Student’s can use their complete MyPlan in full and unedited as an e-Portfolio if they wish.  They can save it as a PowerPoint show which they can burn on a CD or DVD.  They can add slide transitions for an on-screen presentations and put in action buttons to link to other slides, other documents or even web-sites. 

For example, a picture of a résumé can be made into an action button that links to the actual document on their own computer, on the same CD or DVD or on a web server.  They can do the same with references, reports, certificates and other documents.

To create a link in a PowerPoint show, students can follow these steps:

• Insert or paste a picture or just type some words such as “My Résumé”.
• Click on the picture or words to highlight them.
• In the top menu bar, select <slide show> <action settings>.
• In the <action settings> pull down list, choose <hyperlink to:>.
• In the space under “hyperlink to:” use the arrows to select “other file”.
• A directory window will open in which you can choose your résumé or other document.
• Test the link by clicking the slide show button at the bottom left corner of the  PowerPoint screen.  The document you chose in the “hyperlink to:” menu should open when you click the picture or word that you have now established as an action button.

Targeted e-Portfolios

One of the great advantages of MyPlan is its ability to produce many different targeted e-portfolios from a student’s single master MyPlan.  The targeted e-portfolios can be:

• normal presentations printed as handouts,
• PowerPoint shows,
• PowerPoint web pages, or even
• PowerPoint movies in QuickTime format. 

A targeted e-portfolio need contain only the pages that are relevant to the target audience.  For example, a portfolio submitted for assessment at year 10 would need to include almost every page from the original MyPlan, while a portfolio to be shown at a student-led conference or parent teacher interview could be compiled more selectively to demonstrate improvement or specific achievement.

A student can prepare a targeted e-portfolio from an original MyPlan, by opening MyPlan and selecting the slide sorter view from the icon at the bottom left corner of the PowerPoint screen or from the <view> menu in the top bar.  This MyPlan can be saved as a new version with a name that will help the student identify the file (for example: “assessment_MyPlan.ppt”).  The student can then look through the slides displayed in the “slide sorter” view and delete any that are not relevant to the purpose or audience for this particular targeted version.  They can also rearrange the pages into any order that helps make a point or tell a story.  If they make a mistake and delete a page that they feel that they should keep, they can just open their original MyPlan and copy the missing page and paste it back into the targeted portfolio.  It is a good idea to immediately close the original your original MyPlan so that they don’t get them mixed up and delete original pages.

It is also worthwhile encouraging students to save dated versions of their MyPlan, either as targeted portfolios or as complete copies.  By assigning a name to the copy that includes a date, they can build a documented history of their goals, strategies and achievements.  They should remember that plans should change.  That is why MyPlan should be regularly reviewed.  If a strategy is not working, change it.  If a goal is not as important as it once seemed, change or replace it.  If a student’s achievements exceed their earlier expectations, they can consider resetting their goals to achieve even more.  The purpose of MyPlan is to encourage and facilitate that achievement.

There are many examples of interesting developments of e-portfolios. There are links to some of them here:

http://electronicportfolios.org/hs/index.html

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