Online Portfolio
Your portfolio is like a warehouse
for your writing.
Writers cultivate an identity as a writer; they establish a style and an approach to the work that they do. During this unit, you will be reflecting on your work as a writer.
Over the course of the next several weeks, you'll be creating an online portfolio using a website creator to showcase your work. This portfolio will serve as a warehouse of your efforts which can be added to over the course of the next several years.
In addition to creating your website, you'll be required to publish the projects you've done this year on your website. Prior to posting your work to your portfolio, we'll be spending time doing a final round of revising and editing; when publishing work for public consumption, it's important to make sure that your work is of the highest possible quality.
You'll also have the opportunity to extend the work you've done by branching out into different media. You will be able to create audio and video versions of your work using a variety of tools.
Over the course of the next several weeks, you'll be creating an online portfolio using a website creator to showcase your work. This portfolio will serve as a warehouse of your efforts which can be added to over the course of the next several years.
In addition to creating your website, you'll be required to publish the projects you've done this year on your website. Prior to posting your work to your portfolio, we'll be spending time doing a final round of revising and editing; when publishing work for public consumption, it's important to make sure that your work is of the highest possible quality.
You'll also have the opportunity to extend the work you've done by branching out into different media. You will be able to create audio and video versions of your work using a variety of tools.
Unit Overview
Wednesday, May 9th
Learning Goal: I can make my website easier to find online.
Criteria for Success: To meet today's learning goal, you will need to:
Every website has an address that can be used by anyone who wants to visit that site. But how do people who don't know the address of your site find you? Search Engines! Most people use Google to look for sites, and a smaller number of people use Yahoo or Bing. So you want to get your site listed on these search engines so that your site can be found by the wide audience of potential visitors.
So what are the first things you should do to make your site easy to find on search engines? Use the SEO Tools in Your Weebly Account!
Every Weebly site has a place for you to enter Keywords and a Description for your site. These can be found under Settings > Search Engine Optimization. Both of these fields help search engines to categorize your site. And the Description is what will actually be displayed as the description for your site in your search engine listings.
The Description should be two to three sentences long and provide a fairly detailed description of what your site is about.
The Keywords should be fairly targeted and also be the kind of words you use on your site. If your Keywords don't match your site content then they are practically useless. Some examples might be writing, persuasive, memoir, teen, author. You may want to use around 20 or 30 words here that match your content and the types of searches people may do to find that content.
Note that Keywords are ultimately only helpful with search engines if they are words you actually use throughout your site (especially in Title areas). Otherwise Google (and other search engines) will just think you're trying to game the system by using Keywords that are irrelevant to your site and will just ignore them.
Criteria for Success: To meet today's learning goal, you will need to:
- Add a site description
- Add 10-30 key words
Every website has an address that can be used by anyone who wants to visit that site. But how do people who don't know the address of your site find you? Search Engines! Most people use Google to look for sites, and a smaller number of people use Yahoo or Bing. So you want to get your site listed on these search engines so that your site can be found by the wide audience of potential visitors.
So what are the first things you should do to make your site easy to find on search engines? Use the SEO Tools in Your Weebly Account!
Every Weebly site has a place for you to enter Keywords and a Description for your site. These can be found under Settings > Search Engine Optimization. Both of these fields help search engines to categorize your site. And the Description is what will actually be displayed as the description for your site in your search engine listings.
The Description should be two to three sentences long and provide a fairly detailed description of what your site is about.
The Keywords should be fairly targeted and also be the kind of words you use on your site. If your Keywords don't match your site content then they are practically useless. Some examples might be writing, persuasive, memoir, teen, author. You may want to use around 20 or 30 words here that match your content and the types of searches people may do to find that content.
Note that Keywords are ultimately only helpful with search engines if they are words you actually use throughout your site (especially in Title areas). Otherwise Google (and other search engines) will just think you're trying to game the system by using Keywords that are irrelevant to your site and will just ignore them.
