creative one (think: Dan Pink!)?
7. How will you make the portfolio visually appealing and user-friendly?
8. How will you remain safe and protect your privacy while allowing chosen viewers to access key information?
9. What multimedia might you include? Photos, videos, podcasts...?

To begin, let's explore existing articles on and examples of ePortfolios.

• Electronic Portfolios in the K-12 Classroom: This article is a good starting place, giving an overview of what portfolios

          are.

• Helen Barett: She is one of the earliest gurus of ePortfolios. She's spent more than a decade researching ePortfolios.

          She's actually published her own portfolio using thirty-four different tools! Here's her WordPress

          (like our blogs) version of her portfolio.

• Metaphors for Portfolios: This article, by Helen Barett, is worth reading. This might be one of the keys to creating a

          powerful portfolio that wows your audience.

• Planning Sheet: Using a planning sheet such as this one gives you a strategy for attacking such a large project.
  What should we include on our planning sheet? Should we create one planning sheet as a class? Should individual
  students create their own planning sheet? Should we create a set of core pieces everyone must include but allow for
  individual creativity?

For inspiration, check out these ePortfolios:

• BHS Class of 2010 ePortfolios
• BHS Class of 2009 ePortfolios
• Two Teachers: This portfolio uses graphics creatively.
• Another Teacher: You may not be able to read it (it's written in Spanish, I think), but you can analyze his organizational

          and navigational strategies. He has a really cool nameplate as well.

•  Hen: This is a student portfolio.
• Another student: A bit cutesy for me, but it's worth a peek.
• A Designer: This is an awesome--very visual--portfolio created by a designer.
• Another Designer: Very creative!
• The Reflective Teacher: Check out how this teacher uses thumbnail images down the left sidebar for navigation--a

          simple trick that makes a professional-looking site.

• College Professor :  You be the judge.
• Edublogger: This is one of my favorite edubloggers--he's very quirky! Notice how his front page is a written piece with    

          hyperlinks to his artifacts.

• Brian Gardner: I love this guy's web design. His use of color and simple graphics are quite effective.
• A History Teacher: This is one of my favorites. I'm not sure how to do what's he's done, but I bet we could figure it out!
• Another Designer: Very colorful!
• nmc Virtual Worlds: A full-blown website (created with a blog) that includes a portfolio.
• Pachyderm Services: Another full-blown website using a blog. Might this site  inspire your organizational and lay-out

          design?

Think outside the box.

Check out this student's format choice for his resume: