Being a teacher means to be
a collector. At one point in your career you understand that you store so much
paper that you could easily wallpaper the whole school with it. And, the
weirdest thing about that is your obsession with the stuff: you carefully sort
out the copies every vacation, keep memories about each of them, where it was
taken, in what class it was used, what students liked about it. It becomes your
own memorabilia, thus, kills the sense of having a portfolio - easy and quick
access to materials for extra practice. If you caught yourself on not using at
least 30% of photocopies kept in your files, this post is for you.
So, here are my thoughts and
the ways that let me get more sensible about my portfolio.
1.
USE YOUR LAPTOP/PC.
You are sure to have a good
library, and there is always a way to fit a little more into the bookcase, but
let's be honest, technology really allows us to save space, effort and time.
You download, store, if necessary - print out. A lot of apps help you out to
cut out a smaller extract from books and Word. There is no need to use paper, a
lot of files, and it's much faster to find something via Search on your
computer than in the piles you have round your living space.
2.
HAVE A DECENT NAVIGATION.
When you store on your
computer, materials are easy to be lost or forgotten. Sometimes, it can take
twice the time to find and print out the copy. The best way to avoid is to have
a strict and comprehensible navigation. You need to choose categories (by
level, by language aspect, by task types) and you need to sort out the
downloads every time or, at least, once a week. The most important point here
is for you to understand the storage system, I mean, even if it seems crazy to
another person, for you it may be the most comfortable way to keep the data.
3.
DON'T NEGLECT A NOTEBOOK/DIARY.
Firstly, here you keep some
pen-to-board ideas (brief notes on tasks which are easy to organize in class
without using any materials apart from the board), I personally keep a note of
some games or icebreakers, some interesting facts, and quotes which demonstrate
certain constructions beautifully. Secondly, if the plan or the task is popular
on the Internet, there is no need to store it and to litter your computer, just
write down the name of the book/video/lesson, and when the time comes, you'll
google it.
4.
SUBSCRIBE AND UPDATE.
If you use a blog or a
website for more than a couple of times, subscribe. Seriously, it will save
your time, you'll have access to all new materials, and you will remember the
name of "that teacher who had a great idea on that subject". And,
don't forget that every day teachers invent and re-invent, as well as the
language develops and changes, so you need to keep up with the new trends,
update your tasks, but keep the classics.
5.
HAVE THROW-OUTS AND GIVEAWAYS.
If you haven't used a copy
at least twice in a few years, you don't need it. Throw it out. If something
you found seems too good to be thrown out, but there is no way you can use it
in your class, share it with the world - give away to a colleague or post on
your social net page.
Of course, there are things
which we never use but always keep, just in case. But with those of frequent
usage you need to follow simple steps which make your work convenient and your
teaching style more disciplined.
PORTAL DA
LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the
persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites
referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such
websites are, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
In some
instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here;
therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so.
Thank you very much.
Is something important missing?
Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and
fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!
Your feedback is welcome. Please
direct comments and questions to me at bruno_coriolano@hotmail.com
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