Digital Portfolios

How do you prove your kids did their work?  I encourage home-school families to keep both paper and digital portfolios.  Paper work samples can be easier for kids to sort as they evaluate their portfolio to select materials to submit to online schools.  We keep both digital and paper portfolios.  How?  I use an iPhone or iPad to scan documents and save them on Google Drive.  I keep records and assignments on Google Classroom, too.  I put copies of scanned work with the assignments on Google Classroom—which is backed up on Google Drive, too.  I make and save videos to my YouTube channel and add those to Classroom, too.  The kids write essays in Google Docs saved on Drive and added to Classroom. I like to edit the essays or reports online and return them with comments added to make revisions.  Sound like a lot of work?  Yes.  But, when I need to collect material for an online school, I can send screen shots, grade spreadsheets, digital essays, and photo or video evidence.  Look at Google for Education.  All of the tools such as Drive, Classroom, YouTube, Sheets, Slides, and Docs are free; moreover, these tools make it easy to save your work.  Get your kids in the habit of taking photos and scanning their papers, worksheets, and graded tests.  You won’t have any trouble justifying your portfolio.