Monday, April 30th
Technology Fair Information
The purpose of the technology fair is to showcase the integrated learning, teaching, and creation that have taken place throughout the 2011 and 2012 school year. This is your chance to choose one creation and meaningful learning event that has taken place within the classroom and share it with your peers, other schools, and the public. We will have judges from the school district, the school board, and even the Apple Corporation circulating to ask you questions regarding the creation and comprehension of your entry.
There are nine total categories that cover just about every conceivable idea and possibility, and several of them pertain to work that we've done in this class (marked with *). The categories are:
Animation
Digital Art
Digital Audio*
Digital Publishing*
Digital Storytelling*
Multimedia
Product Design
Web 2.0
Web Design*
The entry deadline is May 4th - with the Technology Fair taking place on Wednesday, May 9th from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM at the TCMS Gym. We hope to see you there.
ON-LINE ENTRY FORM IS FOUND HERE
There are nine total categories that cover just about every conceivable idea and possibility, and several of them pertain to work that we've done in this class (marked with *). The categories are:
Animation
Digital Art
Digital Audio*
Digital Publishing*
Digital Storytelling*
Multimedia
Product Design
Web 2.0
Web Design*
The entry deadline is May 4th - with the Technology Fair taking place on Wednesday, May 9th from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM at the TCMS Gym. We hope to see you there.
ON-LINE ENTRY FORM IS FOUND HERE
Tuesday, April 24th
Section III: Extending Projects with Different Media
Learning Goal: I can use Garage Band to create an audio recording.
Criteria for Success: In order to meet today's learning goal, you will need to create a recording of one or more of your writing pieces. This can be a simple, voice-only recording, or a more elaborate production.
One of the requirements of the online portfolio project is to create an audio component. The reason for the inclusion of an audio component is that you should think about the ways in which you can create different entry points into your writing.
This can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. You can simply do a recording of yourself reading one of your pieces, and then add the audio file to your webpage. Or you can get creative with Garage Band, and add music tracks or effects. For those of you who write and create music, this is a great opportunity to share it!
Learning Goal: I can use Garage Band to create an audio recording.
Criteria for Success: In order to meet today's learning goal, you will need to create a recording of one or more of your writing pieces. This can be a simple, voice-only recording, or a more elaborate production.
One of the requirements of the online portfolio project is to create an audio component. The reason for the inclusion of an audio component is that you should think about the ways in which you can create different entry points into your writing.
This can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. You can simply do a recording of yourself reading one of your pieces, and then add the audio file to your webpage. Or you can get creative with Garage Band, and add music tracks or effects. For those of you who write and create music, this is a great opportunity to share it!
Monday, April 23rd
A group of teachers creating a "tableau"
Section III: Extending Projects with Different Media
Most of the writing projects that we've done this year were in the traditional format: essays or stories, meant to be viewed in hard copy on paper. Over the course of this week, and into the rest of the year, we'll be talking about some different ways to reach an audience using different media, including audio recordings, images, and short videos.
Learning Goal*: I can create a tableau series of my short story or my memoir.
Criteria for Success: In order to meet today's learning goal, you will need to:
Click HERE for an example of a tableau slideshow.
Most of the writing projects that we've done this year were in the traditional format: essays or stories, meant to be viewed in hard copy on paper. Over the course of this week, and into the rest of the year, we'll be talking about some different ways to reach an audience using different media, including audio recordings, images, and short videos.
Learning Goal*: I can create a tableau series of my short story or my memoir.
Criteria for Success: In order to meet today's learning goal, you will need to:
- choose one of your narrative pieces.
- decide which scenes to recreate (3-5 total).
- photograph your recreated scenes.
- upload your images to your website using the "Slideshow" multimedia element.
Click HERE for an example of a tableau slideshow.
Wednesday, April 18th
Section II: Revising Published Writing
Learning Goal: I can upload my writing projects and write a brief description.
Criteria for Success: In order to meet today's learning goal, you'll need to:
When you write your project description, you'll want to include the type of writing, the intended audience, and your purpose for writing.
Example:
I wrote this memoir about my last swim meet as a coach to share with my former swimmers. I wanted them to know how much of an impact they'd made on my life.
