Skip To Main Content

Portfolio

About

Portfolios in education are not a new concept.  The same thing can be said about the role of the portfolio here at New Tech High.  For many schools, pulling off a successful digital portfolio program can be a daunting task.  Over the course of time, New Tech High’s had grown to become a place for students to demonstrate proficiency and mastery in our school wide learning outcomes (oral communication, collaboration, etc.).  However, it was clear that something was missing.  For many students, portfolio become a box to check.

In working with students, the New Tech High staff began exploring what the goals of a portfolio were for our school.  We wanted it to be meaningful.  We wanted it to be reflective.  We wanted it to be holistic.  We wanted it to have longevity.

It is with this that I am excited to announce we have officially rolled out the NEW version of portfolio at New Tech High.  Now it isn’t anything earth-shattering, but it’s a big shift for us, moving from a static web design to a blog as portfolio model.  Students at New Tech High create a 4 year blog portfolio using the website Weebly as our host domain.

Now, there is plenty of research that supports the use of blogs in education and in professional work.  Our portfolio task force (led by Lisa Gottfried and Andrew Biggs) was a group of students that got their hands dirty with the redesign.  They realized that by blogging, our portfolio could be a holistic 4 year journey for students.  The new blog as portfolio will allow students to highlight and reflect upon their work in:

  • Project and culminating event work

  • Developing school wide learning outcomes.

  • School and community service.

  • College classes and the college going process.

  • Internship and work-based learning.

  • Senior Project.

  • Personal passions and more.

Through scheduled blogging time and real time reflections, our portfolio experience will move from a static target to a 4 year journey.  The hope would be that students take a hold of their digital footprint and have a tool that they can truly use post-high school. The “I Can Statements” will help guide the way.

At the end of the year, students in each grade have the opportunity to highlight and showcase their portfolio work to families, friends, and community partners. We are excited to take a step into this new journey with our students.