United States HistoryMr. Harkins

E Portfolio

Students in this course will be required to maintain an e portfolio.  With the completion of this course students will have a record of all work compiled and finished during the year.  The completed information will help students in preparing for various examinations throughout the year, including Quarterly Assessments.  The portfolio will also assist students in a number of ways, including note-taking and organizational skills.  

How to organize your e portfolioThere will be some flexibility as to how a student chooses to organize his/her e portfolio.  The sections below are recommendations to help you get started.  Weebly.com would be a great digital starting point.

1. TITLE PAGE/INTRO PAGE:  The very first page, it should show the name of the course, student name, teacher name, and room number. Links to other pages will be located on this page

2. INTRODUCTORY HANDOUTS:  This section will contain general instructions or information relatingto the course.  (Example: Class Rules, E-Portfolio, etc.)

3. CLASS NOTES:   Students should take a complete set of notes on the lecture/power point each day it is

warranted.  Hard copy notes taken in a notebook would need to be transferred to Google Docs, Microsoft Word, etc.

Students should reorganize and copy notes whenever they feel it is necessary.  Students should realize that the process of working with ones notes gives the student a very important review of the content of the course.  The best time to make revisions, edit or reorganize ones notes is just prior to a quiz or examination.  Also, students will have to bring their e portfolio up to date prior to its being checked by the teacher.

4. PRACTICE QUIZZES/REVIEW MATERIAL:  Students must keep copies of all quizzes or other review material in your e portfolio.  Keep the practice quizzes/review material together and in the order in which they were produced in the section of the notebook that follows class notes.  Practice quizzes should not be mixed with ones notes.  

         5.   PROJECTS:  Throughout the year students will have a number of research and writing projects.

These projects and writing assignments will end up in this section of the e portfolio in the order of the assignments themselves.

6.   DBQ’S/ESSAYS:  Document Based Questions and Essays will be an important part of this class.  The DBQ’s and essays will often be based on Primary Source work.  All responses to DBQ’s and essay questions will end up in this section of your e portfolio.

        7.   MISCELLANEOUS:  This section of the portfolio will contain any materials which do not seemto fit into one of the other portfolio sections.  These items may include worksheets or handouts from class.

DIGITIZING WORK:  Any work that is not electronic should be digitized.  The easiest way to do this would be through photos of the work.  Simply take a picture with your digital camera, smartphone, iPad and email image to your student account to transfer to Google Doc.

ADDING VISUALS:  Adding visuals in the form of historical pictures, video clips, maps, graphs, etc. to your class notes can add both visual appeal and learning tools to your e portfolio.  It is highly recommended.

CREATIVITY:  The above sections (1-7) are required and will assist in highlighting your best work.  It is also encouraged to get creative with this assignment, and utilize skills that work best for you.  Weebly is a recommendation, but if you are able to use other forms of technology to best showcase your work, go for it! Through the assignment, you are learning a tool for the future.

Remember, students will receive several days notice in advance of the time e portfolios are to be checked, but will always coincide with the end of the marking period.  Again, the portfolio assessment is equal to one examination grade.  Take this very seriously!  Individuals who do not maintain a satisfactory portfolio will not pass this class!  The portfolio, in some cases, will make or break your grade.

The below visuals can act as a guidance tool as well, and may help guide you in various note taking techniques.

Visual Note Taking Mind Maps

Sketch Notes Concept Map

Outline Note Taking Traditional Note Taking

Still not sure? Check out this video clip for other ideas.