Click HERE to see an example.
Learning Goal: I can upload my writing projects and write a brief description.
Criteria for Success: In order to meet today's learning goal, you'll need to:
- Add a "Paragraph with Title" element from the Basic Elements menu.
- Add a "File" element from the Multimedia Elements menu.
- Upload a revised project.
- Write a brief description of the project.
When you write your project description, you'll want to include the type of writing, the intended audience, and your purpose for writing.
Example:
I wrote this memoir about my last swim meet as a coach to share with my former swimmers. I wanted them to know how much of an impact they'd made on my life.
Click HERE to see an example.
Monday, April 16th
Section II: Revising Published Writing
So far, we've built our websites and started publishing content in the form of our Author Bio. This week, we'll be focusing on adding additional content: our published writing pieces. In order to post your work it will need to be revised by you and a partner, and edited.
Learning Goal: I can conduct a partner review of my work.
Criteria For Success: To meet today's learning goal, you will need to:
Narrative Writing:
Informational Writing:
Persuasive Writing:
So far, we've built our websites and started publishing content in the form of our Author Bio. This week, we'll be focusing on adding additional content: our published writing pieces. In order to post your work it will need to be revised by you and a partner, and edited.
Learning Goal: I can conduct a partner review of my work.
Criteria For Success: To meet today's learning goal, you will need to:
- Select a previous piece of writing to be reviewed.
- Have a partner read your work, and answer the questions about the appropriate type of writing.
- Make changes based on the suggestions of your partner.
Narrative Writing:
- What is the conflict?
- When does the conflict emerge in the story?
- How is the conflict resolved?
- Are there enough specific details?
Informational Writing:
- Are the sections easy to distinguish? Does the writer use paragraphs? Subheadings?
- Is there a topic sentence for each paragraph?
- Are there enough supporting details for each section?
- Is the topic introduced in the first paragraph?
- Does the writer include a conclusion?
Persuasive Writing:
- Does the writer state their argument?
- What claims does the writer make to support their argument?
- What supporting evidence does the author use to support their claims?
- Does the writer have an introduction and a conclusion?
Friday, April 13th
So far, your websites are pretty similar. What will really make them unique is the content that you fill your website with.
Learning Goal: I can add elements and content to my website.
Criteria for Success: In order to meet today's learning goal, you will need to add the following elements:
Need an outstanding example? Check out Nikki Kills Plenty's author bio. Her bio really gives her readers a sense of who she is. She's also done a great job customizing her page to reflect her personality.
Missed something? Check out the video below for a short overview of the website building process:
Learning Goal: I can add elements and content to my website.
Criteria for Success: In order to meet today's learning goal, you will need to add the following elements:
- A paragraph with a picture (write your author bio).
- A picture of yourself for your author biography (use Photobooth, no effects).
Need an outstanding example? Check out Nikki Kills Plenty's author bio. Her bio really gives her readers a sense of who she is. She's also done a great job customizing her page to reflect her personality.
Missed something? Check out the video below for a short overview of the website building process:
Thursday, April 12th
Learning Goal: I can add pages to my website.
Criteria for Success: In order to meet today's learning goal, you will need to add pages for:
Adding pages to your website is easy! Once you've logged in to Weebly, click on the "Pages" tab at the top of the editing tool bar. Name your page. You can reorder the pages on your website by dragging them up or down.
To create a subpage, create a new page and drag it below the main page. Then, drag it to the right to indent.
Criteria for Success: In order to meet today's learning goal, you will need to add pages for:
- An author bio
- Narrative/Creative writing (with subpages for memoir, short story, and poetry)
- Informational Writing (with a subpage for research essay)
- Persuasive Writing (with a subpage for persuasive article and advertising project)
Adding pages to your website is easy! Once you've logged in to Weebly, click on the "Pages" tab at the top of the editing tool bar. Name your page. You can reorder the pages on your website by dragging them up or down.
To create a subpage, create a new page and drag it below the main page. Then, drag it to the right to indent.
