Managing Your Professional Work: Teaching Children Well

Including videos on your ePortfolio is a
colorful way to share your professional work. 

Change is a constant for educators today. Changes in position, changes in leadership, changes in standards, changes in expectations, and changes in the available resources abound. This is why it is more important than ever that educators manage their own professional work.

With this in mind, I recommend that preservice teachers and current educators create an ePortfolio of their work and efforts. The ePortfolio is essentially an online file cabinet of an educator's professional story including some or all of the following elements:

• A personal statement.
• A resume.
• Professional goals and evidence.
• Publications, presentations, and videos.

The summer months provide educators the time to pull together these resources. This guide to creating an ePortfolio using Google sites may be helpful.  Also, this is an example of my ePortfolio if interested. 

There are many advantages to creating an open, easy-to-access ePortfolio including the following:

• The ePortfolio is an easy-to-share professional snapshot which is helpful for evaluation meetings.
• The ePortfolio is easy to update, publish, and share regularly.
• If you're interested in presenting at a conference or applying for a new job, the ePortfolio is easy to share and/or include in your proposal.
• The ePortfolio serves as a reflection piece, a place that you can turn to as you assess your professional accomplishments, goals, and challenges.

When we make the time to review our professional work during the summer months, it leaves us better prepared to engage in the new school year with focus and direction.  

Also, as always, please let me know if you have thoughts to improve and develop this work.