Guide your students in creating engaging, professional-quality portfolios that are uniquely their own.
Having a professional online presence is more important than ever before — and it all comes back to portfolios. We see an increasing number of educators guiding their students in creating e-portfolios to house school projects, use as authentic assessments, and to support future job and college applications.
Creating a portfolio is an opportunity for students to design a professional space online that showcases who they are and what they care about, while gathering (and celebrating!) the accomplishments they’re most proud of. It’s an opportunity for them to create a space online that’s uniquely theirs that can adapt and evolve as they grow personally and professionally.
What are the elements of a great student portfolio? Let’s dive in!
Choose a type of portfolio website
Showcase students’ best work
Use high-quality images
Make it accessible and mobile friendly
Ask for feedback
Make it uniquely your own
1. Choose a type of portfolio website
There are three kinds of portfolio templates in the Wix Education template library: online resumes/CVs, project portfolios, and a combination of CV and project portfolio.
This website uses the "Student Resume" template in Wix Education.
CV or resume sites are perhaps the most straightforward of portfolio sites. These sites serve as virtual resumes for students to catalog their experiences and achievements. We see many students link to their online CVs as an extension of their paper resume — a space where they can elaborate on their skills and interests. These types of sites serve best when made with a purpose in mind, such as applying to a future job or higher education opportunity.
This website uses the "Storyteller CV" template in Wix Education.
Project portfolios are best suited for showcasing student work, whether visual, written, or multimedia. Many educators are encouraging their students to create e-portfolios that can grow with them across grade levels, serving as a “living” record of student work. We love seeing when students use these kinds of portfolios to not just show off their creations, but to reflect on them and their learning process as well.
This website uses the "Portfolio Activity" template and Side-by-Side activity.
Not sure if your students should create an online resume or a project portfolio? No worries, we’ve got you covered! The Portfolio Activity template combines all of the features of an online resume where students can elaborate on their accomplishments, skills, and interests, while providing an opportunity for them to showcase the work they’re most proud of. In this template, students create pages for individual projects, where they can add photos, outline their thought process, and add elements to tell the story of their creations. It’s not just a template — it’s also a Side-by-Side activity that walks students through creating their portfolio step by step.
2. Showcase students’ best work
Portfolios don’t have to include every project that students create (though if your students are creating digital records of all of their work for personal reflection and documentation, that’s a different story!). When creating portfolios, encourage your students to showcase the projects that they’re most proud of. These projects don’t have to be the biggest or most ambitious — simply work that students feel connected to. More often than not, when we write about the things we care about the most, that enthusiasm shines through to our audience.
3. Use high-quality images
Students can use the Wix Media Manager to add stunning, free images to their site.
Websites are highly visual mediums, and the visuals are what make the most well-designed websites stand out. Encourage your students to take and display high-quality images, video, and other multimedia of their work. If they don’t have images, they can use media from Wix’s stunning media libraries to make their sites stand out.
4. Make it accessible and mobile friendly
In Lesson 11 of the Web Creation course, students learn how to make their sties accessible.
Did you know that over half of website visitors use mobile devices to browse the web? Building websites that everyone can access is a big part of Wix Education. This means both optimizing sites for mobile view, and creating sites that are inclusive and accessible to all, regardless of ability. As students create their sites, remind them to also design for mobile, and to include accessibility features — like alt text and optimal color contrast — to make their creations accessible for all.
Check out Lesson 9 in the Intro to Wix and the Web course for guidelines on adapting sites for mobile view, and Lesson 11 in the Web Creation course and Lesson 10 in the Web Design course for ideas for teaching accessibility and inclusive design in your classroom.
5. Ask for feedback
As an educator, you have the ability to leave comments and feedback on student sites. You can think of comments like a virtual sticky note, where you can encourage your students, give them ideas for adding to their sites, or guide them if they're feeling stuck. To get started, select a class from the My Classes tab on Wix Education, then head over to the Class Sites section and hover over a site. Click "Preview & Give Feedback" to leave your comments.
6. Make it uniquely your own
Portfolios are a chance for students to not just showcase what they're proud of, but show off who they are. Students can bring in their personality in every design choice, from the color palette, to the images, to even bringing in custom vector art to add personal flair. Encourage your students to think about what they love the most (Is it a hobby? A beloved character? A family tradition?) and think about how they might incorporate those ideas into their designs. This is an opportunity to showcase not just who they are as students, but who they are as people.
Ready to start creating stunning portfolios with your students? Here are three ways to get started:
Use the SbS Portfolio Activity: The Portfolio Activity template is also a side-by-side activity, which walks students through adapting the template to create their own project portfolio site. This is a great option for students who are new to the idea of creating an online portfolio, or who are working in a self-guided environment.
Work with a portfolio or CV template: Rather than going through a course, students can start working right away with a template. In the Templates section of Wix Education, students can find a range of templates to work with and customize to create their own portfolios and online CVs.
Create a portfolio as a final project for a Wix Education Course: Students can also create portfolios for their final project in one of Wix Education's four courses: Intro to Wix and the Web, Web Creation, Web Design, and Web Development. This is a great option you have more time with your students and want to go deeper with their learning.
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