Introduction Gather all your hard earned rewards, those shiny trophies, your favorite school or club projects, the memories of all the impactful experiences and successful accomplishments together. You more or less just created a short portfolio that details important aspects of what makes you, you. Now put all this information online, and it becomes an eportfolio. What is an eportfolio and why is it helpful? Eportfolios could be meant for others to easily access and understand strengths and characteristics about you as a person, be it your work or volunteer experiences, or an academic field you love. An eportfolio could be meant to track projects you’ve enjoyed and your interests, as well as compliments or pictures. Other than a showcase, an eportfolio could also be about the learning process, and serve as a collection of your work along the way. Eportfolios are for you to represent yourself and be grateful and proud of your interests. Resources for making eportfolios: 1. spikeview An easy to navigate, free platform, spikeview has the tools you need to build a solid portfolio while providing new and interesting opportunities for you to explore. Some key benefits that set spikeview apart are that:
2. Any website builder: Many free options (Google Sites, Wix, Weebly)
There are many options and most are fairly easy to learn, and some sites have templates. Benefits include:
Conclusion Whenever you have spare time, it is a good investment to put some into building an eportfolio and can help you organize and focus on your goals, interests, projects you enjoyed and compliments you received. Though, in the end, no matter what kind of resources you’re using or even the purpose of why you create an eportfolio in the first place, remember that you’ve already worked hard enough to be in the spot that you’re in right now. Don’t ever downgrade or downplay your skills, achievements, and potential. Co-written by Library Monitor and guest Author, Qijie Wu
0 Comments
Dear Trevor Noah,
My name is Alake Imo and I am a Freshman at Brooklyn Technical High School; my English class read an excerpt from your memoir/autobiography “Born a Crime'' (“Chameleon”)- it really meant a lot to me. I never thought of things from that perspective, because I never had to, it was never presented to me in a manner of importance, nor relevance; the educational system never taught me to think/care about things that didn’t affect me personally- ‘if it doesn’t matter to America, then does it matter at all? If it doesn’t affect us, then why should it be taught?’ was always the status quo of the institutions of American education. Many, are never taught about enslavement (whether it be the enslavement of Native Americans, or the enslavement of Africans, etc.), if it can be bypassed, then it usually is and that is why I wanted to read your book- it made me think about apartheid and institionalized slavery from a different perspective, it made me see it as a person, which allows for a different type of loathing, a loathing that doesn’t allow for detachment, nor ignorance. So, I requested to read your entire memoir and thereby alter our entire curriculum, and my class voted, and we chose to allow for the creation of new perspectives that will one day help us change the world- except for this one kid, but it was only because you used cursed words, but I assessed that I would forever be in a state of delusion of the world around me, if I did not read your book, so I just skipped over them. The gift of life changing literature that nourishes your soul, heart and mind is truly an extraordinary gift that comes around once in a blue moon. I loved your book and my favorite chapters were the love stories- which is surprising, because I don’t even like romantic novels, or anything like that, but when you were telling us those stories, man, I was in there- I was present! I was getting excited, hyping you up, screaming “HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?!” I was there- especially for part two, because that, that was brutal, that was tragic- I needed a break after that. Like, we were just doing so good and then- well, I’m sure you know the story. Those three stories (apart from their powerful messages) made me go through it and I know that this is becoming entirely informal, but I just have to say, at some point, I was just like: “this is despair, this is sadness- this is heartbreak. How could this happen- w-why?! Honestly, why though, what does one have to do for God to just let this happen? I have never seen such phenomenal highs, be crushed so easily in an instant, my gosh.” You have a gift. I’ve never seen an author legitimately articulate such a complex subject, as apartheid, in three sentences alone. You are truly remarkable! Though my class has not finished reading your book, I have and I want to share with you a previous homework assignment about quotes that mean a lot to us and that shape, or even re-shape who we are (I quoted the entirety of pages 19 and 20, so I am going leave my response alone/not insert the quote): “Three sentences put apartheid into perspective for me; it never seemed so direct and clear, but I think that I finally understand the “general thrust of it.” “To the same group of people[,] at the same time.” Other than the obvious realizations, this quote helped me truly understand and internalize the hypocrisy that is the American mindset: why is it that we either think that Africa is all violence and poverty, lots and lots of violence and a smidge of poverty, or we just accept that