I have privately been advocating that schools help students create portfolios of their academic work. With all the digital and sharing technology available, eventually universities are going to ask students to submit a portfolio of their work with their applications. I am not talking just about creative types--designers, painters, fashionistas--but rather traditional academics such as history and physics students.
The key to a good portfolio will not be just the last paper in AP History or the senior science fair project but the ability to demonstrate intellectual growth and maturity. This would imply that students should start their portfolio in junior high school or early in high school.
I think these academic portfolios will include papers, videos, photos and perhaps diaries, blogs, websites and links to FB pages. Presentation will be in a Flipboard style with tags and full search capabilities. Everything posted would be downloadable.
Someone once told me that Sean Taylor, the late, great UM and Washington Redskins safety, was identified in junior high school as a future Pro Bowl player. The same is true for academic genius. If universities could search the portfolios of younger students, they could follow their intellectual development and perhaps begin a recruiting dialogue much earlier.
Many academics also believe that creating a portfolio benefits the student's intellectual growth. Portfolios encourage reflection on one's work and develop critical thinking abilities.
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