What is the Power of Digital Portfolios (free websites for students to show their work)?

The new focus at schools can be about CREATING and CURATING the creations.

Here's a valuable post by Rachel Marker.

Click here

http://rachelmarker.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-power-of-digital-portfolios.html


Here is an excerpt from Rachel Marker's post about Digital Portfolios.


WORTH A LOOK.

NICE INFOGRAPHIC

CLICK HERE

"Take the initiative"  -- Tony Wagner's Seven Survival Skills

INITIATIVE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

“For our production and crafts staff, the hourly workers, we need self-directed people…who can find creative solutions to some very tough, challenging problems.”
—Mark Maddox, Human Resources Manager at Unilever Foods North America

http://www.tonywagner.com/7-survival-skills

End screens are useful when sharing projects that we have created

You can add end screens to videos...

Here are tips from a page in YOUTUBE

Add end screens to videos

You can build viewership with powerful end screens on your videos, which show on mobile and desktop devices. Use end screens at the end of a video to:

• Point viewers to other videos, playlists, or channels on YouTube
• Call for subscriptions to your channel
• Promote your website, merchandise, and crowdfunding campaigns 

End screens are a part of the video that show during the last 5-20 seconds of a video. You can add up to four elements to promote your content, channel and websites. Elements can expand to show more information on hover on desktop and on tap on mobile devices.

How to use end screens

End screen requirements for viewers

Add an end screen

Note: To avoid a poor user experience, end screens only work on videos that don’t already have standard annotations on them. If you’d like to add them to a video with annotations, you’ll be prompted to unpublish any annotations first. You can republish them if you decide not to use an end screen.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS that appeared on the screen when I first used ENDSCREENS

1. Sign in to the your YouTube account.
2. In the top right, click your account icon > Creator Studio.
3. In the left menu, select Video Manager > Videos.
4. For the video you want to add the end screen to, click Edit.
5. In the top tab bar, click End screen.
6. If the selected video contains annotations, follow the instructions to unpublish them. You can re-publish them at any time.
7. You’ll see your video with the predefined grid and a timeline below that indicates the available part for the end screen. Click Add element. You can add up to four elements, and one of them must be a video or playlist.
8. Choose how to build your end screen:
   
   • Add element: You can add up to four elements to a video. At least one element must be a video or playlist. Select each element and fill in the required information, then click Create element.
   • Copy from video: You can copy an end screen from another one of your videos and edit the elements.
   • YouTube template: You can choose from predefined formats that show combinations of elements. You'll need to define the content for the elements in the end screen, such as add the channel to be featured.
9. Adjust the placement and size of each element on the grid. Adjust the time for the element to show in the timeline below.
10. Click Save.

You can preview the element at any time by selecting Preview on the top left of the player. You can always go back and edit the end screen and its elements.

What your end screen can show

Elements are the pieces of content that you add to your end screen. Some elements can be expanded or hovered over to provide more information. You can add up to four elements in your end screen for videos with standard 16:9 aspect ratio. 

Elements can feature different types of content:

• Video or playlist: You can select to always feature your most recently uploaded video; allow YouTube to select a video from your channel to best suit the viewer; or pick any video or playlist from your channel, public, or unlisted content.
• Subscribe: Encourage subscriptions to your channel.
• Approved websites: Link to your associated website or to approved merchandise and crowdfunding websites. Provide a custom image, title and select a call-to-action.
• Channel: Promote another channel and provide a custom message.

Best practices for creating end screens

• Feature elements that are relevant to the video.
• Encourage viewers to click using calls to action for different end screen elements.
• Make sure you leave enough space and time at the end of the video for an end screen. Make sure you consider the video's last 20 seconds when editing it.
• Consider timing different end screen elements to appear at different times. 

Check end screen metrics

You can check performance of your end screens in YouTube Analytics in your Audience retention report or use the End screens report.

1. Sign in to the your YouTube account.
2. In the top right, click your account icon > Creator Studio.
3. In the left menu, select YouTube Analytics > End screens.

Note: End screens are meant to create powerful end-of-video experiences for your viewers. As the system evolves, we plan to optimize the experience based on performance, viewer behavior, device, and context. There may be instances where your end screen, as designated by you, may not appear. For example, we may skip the end screen when your video is playing in background mode, or adjust placement on very small screens. For these reasons, we don’t recommend pointing to elements or adding crucial content to the end screen part of the video.

REFERENCE:  https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6388789#instructions

Where have you posted reviews? Where are your footprints? Google Local Guide, Reviews on Amazon and Yelp, book reviews...

Here is a list of some sites that collect reviews

Reviews of restaurants and places
Google local guides
Yelp

Reviews of books
Goodreads

Internet openlibrary.org



SAMPLE REVIEW

Here is an example of a review that I posted about a book called A Very Bloody History of Britain.

The author puts interesting illustrations and focuses on what teenagers and tweens most care about: blood, gore, romance and spilled guts. As a teacher in middle and high school, I have found this book helpful in showing people that "yes, children and adults really lived without running water. It was a big thing to have indoor plumbing, especially a toilet. Yes, toilets had to be invented."

I used this with the POSTMAN QUESTIONS (asked by Neil Postman) in Teaching as a Subversive Activity. www.TINYURL.com/50TAASA to get a free copy of his book.
www.TINYURL.com/PostmanQuestions to get the questions (formatted for classroom use)
To participate in the Postman 50th anniversary, go to www.50yearsofsubversiveteaching.blogspot.com.