others think that Africa is the epitome of poverty and violence (we don’t do anything about that)? Africa’s violence is a lot like America’s, ours is just more organized. We likely will not slash you in the middle of the street, in broad daylight, but, if we wanted you dead, we would prefer hiring a hitman/hitwoman- it takes the blood off of our hands- less guilt and repercussions, in the end; the only difference is that in Africa, it is more likely that if someone wanted to kill you, you would be dead and the police wouldn’t really care- in America, the police are the ones killing you, but in Africa, they just get paid to do that- and whose fault is that? Well, that’s another similarity between Africa and America- it’s colonizers and their, “ways.”” Those are the some of my biggest take aways from your work of art: apartheid in persepctive, the hypocrisy of the American mindset, the realization that all of the world’s problems usually start with ‘colonizers’ and then expand into far greater/things that become institionalized and systematic, etc.. You made me think about the entire idea of perspective in a new light- in a more personal, rather than detached perspective/being; I stopped treating such situations as something that I am not a part of and more so as problems that I chose to ignore/detach myself from, therefore making me a part of the problem. It’s not that I didn’t think that it didn’t matter, I just treated it with an American mindset and therefore concluded that unless we go to war against a system, that country and its neighbors should destroy it- we're on the other side of the world and we have our own problems- people of African descendants are getting murdered twice week here and there are already petitions, posts, news articles about what’s going on over there- plus, this is not my responsibility (though I know that it is my responsibility as a human being to end systems that suppress, I’m trying to fight the problems at homebase first), isn’t this what the United Nations is for? To unite people, especially in the face of oppression? How ignorant was I, to never consider, that they were the ones that created it and therefore never wished to put an end to it; though, I was not surprised. Part two was my favorite part of your autobiography, because of various, intricate reasons, one of them being that I considered an unconscious practice that, upon further investigation, I realize that it was a matter of deeper perspective seeking, rather than the truth. I pondered upon the possibility of being a person that has befriended someone, but was never truly their friend (like those high schoolers in “Outsider”), because it was more so out of convenience and circumstance, than it was out of friendship.. I climbed deep and found nothing short of nothing to solidify such a belief about myself, but whilst contemplating my unconscious behavior in past circumstances, I realized that I was distancing myself away from the truth of it all: that was me, for the majority of my charter school experience. I was the chameleon. Charter schools ran by white supremacists are a tough place to be at, especially when you’ve been a Private School Kid your entire life and now you’re being faced with drug dealers that are definitely not graduating, but you don’t want to feel lonely, so you befriend the less insane, but after you’re out, you can finally admit that you never even liked them and that you just didn’t want to sit alone. So yeah, chameleons are cool. You taught me a lot about the hood! Like, a lot, and I’ll never forget about what you taught me. You also taught me, and showed me, an entirely new literary writing style that is comprised of serious situations told in a comedic fashion- and I loved it, to a degree. I still feel guilty for laughing at certain parts, but, that one chapter, about a certain person, was hilarious and I will never feel guilty about laughing at that entire ‘situation.’ On a completely different note, I completely agree about what you said about the eradications of history and how documentation is a way to tier them (though tiering them undermines others completely/if we absolutely had to tier them, documentation would be a good way to do so). The entire dynamic of it all, was surprising to me- I didn’t expect not a thing that you said. Everything, everything, was engulfing, tragic, a storm. It allowed me to see another side of apartheid and how it was “perfect racsim.” It can’t possibly get any worse, I hope, but I know, that somehow, some way, they always find a way to up their game, so we must destroy it and its institutions and its systems and its being as a whole; we must destroy racism. Of the many sentimentals, one of the greatest that you taught me on an entirely different level, was that you should never give up. That perseverance even in some of the darkest of situations builds character and makes stories that empower and provoke (good trouble). ‘Cause your mother persevered, you are who you are and get to tell me your phenomenal story and I just want to say, thank you (to your mom). Please come to my school and talk to us! That would be beyond incredible and fantastic!!!!! We can set up a Zoom Meeting! Also, your birthday is tomorrow!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!! Thank you. Thank you for telling your story. I really loved your book; it changed my life. Thank you and happy birthday! Have a Blessed Birthday and Thank You Tremendously, Alake Click on image to register for any event or check here for Reading Challenge!
