Using Evernote to Create a Teacher Evaluation Portfolio

I am a HUGE fan of Evernote!  In the past couple of years, I have “digitally organized” myself both at school and at home.  The uses for this lovely program are never ending.  If you are not familiar with Evernote, in the interest of time, let me share the Wikipedia definition with you:

“Evernote is a suite of software and services, designed for note taking and archiving. A "note" can be a piece of formatted text, a full webpage or webpage excerpt, a photograph, a voice memo, or a handwritten "ink" note. Notes can also have file attachments.”

You can group Notes into Notebooks and all of this information is accessible on your computer, tablet and smart phone. There are tons of great tutorials already online explaining how to use Evernote far better than I would, 

(such as here and here ) so I will not go into it, but don't worry - it is very easy to pick up!

My favorite new use for Evernote is my Teacher Evaluation Portfolio.  In Iowa we have 8 Teaching Standards with a variety of criteria listed for each one. In my school we fill out this Portfolio Reflection Sheet (which I just copied and pasted into its own note so I could use it over and over again.)

and attach artifacts (photos, scanned student examples, etc.) as evidence.  In the past, all of these artifacts and reflections (at least 2 listed under each standard, with a list of all the criteria it represents included) were put in a thick binder and turned in to my principal.  The longer you teach, the bigger this binder gets, as we add to it every third year.  

ENTER EVERNOTE!  No unwieldy binders, no papers, sheet protectors and file dividers, etc, etc!  

When I am done with my portfolio, all I have to do is click the "share" button and put in my principal's email address.  Evernote sends him a link and he can see (only) my Teaching Portfolio Notebook.

Here is an example of a Portfolio Reflection filled out and the accompanying photo (screenshots):

And a screenshot of my portfolio (in progress - I'm not done!):

I am also excited to get my students started using this program to create and maintain a portfolio of their artwork and all of its other excellent uses for students (more on this later!) I encourage you to give it a try - it is awesome!  

Happy Evernoting!

Art Thinking: Before you turn that project in...

A short post before we all begin celebrating our Thanksgiving weekend!  Below is a sign I created to hang on my big red "project turn in box."  Its a little something to get  my middle school and high school students to stop and think before they say, "I'm done with that."  It is also something I can come back to when we discuss a grade.
We can look through that list together and think about what could have been done to improve the project, and therefore, their grade. 

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BEFORE YOU TURN YOUR PROJECT IN...

 Have you SIGNED your work? 

 Do you have any smudges or messy areas  

    that need to be CLEANED up?

 Do you have good CONTRAST between lights  

    and darks? (either color or black and white)

 Is the COMPOSITION complete?  Does it  

    need something else?

 Does the COLOR work?  Does it need  

    another color to make it more interesting?

 Have you done what the assignment ASKED?

 Have you filled out your evaluation   

    COMPLETELY?

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Here's wishing you a holiday filled with family, food and fun.  

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Art Project Self Evaluations (the short version)

In writing about Art self evaluations in a previous post, I referred to a “short version” that we interchange with the “long version” to prevent burnout and keep student observations fresh and relevant.  Here is the short version I was talking about.  It takes the essence of the longer form and condenses it, but still gives students an opportunity to evaluate themselves and me an opportunity to get their take on their learning. 

(This one is obviously more popular with my students...less effort and writing involved!) :-)  Happy Evaluating!

Art Self Evaluation (the long version)

I hate giving grades in Art.  Anyone else feel this way?  It is my least favorite part of the whole experience in my classroom.  I love to witness as kids think, design, sketch, try something new, experiment, create, etc.  But as for me telling them that their efforts were worthwhile (or not)?  I do NOT like it.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where grades are a marker that guides students to the next phase of their lives.  Its how they, their parents and the system says they’ve succeeded (or not...)  I could argue against this in SO many ways, but that’s a post for another day. 

One of my solutions to the whole grading dilemma in 7th-12th grades is to give students a self evaluation to fill out with each project.  There is a lot of value in giving them space to critique, defend and process what they’ve learned.  It helps me get a feel for what they have accomplished separate from what I have observed and also assists me in grading them as fairly as possible. I teach my students how to fill out the evaluations in 7th grade and expect more and more complete and educated responses as they mature.

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I find that, in general,  they are harder on themselves than I am on them.  I give credit for doing the evaluation because they do a better job and take it more seriously when it affects their grade. The biggest challenge I have is in getting students to write enough in answer to each question.  I tell them to “write me a book” because I want a nice chunky paragraph for each question - not the meager one sentence I might get if I did not push them.  

My favorite question is #4.  I learn so many interesting things about students when they share bits of themselves.  Sometimes they are silly and fun, but many times they are serious.  I really appreciate the trust they show when writing about their lives like that. I get to know them on a whole new level.

This self evaluation, if done properly, takes a while to fill out and a while to grade.  To remedy this and prevent burnout (in which they will just whip through it and not give me thoughtful answers) I designed a short evaluation that we use also (which I will share next time.)  Rotating between the two gives me the feedback I need, while preventing burnout.  
Happy Evaluating!