You can add additional pages RELATED TO WRITING OR READING, and you can add a blog page as well. For example, you could create a page that showcases our favorite authors or books. You could eventually add video book talks to that page as well.
Wednesday, April 11th
Learning Goal: I can create my own website.
Criteria for Success: In order to meet today's learning goal, you will need to create a website using Weebly, turn in your URL, and set Mr. Swank and yourself as site administrators.
Click HERE to see a sample website and specific project requirements.
Directions:
Criteria for Success: In order to meet today's learning goal, you will need to create a website using Weebly, turn in your URL, and set Mr. Swank and yourself as site administrators.
Click HERE to see a sample website and specific project requirements.
Directions:
- Go to Weebly.com.
- Create an account
- Click on the orange "Add a Site" button.
- Enter a title for your website. Your title should be your first and last name and portfolio. For example, mine would be "Dave Swank's Portfolio". This is an education site for use as a class project.
- Check "Use a sudomain of Weebly.com". Enter your URL in this format: 16(first initial)(last name). For example, 16dswank would be mine. Then, click "Continue."
- Click on Editors and add my email address.
Tuesday, April 10th
Author Websites
Ralph Fletcher writes novels for young adults, and books for writers. His collection of memoirs, Marshfield Dreams, has been a text we've used repeatedly in this class as a mentor text.
Sherman Alexie is a Native American writer whose works include short story collections, novels, and the young adult book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. His short story collection, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven was the basis for the film, Smoke Signals. Alexie wrote the screenplay for the film.
Josheph Marshall, III has written a number of books about the Lakota way of life. He has also authored historical works and self-help books.
Jane Yolen has been called the Hans Christian Andersen of America and the Aesop of the twentieth century. She has written over 300 books, won numerous awards, and been given six honorary doctorates in literature.
Suzanne Collins is the author of the best-selling Hunger Games trilogy.
Patrica Polacco is a prolific writer of children's picture books, often based on her own life.
Phillip Pullman is the author of many books, including the His Dark Materials series. The Golden Compass, the first book in the series, was made into a movie.
Christopher Paolini is the author of the best-selling Inheritance fantasy series about a dragon and her rider. He wrote the first book in the series, Eragon, while he was still a teenager.
Jerry Spinelli is the author of several award-winning young adult novels. Eggs, Maniac Magee, and Stargirl are a few of his many well-known titles.
Maya Angelou is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature. Angelou captivates audiences through the vigor and sheer beauty of her words and lyrics.
Assignment
Directions: Explore the author websites above. In your notebook, answer the following questions.
Sherman Alexie is a Native American writer whose works include short story collections, novels, and the young adult book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. His short story collection, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven was the basis for the film, Smoke Signals. Alexie wrote the screenplay for the film.
Josheph Marshall, III has written a number of books about the Lakota way of life. He has also authored historical works and self-help books.
Jane Yolen has been called the Hans Christian Andersen of America and the Aesop of the twentieth century. She has written over 300 books, won numerous awards, and been given six honorary doctorates in literature.
Suzanne Collins is the author of the best-selling Hunger Games trilogy.
Patrica Polacco is a prolific writer of children's picture books, often based on her own life.
Phillip Pullman is the author of many books, including the His Dark Materials series. The Golden Compass, the first book in the series, was made into a movie.
Christopher Paolini is the author of the best-selling Inheritance fantasy series about a dragon and her rider. He wrote the first book in the series, Eragon, while he was still a teenager.
Jerry Spinelli is the author of several award-winning young adult novels. Eggs, Maniac Magee, and Stargirl are a few of his many well-known titles.
Maya Angelou is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature. Angelou captivates audiences through the vigor and sheer beauty of her words and lyrics.
Assignment
Directions: Explore the author websites above. In your notebook, answer the following questions.
- Which websites did you look at (minimum of 3)?
- What are some features you noticed?
- What do the websites you looked at have in common?
- What is one idea you'd like to borrow from the websites you looked at?
- What website did you like best? Why?