Every December lists of the best books of 2020 come out. Two beautiful booklists with great filters are NPR's Book Concierge and also New York Public Library's Best Books of 2020. Note that you can also filter by year and check out other years! At the public library site, you can also go straight to the borrowing screen. Please share any best of lists you like! NYPL SiteMy name is Erin, and I am the student teacher in the Brooklyn Tech library. Getting organized at the beginning of the school year can be one of the best things to set yourself up for success and some students have passed on some great advice, which I will share with you. Paper vs. Digital (or some version of both?)PaperEveryone has their own opinions on using paper calendars vs. online calendars, but I prefer paper. Having a new paper calendar or notebook at the beginning of the school year will allow to keep track of daily tasks that need to be completed as well as due dates for major assignments or test dates. During virtual learning this calendar will be a life saver to keep all the important due dates in your life organized, especially for seniors who need to also keep track of college application due dates. One of your peers, Jennifer Furdzik, introduced me to Kathryn Azevedo who wrote a great blog post about a helpful notebook hack to keep you on top of your to-do list that I myself use and find to be amazing! She has several blog posts, as well as videos on her site schoolhabits.com that will:
DigitalIf you prefer to use a digital calendar to keep your schoolwork together you may be interested in using Notion, which Jennifer recommended. This tool is going to keep everything you need to succeed in one place. This is a free tool when you sign up using your BTHS email. Fellow students from your school have used this tool and find it be really helpful. “I use Notion, which is a planner, Kanban board, database, and notes site all in one. I swear by it and it's helped keep me super organized and saves me so much stress.” -Jennifer Furdzik. The site includes other features like:
Thanks so much to Jennifer for sharing these tools. There are so many systems to choose from, so make sure you find something you can maintain to keep you on top of on top of your game! Students helped the librarians to create some class and homework organizational templates as well as an overall schedule planner. Click here to view both pages: https://docs.google.com/document/d/179mYweMY8-M1qExPA-NiKedLhksUGxAnpZxVE_zFxxk/edit?usp=sharing
Please share with us tools that are useful to you: [email protected] The Brooklyn Tech Librarians are delighted to bring you our annual report for 2018-2019, both in full text and infographic format.
This year has been a very productive year, with highlights including expanded access during 10th period each day, library-based Monday study hall, vacation book clubs and a school-wide reading challenge to promote reading across the building and our first book fair in collaboration with Greenlight Bookstore. As you will see, we also increased our classroom visits by 28% and database usage rose by an average of 176%, with more than 109,000 database articles accessed by Brooklyn Tech students. We welcome any feedback or questions you might have, and invite you to reach out about ways you can get more involved in the library. We have a Library Committee, which meets about 3 times a year. Teachers, students, parents and administrators are welcome to join! Students are also welcome to apply to work as a library monitor in the fall. Parents, we've love to have some regular library volunteers to assist with book processing. EVERYONE is welcome to follow us on Instagram @brooklyntechlibrary or reach out by email: [email protected] Readers! We hope you are continuing to enjoy your reading journey and the books along the way! As a reminder, the goal of the challenge is to encourage reading for pleasure and reading outside of your regular reading patterns. BONUS: Send us an instagram post of a book you are reading with at least 4 hashtags and come collect a prize! How are you tracking your reading? Goodreads? Our Reading Challenge form? (more available in the library) The public library Reading History? Another way? The first person to officially finish (we know there are more of you out there!): Here is the reading list of Judith Ryan, English teacher, who finished the challenge and shared her list (click on images for more information about the books, *=available at BTHSLibrary):
4. Graphic Novel: Speak (Adaptation) by Laurie Halse Anderson (fiction)* 5. Book with protagonist that looks nothing like me: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (autobiographical novel in verse) 6. Book out of regular genres: Listening is an Act of Love by Dave Isay (radio interviews) Short books: Want to read more, but have little time? Book suggestions - short books 125 pages or less This is a great way to take a risk on a genre that you usually don’t try. Please recommend other excellent short books! https://library.nycenet.edu/cataloging/servlet/presentbooklistform.do?listID=79041170&site=2625 Noticeably absent from this list are poetry, plays and graphic novels, which tend to be shorter than full length texts. Search our catalog for format (graphic novel) and genre: http://bthslib.weebly.com/catalog.html Please let us know if you are enjoying a book or if you have finished! (and stop by, starting today, to get a Chipotle BOGO coupon for reading three books from the challenge!)
Ms. Drusin, Ms. Ferguson and Ms. Laudi |
AuthorsMs. Drusin and Ms. Ferguson. Email us at [email protected] Archives
March 2021
Categories |