Module 3.1 – Making Learning Tangible

Documenting your child's Lights On adventure is a must as it allows you to tangibly see what learning is taking place - as it literally starts to unfold in front of your eyes over time. If you record their journey you can use this for reflection and help your child get much more from their learning. That is the constant aim with Lights On - to keep our children moving forward. 

Learning with your Lights On is all about having real purpose to our learning so that the intrinsic motivation keeps us moving forward, even when the going gets tough or our lights start to dim. So making our children's learning tangible is really important - as once they start to see what they are truly capable of they really start to get going and feel proud. 

What portfolio will you choose? 

There are lots of different ways to create a portfolio so start by asking your child what type of portfolio they would like. Would they prefer a physical scrapbook or do they want to build up a digital portfolio?  Whatever they choose this will be the 'hub' of the work they create. 

As your child is getting stuck into their project, encourage them to take photos of each stage or document it yourself.

This will produce a photo story of their progress throughout the project. Remember to get creative and have fun with these photos and use it as a time to improve your child's or your own photography skills. 

Over time your child's portfolio will start to really highlight their interests or 'switches' they have explored and discovered. If I look at my own son's he has moved from photography, through filmmaking into graphic design, electronics and engineering and woodwork. He is now going back to editing exploring special effects software. My daughter has dived into sewing, book art, filmmaking whilst continuing to develop her real passion, writing.

Using Google Photos to manage your photos.

Google Photos is a wonderful piece of software. It's unlimited storage capacity and ability to share digitally makes it the perfect digital portfolio. Check out the tutorial below to give you a rundown of some of the handy features it has and how to get started. 

Make sure that you start to share your child's portfolio with extended family. This helps to show your child that you are proud of what they are achieving and also it gives others a chance to find out more about what they are doing and how much they are growing as a learner.