These items will put you in the mindset to use this book more creatively. Certainly do more than "assign reading" and "lecture about each chapter." Think about ways that you can use this book while employing tactics and procedures that innovative teachers have developed. PeterPappas.com has a blogpost that includes more questions that help students learn. (See his questions at http://tinyurl.com/peterquestions) For example, one of the Pappas questions is "
Why do we usually teach all the boring facts first and save the interesting stuff for later?"

This is why THE VERY BLOODY HISTORY was created. TO PRESENT THE INTERESTING STUFF NOW.

The illustrations are often amusing and can stimulate discussion before anything is read on the page. I learned how to make an engaging "poster quote" when I first saw this book. It is highly recommended for any history class, since students can be asked, "Can we make a VERY BLOODY HISTORY of xxxxx?" (and the xxxx is whatever you are studying. Why not a bloody history of Biology?
A bloody history of English Literature?
A bloody history of Spanish Grammar and Pronunciation?

Send any suggestions to me at manyposters@gmail.com THANK YOU for reading this review.

It is difficult to find a PDF version of the book without registering in one of those "free for 1 month trial" sites. Often the result is a recurring charge of $9.99 on the credit card.

OzoneBenefits has the following review of the book:

Warning: This book could change your ideas about history for ever!!
Do you know why the Celts got the best girls? Or who had his portrait painted after he was dead? And have you any idea who planned the first Channel Tunnel? From the dawn of civilization to the end of the Second World War, it's all here in the factually accurate and hilariously funny Very Bloody History of Britain.

Bizarre, barmy and almost beyond belief, you've never had a history lesson like it!

THIS BOOK IS RECOMMENDED for Middle School and High School

==========

What skills do you have? What tips can you share with other people? (How to find your mobile phone when you have misplaced it in the room)

Here are some screen shots showing what happens when we used Google HANGOUTS

Look on the lower left of the GMAIL screen

Click on "MAKE A CALL" after you agree to the conditions

The number appears in the 

LOWER RIGHT OF THE SCREEN

and it will ring.

SKILL:    How to find your mobile phone when you have misplaced it in the room


Make a phone call with Google HANGOUTS

Make a phone call

1. Open Hangouts at hangouts.google.com or in Gmail.
2. Click the Call tab .
   1. Type a phone number or name in the search box. If you're placing an international call, select the country code by clicking the flag drop-down menu or by typing it into the search box (for example, +55 for Brazil).
   2. Click the phone number or person's name that you want to call.
   3. If you are calling a phone number that has an extension, enter the extension by clicking Dialpad .

If you're in a Hangouts conversation with someone, you can call them right away. At the top of the Hangouts conversation window, click Call .

Phone calls in Hangouts

How does this work?

You can now place calls to landline and mobile phones from within Hangouts. Just dial any phone number and you'll be connected. Learn more.

Rates

Most calls to the U.S. and Canada are free and international calls at our insanely low rates.

Emergency Calls

By clicking accept, you agree that Hangouts is not capable of placing and receiving emergency service calls. Read the complete Terms of Service

Phone calls in Hangouts

How does this work?

You can now place calls to landline and mobile phones from within Hangouts. Just dial any phone number and you'll be connected. Learn more.

Rates

Most calls to the U.S. and Canada are free and international calls at our insanely low rates.

Emergency Calls

By clicking accept, you agree that Hangouts is not capable of placing and receiving emergency service calls. Read the complete Terms of Service

Videos about Projects, Portfolios and Exhibitions

High Tech High schools focus on projects.
Their results are displayed on digital portfolios (websites).

Listen to what a principal says in Minute 3 of this video

A list of videos that I recommend to students

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxNQebY-Qdwj

You can search for "Steve Jobs ask"  

Steve Jobs - Dont Be Afraid To Ask For Help
I called up Bill Hewlett when I was 12 years old
I'm a student and I want to build a frequency counter.
I wonder if you have any spare parts.

You have to act.   Be willing to fail.

The video is recommended by Chris Haroun, the author of

101 Crucial Lessons They Don't Teach You in Business School 

Search "entrepreneurs change the world"

Search







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw8pYEvlUC4
Make Your Class Active -- Ask the Neil Postman Questions -- Learner Centered Approach




"Education is a cure"  Neil Postman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5RJ0XtN-2o

What have you done online? What footprints did you leave behind? Did you leave a comment and like, subscribe, follow and like?

These are questions that I ask my students.   

What is your NET IMPACT?
What is your impact on the Internet?
Are you a consumer or a contributor and a creator?
Did you create a sentence and leave it on the Internet somewhere?

What footprints did you leave behind?   
Did you leave a comment and like, subscribe, follow and like?


Today I signed up to follow a blog by Virginia Hughes.  She writes columns and blogposts about a wide range of ideas.  She is like Dan Pink and Malcolm Gladwell.  They ask questions.  They are curious.  They follow their interests and find answers.

For example, here is a post by Virginia Hughes about a peak experience and how to get in the ZONE between "being bored" and "being anxious"
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/08/20/peak-zone/#comment-3285685


When we are in the Zone, we often forget time.

How can we create a classroom where students are

What procedures will we use in class to encourage students to take time to think or interrupt  or choose to do something else?

What can we do to encourage students to take the initiative?

Tony Wagner's list of 7 survival skills