ED TECH TEAM in NEW YORK has some tips about how to use Portfolios in classrooms

Here are some tips from a teacher in New York (who uses portfolios)

Students are encouraged to add any other materials that will help them to review and document the important content for the unit such as:

*Vocabulary flashcards - embedded from Quizlet usually

*Videos from YouTube or other sources for tutorials on major content

*Notes from class or outlines from text (doc or take picture of handwritten notes)

*Pictures of posters, graphic organizers, or other visuals from class

*Online games for review and mastery of anatomy terminology

To help reinforce the importance of the portfolio, I count it as a test grade for the quarter and also grade their assignments directly from their site. When students are ready to submit it for grading, I have them enter their site URL into a form with a brief comment about what has been added that they would like me to focus on. Feel free to take a look at my form here.

As the year has progressed, I have learned several important points for success:

*Help students see usefulness of portfolio by using it in class and for review

*Grade submitted work from the portfolio to reinforce its use

*Use peer review to help students get ideas from others on how it can be set up

I have also made some mistakes that I have made changes to or will change for next year:

*Give students time periodically during the quarter to work on the portfolio during class
*Periodically check on portfolios so students do not save work until the last minute

*Post a running list of items that students must include and should include

*Create a full working sample for students to see